Present law generally prohibits a person from being employed as a teacher in a public school, or receiving pay for such services out of the public school funds of the local school district, until the person is issued a license by the state board of education.
However, after a director of schools or a director of a public charter school notifies the local board of education or the governing body, as applicable, that the LEA or public charter school is unable to secure a qualified teacher with a valid license for a vacancy, the director may certify this to the commissioner of education. Upon the commissioner's receipt of the certification, the commissioner may grant, under conditions prescribed in the state board's rules, a temporary permit to teach in the unfilled position to a person recommended by the director and approved by the commissioner. The temporary permit is valid only until June 30 following the date of the permit's issuance. A local board of education or the governing body, as applicable, may contract with a teacher holding a permit but only for the period of time during which the local board of education or the governing body is unable to secure a qualified teacher with a valid license.
Present law provides that, in order to gain experience in a school and demonstrate readiness for teaching, educator preparation providers must require clinical experiences. During the clinical practice, each candidate is assigned to an effective educator for guidance, evaluation, and instruction. This bill provides that a teacher who teaches under a temporary permit satisfies such clinical experience required for licensure if:
(1) The teacher is assigned to, and receives guidance, evaluations, and instructions from, an educator for an amount of time that is at least equal to the amount of time required for a candidate of an educator preparation provider to meet the clinical requirements;
(2) The educator assigned to the teacher evaluates the teacher as having adequately met the same requirements that a candidate of an educator preparation provider must meet in order to satisfy the clinical experience requirements; and
(3) The teacher teaches under a temporary permit for an amount of time that is at least equal to the amount of time required for a candidate of an educator preparation provider to complete the clinical experience requirements.
ON APRIL 13, 2023, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1221, AS AMENDED.
AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bill to provide the following:
(1) The commissioner of education is authorized to grant, on behalf of the state board of education, under the conditions prescribed by the state board's rules, an individual pursuing clinical experience in an educator preparation program (EPP) who meets the requirements of this bill, a temporary permit to teach in a teaching position in which an LEA or public charter school is unable to secure a qualified teacher with a valid license for the type and kind of school in which a vacancy exists;
(2) To be eligible to receive a temporary permit pursuant to (1):
(A) An individual must be enrolled in an EPP and have completed all of the coursework in the program except for the clinical experience required pursuant to present law provisions governing teacher training, and submit with the individual's application for a temporary permit a letter of recommendation from the EPP in which the individual is enrolled;
(B) A director of schools or a director of a public charter school must submit a conditional offer of employment made by the respective director of schools or the director of the public charter school for the individual to fill a position for which the LEA or public charter school is unable to secure a qualified teacher with a valid license for the type and kind of school in which a vacancy exists; and
(C) The conditional offer of employment must include a certification by the director of schools or the director of the public charter school that the director has notified the commissioner of the LEA's or public charter school's inability to fill the vacancy and its intent to employ the individual pursuant to a temporary permit;
(3) The commissioner is authorized to grant an individual a temporary permit authorizing the individual to teach a course requiring an end-of-course examination to satisfy the graduation requirements established by the state board if the individual demonstrates sufficient content knowledge in the course material by taking and passing, at the teacher's own expense, a standardized or criterion-referenced test for the content area;
(4) The commissioner is prohibited from granting an individual a temporary permit to teach a physical education class required under present law provisions for elementary and secondary education, or a special education course;
(5) A temporary permit is valid only until June 30 following the date of the permit's issuance and is prohibited from being renewed;
(6) A director of schools or a director of a public charter school who learns of the conviction of a teacher holding a temporary permit who is employed by the LEA or public charter school, respectively, for any offense listed in present law provisions requiring automatic revocation of teacher's or administrator's license, is required to report the conviction to the state board;
(7) The state board is required to set the time frame within which a director of schools or a director of a public charter school must report a conviction of a teacher holding a temporary permit, and the state board is authorized to specify other offenses for which a director of schools or a director of a public charter school is required to report to the state board upon learning of a conviction of a teacher holding a temporary permit for any such offense;
(8) A director of schools or a director of a public charter school is required to report to the state board teachers holding a temporary permit who are employed by the LEA or public charter school, respectively, who have been suspended or dismissed, or who have resigned, following allegations of conduct, including sexual misconduct, which, if substantiated, would warrant consideration for disciplinary action under state board rules; and
(9) The state board of education is required to promulgate rules to effectuate this bill.