Legislature(2001 - 2002)
04/09/2001 01:35 PM Senate HES
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SB 86-TEACHER EMPLOYMENT & SUBJECT EXPERTISE
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked Senator Pete Kelly, sponsor of SB 86, if the
amendment before the committee has been incorporated into the
proposed committee substitute.
SENATOR KELLY said it was not.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked if, regarding the provision that allows the
substitution of five years of work experience in the subject
matter, any type of experience in that subject that is not work
related would apply.
SENATOR KELLY said he would not object to deleting the word "work"
on page 2, line 19, so that five years of any experience in the
subject matter is required.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN referred to Sec. 3(d) and asked if Senator Kelly
would object to using the term "experienced educator" instead of a
"tenured teacher" (page 3, line 10).
SENATOR KELLY said the idea of the mentor, although he agrees with
it, did not come from him. The idea of a tenured teacher may have
been used because it assumes a certain level of experience.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN pointed out that an experienced teacher may not be
tenured in a certain district. She said the sectional analysis
says that Section 5 pertains to teachers coming off retirement and
lay off status and requires them to have practiced within the prior
five years. She asked for an explanation.
SENATOR KELLY said he thought that provision is in existing law.
DR. BRUCE JOHNSON, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of
Education and Early Development (DOEED), said the only thing he can
think of is that teachers are required, when renewing certificates,
to have six additional credit hours over a five-year period. He
said he is not sure whether that provision refers to the mentor.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN indicated that an explanation of that provision
was included in the sectional analysis, even though that provision
is in current law. She moved to remove the word "work" from page
2, line 19 (Amendment 1), and to substitute on page 3, line 9, the
word "tenured" with the word "experienced" (Amendment 2). There
being no objection, the motion to adopt Amendments 1 and 2 carried.
SENATOR LEMAN stated that he has two minor amendments to propose.
The first (Amendment 3) is on page 2, line 16, and is to insert the
words "or national" after "regional". He informed the committee
that while most colleges are accredited by a regional association,
some are accredited by a national association and the Alaska
Commission on Postsecondary Education (ACPE) considers both
associations to be comparable.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked if there was objection to Amendment 3.
SENATOR DAVIS asked Senator Leman to explain his intent.
SENATOR LEMAN said that inserting that language will make sure that
all qualified institutions are covered and that both associations
have comparable standards.
There being no further objection, Amendment 3 was adopted.
SENATOR LEMAN moved to adopt Amendment 4, in which the word "or
minored" would be inserted after the word "majored" on page 2, line
18. He said that a person could minor in a subject and have
considerably more expertise in an area than he or she may have
under a typical education degree.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked if a minor requires 18 hours of coursework.
Number 178
DR. JOHNSON said that a minor usually consists of a minimum of 18
hours of coursework.
SENATOR DAVIS asked Dr. Johnson his opinion of Amendment 4. She
noted that many teachers already teach in their minor area but the
focus was toward teaching in the area they majored in.
DR. JOHNSON said DOEED has concerns about this bill regarding
having individuals in the classroom who are not making a general
commitment to teacher education. DOEED would prefer that the
individual be enrolled in a teacher education program at the same
time the individual is teaching for many reasons, not the least of
which is that evidence in other states strongly suggests that
teacher education preparation programs really help support a
subject matter specialist capacity to be successful over the long
term. Those teachers tend to stay in their assignments longer.
Knowing content is an important ingredient of teaching but knowing
how to work with students is also important. DOEED does not object
to allowing these people to enter as teachers but it would prefer
that they immediately be enrolled in a teacher education program
that is similar to the Masters in Art of Teaching so that they can
receive a teaching credential in a one year period of time.
Regarding the question of whether teachers should be able to teach
in a field they minored in, he doesn't think that would be a big
problem for DOEED. Again, DOEED would rather have the focus be on
supporting the credential aspect. He pointed out the district
would be making the decision on whether a person with a minor is
qualified.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN noted that a person might have a major in
chemistry and a minor in physics, in which case teaching physics
would not be foreign.
There being no further objection to Amendment 4, CHAIRWOMAN GREEN
announced it was adopted.
SENATOR WILKEN moved Amendment 5, by Senator Kelly, which reads as
follows.
A M E N D M E N T 5
OFFERED IN THE SENATE BY SENATOR KELLY
TO: CSSB 86( ), Draft Version "L"
Page 2, line 23:
Delete "and"
Page 2, line 26, following "certificate":
Insert "; and
(4) completed, within the two years before
beginning to teach as a subject-matter expert teacher, the
six-week introductory course to prepare subject-matter expert
teachers for the classroom"
Page 2, following line 30:
Insert a new subsection to read:
"(c) The department shall establish the requirements for
a six-week introduction to teaching course for persons
interested in becoming subject-matter expert teachers. A
school district or regional educational attendance area may
not employ a person as a subject-matter expert teacher under
this section unless the person has successfully completed the
course within the two years immediately preceding the person's
initial hire by the school district or regional educational
attendance area or unless the person has been employed as a
subject-matter expert teacher in another school district or
regional educational attendance area immediately preceding
employment in the school district or regional educational
attendance area."
Reletter the following subsections accordingly.
Page 3, line 11, following ".":
Insert "At the end of the subject-matter expert teacher's
first year of teaching, the mentor, the teacher, and the principal
of the school in which the subject-matter expert teacher is
teaching shall meet for an evaluation of the strengths and
weaknesses of the teacher's performance as a teacher during the
past year."
SENATOR KELLY explained that Amendment 5 incorporates, into the
qualifications for a subject matter teacher, a six-week pre-course.
CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked if the pre-course would be required before
the person begins.
SENATOR KELLY said it would take place before the person begins
teaching.
SENATOR LEMAN asked if the name "six-week introduction" is
something that has already been developed by the University and is
known or whether that is the expected length of the class.
SENATOR KELLY said it is not something that has been developed.
SENATOR LEMAN asked if a person could compress that course and take
it in half the time if need be.
SENATOR KELLY said he had the same thought. He asked, because four
of the members are also on the Senate Finance Committee, whether
this amendment could be addressed by the Senate Finance Committee
to give him more time to work on it.
SENATOR WILKEN asked for unanimous consent to withdraw Amendment 5.
There being no objection, Amendment 5 was withdrawn.
There being no further discussion or questions, SENATOR LEMAN moved
CSSB 86(HES) from committee with individual recommendations and its
accompanying fiscal note. There being no objection, the motion
carried.
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