SB 225-TEACHER REGISTERED APPRENTICE PROGRAMS  1:45:44 PM CHAIR COSTELLO announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 225 "An Act relating to a paraprofessional training program; creating a teacher resident certificate; creating a teacher residency program; relating to requirements to issue a teacher certificate; relating to subject-matter expert limited teacher certificates; relating to limited teacher certificates; creating a teacher registered apprenticeship program; and creating a teacher registered apprenticeship program fund." She solicited a motion to adopt the committee substitute. 1:46:00 PM SENATOR MICCICHE moved to adopt the work draft committee substitute (CS) for SB 225, work order 32-LS 1439\O, as the working document. 1:46:15 PM CHAIR COSTELLO objected for purposes of an explanation. 1:46:25 PM ED KING, Staff, Senator Roger Holland, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, paraphrased the following changes between version G and version O of SB 225: Page 5, Line 24 Page 8, Line 1 Provides clarifying language regarding the teacher residency program. MR. KING stated the changes to the teacher residency program were made to align to national best standards. Page 9, Line 30  Makes a conforming change to the alternative competency demonstration language added in Section 4. Page 10, Line 9  Adds a technical fix to account for a teacher getting fully certified during the extension of a two-year subject matter expert certificate. Page 11, Line 1 Page 12, Line 17  Restructures the apprenticeship language to more closely align with the new structure of the residency program in Section 2. CHAIR COSTELLO asked for a description of the structure of the residency program and how it would work. MR. KING explained that the residency program provides an alternative path to full certification for individuals who have a college degree, but not in education. A post-graduate teacher preparation program is required to become a fully certified teacher. The teacher residency program creates a way for an individual with a degree to get paid while receiving in-class instruction and doing the necessary course work. This CS provides more definition and makes it more consistent with what other states are doing in their teacher residency programs. CHAIR COSTELLO asked if this affects the Master of Arts in Teaching program. In that program the student is in a school for one day a week for a school year. 1:49:20 PM MR. KING replied this provides a third alternative approach. The typical approach would be to go to school for a year to get a teaching certificate. An existing alternative is the subject matter expert program that allows the student to work as they go to school. This isn't very structured and the data indicates that the turnover is high for individuals who take that approach. The national best practice is to do a structured first year in the classroom with an experienced teacher. The proposed teacher residency program creates a third path as an alternative to the other two. 1:50:10 PM CHAIR COSTELLO removed her objection. Finding no further objection, version O was adopted. CHAIR COSTELLO commented that she was pleased to be looking at alternative ways to hire more teachers, particularly people who were raised in Alaska because they understand the problems. SENATOR MICCICHE agreed and said he believes this will solve problems in both urban and rural Alaska. 1:51:11 PM SENATOR MICCICHE moved to report the CS for SB 225, work order 32-LS 1439\O, from committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s). 1:51:29 PM CHAIR COSTELLO found no objection and CSSB 225(L&C) was reported from the Senate Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.