SB 136: "An Act relating to teacher certificates and teacher preparation programs; and providing for an effective date."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 136 01 "An Act relating to teacher certificates and teacher preparation programs; and 02 providing for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 14.20.020(b) is amended to read: 05 (b) A person is not eligible for a teacher certificate unless that person has 06 received at least a baccalaureate degree from an institution of higher education 07 accredited nationally or by a recognized regional accrediting association or approved 08 by the commissioner and, if applicable, has passed the examination or examinations 09 required by (i) of this section. However, this subsection is not applicable to 10 (1) persons employed in the state public school system on 11 September 1, 1962; 12 (2) persons issued an emergency certificate during a situation that, in 13 the judgment of the commissioner, requires the temporary issuance of a certificate to a 14 person not otherwise qualified.
01 * Sec. 2. AS 14.20.020(c) is amended to read: 02 (c) The board may establish by regulation additional requirements for the 03 issuance of certificates. The regulations must allow the board to issue a teacher 04 certificate to a person who has successfully completed a teacher preparation 05 program approved under (m) of this section. The board shall require teachers to 06 submit fingerprints and the fees required by the Department of Public Safety under 07 AS 12.62.160 for criminal justice information and a national criminal history record 08 check. The board shall submit the fingerprints and fees to the Department of Public 09 Safety for a report of criminal justice information under AS 12.62 and a national 10 criminal history record check under AS 12.62.400. The department shall establish by 11 regulation the fees to be charged for each certificate and for other charges assessed 12 against teachers as part of certification. In establishing the fees to be charged, the 13 department shall establish the fee levels so that the total amount of the fees collected 14 relating to the certification of teachers approximately equals, when added to the other 15 fees collected from teachers, the actual regulatory costs for certifying and disciplining 16 teachers in the state. The department shall annually review each fee level to determine 17 whether the regulatory costs are approximately equal to fee collections. If the review 18 indicates that fee collections and regulatory costs are not approximately equal, the 19 department shall calculate fee adjustments to the fees for certification of teachers and 20 adopt regulations under this subsection to implement the adjustments. In January of 21 each year, the department shall report on all fee levels and revisions for the previous 22 year under this subsection to the office of management and budget. The department 23 shall consider the board's recommendations concerning the fee levels and regulatory 24 costs before revising fee schedules to comply with this subsection. In this subsection, 25 "regulatory costs" means costs of the department that are attributable to regulation of 26 the teaching profession, including the portion of the expenses of the board that are 27 attributable to the regulation of the teaching profession and the expenses of the 28 Professional Teaching Practices Commission. 29 * Sec. 3. AS 14.20.020 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 30 (m) The board shall establish standards for the approval of teacher preparation 31 programs. The standards must
01 (1) be comparable to the standards for approving teacher preparation 02 programs through a national organization recognized by the Council for Higher 03 Education Accreditation or an organization approved by the commissioner; and 04 (2) allow the board to approve a teacher preparation program offered 05 by an organization that has operated a teacher preparation program for at least five 06 years and that operates a teacher preparation program in at least five states. 07 * Sec. 4. AS 14.20.022(b) is amended to read: 08 (b) To be eligible for a subject-matter expert limited teacher certificate, a 09 person shall 10 (1) hold at least a baccalaureate degree from an institution of higher 11 education accredited by a recognized regional or national accrediting association or 12 approved by the commissioner and 13 (A) have majored or minored in the subject that the person will 14 be teaching; or 15 (B) have at least five years of experience in the subject matter 16 that the person will be teaching; 17 (2) have submitted fingerprints and the fees required by the 18 Department of Public Safety under AS 12.62.160 for criminal justice information and 19 a national criminal history record check to the department; the department must have 20 submitted the fingerprints and fees to the Department of Public Safety for a report of 21 criminal justice information under AS 12.62 and a national criminal history record 22 check under AS 12.62.400 and the person must have been found by the department to 23 be suitable for employment as a teacher under AS 14.20.020(f); and 24 (3) be currently enrolled in an approved 25 (A) post-baccalaureate teacher education program at a 26 nationally or regionally accredited institution meeting the requirements of 27 AS 14.20.020(b) that provides for completion of the regular teacher certificate 28 education requirements within two years after receipt of a subject-matter 29 expert limited teacher certificate under this section; or 30 (B) a teacher preparation program approved under 31 AS 14.20.020(m).