00SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 145(FIN)                                                                            
01 "An Act relating to certification of teachers; and providing for an effective date."                                    
02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
03    * Section 1.  AS 14.20.020(b) is amended to read:                                                                    
04  (b)  A person is not eligible for a teacher certificate unless that person has                                        
05 received at least a baccalaureate degree from an institution of higher education                                        
06 accredited by a recognized regional accrediting association or approved by the                                          
07 commissioner and, if applicable, has passed the examination or examinations                                            
08 required by (i) of this section.  However, this subsection is not applicable to                                        
09   (1)  persons employed in the state public school system on September 1,                                              
10 1962;                                                                                                                   
11   (2)  persons issued an emergency certificate during a situation that                                               
12 [WHICH], in the judgment of the commissioner, requires the temporary issuance of                                        
13 a certificate to a person not otherwise qualified.                                                                      
14    * Sec. 2.  AS 14.20.020(c) is amended to read:                                                                       

01  (c)  The board may establish by regulation additional requirements for the                                            
02 issuance of certificates.  The department shall establish by regulation [,                                            
03 INCLUDING] the fees to be charged for each certificate, including fees for criminal                                    
04 history background checks and for other charges assessed against teachers as part                                       
05 of certification.  In establishing the fees to be charged, the department shall                                         
06 establish the fee levels so that the total amount of the fees collected relating to the                                 
07 certification of teachers approximately equals, when added to the other fees                                            
08 collected from teachers, the actual regulatory costs for certifying and disciplining                                    
09 teachers in the state.  The department shall annually review each fee level to                                          
10 determine whether the regulatory costs are approximately equal to fee collections.                                      
11 If the review indicates that fee collections and regulatory costs are not                                               
12 approximately equal, the department shall calculate fee adjustments to the fees                                         
13 for certification of teachers and adopt regulations under this subsection to                                            
14 implement the adjustments.  In January of each year, the department shall report                                        
15 on all fee levels and revisions for the previous year under this subsection to the                                      
16 office of management and budget.  The department shall consider the board's                                             
17 recommendations concerning the fee levels and regulatory costs before revising                                          
18 fee schedules to comply with this subsection.  In this subsection, "regulatory                                          
19 costs" means costs of the department that are attributable to regulation of the                                         
20 teaching profession, including the portion of the expenses of the board that are                                        
21 attributable to the regulation of the teaching profession and the expenses of the                                       
22 Professional Teaching Practices Commission.                                                                            
23    * Sec. 3.  AS 14.20.020 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:                                               
24  (i)  Beginning on July 1, 1998, a person is not eligible for an initial regular                                       
25 teacher certificate unless the person has taken and successfully completed a                                            
26 competency examination or examinations designated, at the time the person took the                                      
27 test, by the board.  The board shall review nationally recognized examinations that are                                 
28 designed to test the competency of new teachers and shall designate those                                               
29 examinations that it finds adequately test the skills and abilities of new teachers.  For                               
30 each examination designated under this subsection, the board shall establish the                                        
31 minimum acceptable level of performance.                                                                                

01    * Sec. 4.  The requirements for examination established in secs. 1 and 3 of this Act do not                          
02 apply to a teacher who holds a valid regular teacher certificate on the effective date of secs.                         
03 1 and 3 of this Act.                                                                                                    
04    * Sec. 5.  The Department of Education shall report to the legislature by March 1, 1998,                             
05 on the examinations the department has selected in compliance with AS 14.20.020(i), enacted                             
06 by sec. 3 of this Act.  The department shall also report to the legislature by March 1, 1999,                           
07 on the progress made in using competency examinations in issuing initial regular teacher                                
08 certificates.                                                                                                           
09    * Sec. 6.  Section 2 of this Act takes effect July 1, 1998.