FIRST REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 639
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR HENDERSON.
2524S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 168.021, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to teacher
certification.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 168.021, RSMo, is repealed an d one new 1
section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 168.021, 2
to read as follows:3
168.021. 1. Certificates of license to teach in the 1
public schools of the state shall be granted as follows: 2
(1) By the state board, under rules a nd regulations 3
prescribed by it: 4
(a) Upon the basis of college credit; 5
(b) Upon the basis of examination; 6
(2) By the state board, under rules and regulations 7
prescribed by the state board with advice from the advisory 8
council established by section 168.015 to any individual who 9
presents to the state board a valid doctoral degree from an 10
accredited institution of higher education accredited by a 11
regional accrediting association such as North Central 12
Association. Such certificate sha ll be limited to the major 13
area of postgraduate study of the holder, shall be issued 14
only after successful completion of the examination required 15
for graduation pursuant to rules adopted by the state board 16
of education, and shall be restricted to those certificates 17 SB 639 2
established pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection 3 of 18
this section; 19
(3) By the state board, which shall issue the 20
professional certificate classification in both the general 21
and specialized areas most closely aligned with the c urrent 22
areas of certification approved by the state board, 23
commensurate with the years of teaching experience of the 24
applicant, and based upon the following criteria: 25
(a) a. Recommendation of a state -approved 26
baccalaureate-level teacher preparat ion program; 27
b. The department of elementary and secondary 28
education shall develop and maintain an eighteen -hour (one 29
thousand eighty minutes) online teacher preparation program 30
related to subjects appropriate for elementary and secondary 31
education settings. Any charitable organization registered 32
in Missouri that is exempt from federal taxation under the 33
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, may submit a 34
teacher preparation program to the department of elementary 35
and secondary education for approval. Once approved, the 36
charitable organization shall be certified to develop and 37
maintain a teacher preparedness program. Approved teacher 38
preparedness programs created by a charitable organization 39
shall be made available by the department of elementary and 40
secondary education. An individual with a bachelor's degree 41
may complete an eighteen -hour online training program, 42
either created by the department or by a charitable 43
organization, and receive a teacher certificate. Such 44
certificate shall not be accepted by Missouri public 45
schools, and nonpublic schools shall not be required to 46
accept the certificate, but shall be accepted by private 47
schools and private school accrediting agencies; 48 SB 639 3
(b) a. Successful attainment of the Misso uri 49
qualifying score on the exit assessment for teachers or 50
administrators designated by the state board of education; 51
b. (i) Applicants who have not successfully achieved 52
a qualifying score on the designated examinations will be 53
issued a two-year nonrenewable provisional certificate; 54
(ii) During the two-year nonrenewable provisional 55
certification, an individual teacher may gain full 56
professional certification by: 57
i. Achieving a qualifying score on the designated 58
exam; or 59
ii. Successfully achieving an acceptable score on the 60
state-approved teacher evaluation system from seven walk - 61
through evaluations, two formative evaluations, and one 62
summative evaluation for each of the two probationary years 63
and being offered a third co ntract by the employing 64
district. For any applicant who has a change in job status 65
because of a reduction in the workforce or a change in life 66
circumstances, the scores required under this item may be 67
scores achieved in any school district during the two-year 68
nonrenewable provisional certification period; and 69
(iii) The employing school district shall recommend to 70
the department of elementary and secondary education that 71
the individual teacher be awarded a full professional 72
certification by the state board under rules prescribed by 73
the state board; and 74
(c) Upon completion of a background check as 75
prescribed in section 168.133 and possession of a valid 76
teaching certificate in the state from which the applicant's 77
teacher preparation pro gram was completed; 78
(4) By the state board, under rules prescribed by it, 79
on the basis of a relevant bachelor's degree, or higher 80 SB 639 4
degree, and a passing score for the designated exit 81
examination, for individuals whose academic degree and 82
professional experience are suitable to provide a basis for 83
instruction solely in the subject matter of banking or 84
financial responsibility, at the discretion of the state 85
board. Such certificate shall be limited to the major area 86
of study of the holder and sh all be restricted to those 87
certificates established under subdivision (2) of subsection 88
3 of this section. Holders of certificates granted under 89
this subdivision shall be exempt from the teacher tenure act 90
under sections 168.102 to 168.130 and each sc hool district 91
shall have the decision -making authority on whether to hire 92
the holders of such certificates; 93
(5) By the state board, under rules and regulations 94
prescribed by it, on the basis of certification by the 95
American Board for Certificatio n of Teacher Excellence 96
(ABCTE) or Teachers of Tomorrow and verification of ability 97
to work with children as demonstrated by sixty contact hours 98
in any one of the following areas as validated by the school 99
principal: sixty contact hours in the classro om, of which 100
at least forty-five must be teaching; sixty contact hours as 101
a substitute teacher, with at least thirty consecutive hours 102
in the same classroom; sixty contact hours of teaching in a 103
private school; or sixty contact hours of teaching as a 104
paraprofessional, for an initial four -year ABCTE or Teachers 105
of Tomorrow certificate of license to teach, except that 106
such certificate shall not be granted for the areas of early 107
childhood education, or special education. For 108
certification in the area of elementary education, ninety 109
contact hours in the classroom shall be required, of which 110
at least thirty shall be in an elementary classroom. Upon 111
the completion of the following requirements, an applicant 112 SB 639 5
shall be eligible to apply for a career co ntinuous 113
professional certificate under subdivision (3) of subsection 114
3 of this section: 115
(a) Completion of thirty contact hours of professional 116
development within four years, which may include hours spent 117
in class in an appropriate college curric ulum; 118
(b) Validated completion of two years of the mentoring 119
program of the American Board for Certification of Teacher 120
Excellence or a district mentoring program approved by the 121
state board of education; 122
(c) Attainment of a successful perfo rmance-based 123
teacher evaluation; and 124
(d) Participation in a beginning teacher assistance 125
program; 126
(6) (a) By the state board, under rules and 127
regulations prescribed by the board, which shall issue an 128
initial visiting scholars certificate a t the discretion of 129
the board, based on the following criteria: 130
a. Verification from the hiring school district that 131
the applicant will be employed as part of a business - 132
education partnership initiative designed to build career 133
pathways systems or employed as part of an initiative 134
designed to fill vacant positions in hard -to-staff public 135
schools or hard-to-fill subject areas for students in a 136
grade or grades not lower than the ninth grade for which the 137
applicant's academic degree or profession al experience 138
qualifies the applicant; 139
b. Appropriate and relevant bachelor's degree or 140
higher, occupational license, or industry -recognized 141
credential; 142
c. Completion of the application for a one -year 143
visiting scholars certificate; and 144 SB 639 6
d. Completion of a background check as prescribed 145
under section 168.133. 146
(b) The initial visiting scholars certificate shall 147
certify the holder of such certificate to teach for one 148
year. An applicant shall be eligible to renew an initial 149
visiting scholars certificate a maximum of two times, based 150
upon the completion of the requirements listed under 151
subparagraphs a., b., and d. of paragraph (a) of this 152
subdivision; completion of professional development required 153
by the school district and sc hool; and attainment of a 154
satisfactory performance -based teacher evaluation; or 155
(7) By the state board, which shall issue an 156
additional professional subject -area certification for 157
specific content knowledge or for a specialty area to a 158
certificate holder who: 159
(a) Applies for an additional professional subject - 160
area certification; 161
(b) Successfully achieves an acceptable score on the 162
state-approved teacher evaluation system from seven walk - 163
through evaluations, two formative evaluations , and one 164
summative evaluation of the applicant teaching specific 165
content knowledge or the specialty area for which the 166
additional professional subject -area certification is sought; 167
(c) Receives a recommendation from the applicant's 168
employing school district that the applicant be awarded an 169
additional professional subject -area certification by the 170
state board under rules prescribed by the state board; and 171
(d) Completes a background check as prescribed in 172
section 168.133. 173
2. All valid teaching certificates issued pursuant to 174
law or state board policies and regulations prior to 175
September 1, 1988, shall be exempt from the professional 176 SB 639 7
development requirements of this section and shall continue 177
in effect until they expire, are revoke d or suspended, as 178
provided by law. When such certificates are required to be 179
renewed, the state board or its designee shall grant to each 180
holder of such a certificate the certificate most nearly 181
equivalent to the one so held. Anyone who holds, as of 182
August 28, 2003, a valid PC -I, PC-II, or continuous 183
professional certificate shall, upon expiration of such 184
person's current certificate, be issued the appropriate 185
level of certificate based upon the classification system 186
established pursuant to subs ection 3 of this section. 187
3. (1) Certificates of license to teach in the public 188
schools of the state shall be based upon minimum 189
requirements prescribed by the state board of education 190
which shall include completion of a background check as 191
prescribed in section 168.133. The state board shall 192
provide for the following levels of professional 193
certification: an initial professional certificate and a 194
career continuous professional certificate. 195
(2) The initial professional certificate shall be 196
issued upon completion of requirements established by the 197
state board of education and shall be valid based upon 198
verification of actual teaching within a specified time 199
period established by the state board of education. The 200
state board shall req uire holders of the four -year initial 201
professional certificate to: 202
(a) Participate in a mentoring program approved and 203
provided by the district for a minimum of two years; 204
(b) Complete thirty contact hours of professional 205
development, which may include hours spent in class in an 206
appropriate college curriculum, or for holders of a 207
certificate under subdivision (4) of subsection 1 of this 208 SB 639 8
section, an amount of professional development in proportion 209
to the certificate holder's hours in the c lassroom, if the 210
certificate holder is employed less than full time; and 211
(c) Participate in a beginning teacher assistance 212
program. 213
(3) (a) The career continuous professional 214
certificate shall be issued upon verification of completion 215
of four years of teaching under the initial professional 216
certificate and upon verification of the completion of the 217
requirements articulated in paragraphs (a) to (c) of 218
subdivision (2) of this subsection or paragraphs (a) to (d) 219
of subdivision (5) of subse ction 1 of this section. 220
(b) The career continuous professional certificate 221
shall be continuous based upon verification of actual 222
employment in an educational position as provided for in 223
state board guidelines and completion of fifteen contact 224
hours of professional development per year which may include 225
hours spent in class in an appropriate college curriculum. 226
Should the possessor of a valid career continuous 227
professional certificate fail, in any given year, to meet 228
the fifteen-hour professional development requirement, the 229
possessor may, within two years, make up the missing hours. 230
In order to make up for missing hours, the possessor shall 231
first complete the fifteen -hour requirement for the current 232
year and then may count hours in exces s of the current year 233
requirement as make-up hours. Should the possessor fail to 234
make up the missing hours within two years, the certificate 235
shall become inactive. In order to reactivate the 236
certificate, the possessor shall complete twenty -four 237
contact hours of professional development which may include 238
hours spent in the classroom in an appropriate college 239
curriculum within the six months prior to or after 240 SB 639 9
reactivating the possessor's certificate. The requirements 241
of this paragraph shall be mon itored and verified by the 242
local school district which employs the holder of the career 243
continuous professional certificate. 244
(c) A holder of a career continuous professional 245
certificate shall be exempt from the professional 246
development contact ho ur requirements of paragraph (b) of 247
this subdivision if such teacher has a local professional 248
development plan in place within such teacher's school 249
district and meets two of the three following criteria: 250
a. Has ten years of teaching experience as defined by 251
the state board of education; 252
b. Possesses a master's degree; or 253
c. Obtains a rigorous national certification as 254
approved by the state board of education. 255
4. Policies and procedures shall be established by 256
which a teacher who was not retained due to a reduction in 257
force may retain the current level of certification. There 258
shall also be established policies and procedures allowing a 259
teacher who has not been employed in an educational position 260
for three years or more to r eactivate the teacher's last 261
level of certification by completing twenty -four contact 262
hours of professional development which may include hours 263
spent in the classroom in an appropriate college curriculum 264
within the six months prior to or after reactiva ting the 265
teacher's certificate. 266
5. The state board shall, upon completion of a 267
background check as prescribed in section 168.133, issue a 268
professional certificate classification in the areas most 269
closely aligned with an applicant's current areas of 270
certification, commensurate with the years of teaching 271
experience of the applicant, to any person who is hired to 272 SB 639 10
teach in a public school in this state and who possesses a 273
valid teaching certificate from another state or 274
certification under subdiv ision (4) of subsection 1 of this 275
section, provided that the certificate holder shall annually 276
complete the state board's requirements for such level of 277
certification, and shall establish policies by which 278
residents of states other than the state of Mi ssouri may be 279
assessed a fee for a certificate of license to teach in the 280
public schools of Missouri. Such fee shall be in an amount 281
sufficient to recover any or all costs associated with the 282
issuing of a certificate of license to teach. The board 283
shall promulgate rules to authorize the issuance of a 284
provisional certificate of license, which shall be valid for 285
three years and shall allow the holder to assume classroom 286
duties pending the completion of a criminal background check 287
under section 168.133, for any applicant who: 288
(1) Is the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces 289
stationed in Missouri; 290
(2) Relocated from another state within one year of 291
the date of application; 292
(3) Underwent a criminal background check in order to 293
be issued a teaching certificate of license from another 294
state; and 295
(4) Otherwise qualifies under this section. 296
6. The state board may assess to holders of an initial 297
professional certificate a fee, to be deposited into the 298
excellence in educat ion fund established pursuant to section 299
160.268, for the issuance of the career continuous 300
professional certificate. However, such fee shall not 301
exceed the combined costs of issuance and any criminal 302
background check required as a condition of issuan ce. 303
Applicants for the initial ABCTE certificate shall be 304 SB 639 11
responsible for any fees associated with the program leading 305
to the issuance of the certificate, but nothing in this 306
section shall prohibit a district from developing a policy 307
that permits fee reimbursement. 308
7. Any member of the public school retirement system 309
of Missouri who entered covered employment with ten or more 310
years of educational experience in another state or states 311
and held a certificate issued by another state and 312
subsequently worked in a school district covered by the 313
public school retirement system of Missouri for ten or more 314
years who later became certificated in Missouri shall have 315
that certificate dated back to the member's original date of 316
employment in a Missour i public school. 317
8. Within thirty days of receiving an application from 318
a spouse of an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the 319
United States who has been transferred or is scheduled to be 320
transferred to the state of Missouri, or who has been 321
transferred or is scheduled to be transferred to an adjacent 322
state and is or will be domiciled in the state of Missouri, 323
or has moved to the state of Missouri on a permanent change - 324
of-station basis and has successfully completed the 325
background check described under subsection 5 of this 326
section and section 168.133, the state board shall issue to 327
such applicant a full certificate of license to teach, 328
provided that the applicant has paid all necessary fees and 329
has otherwise met all requirements to be issued such a 330
certificate. 331