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| 27 | 27 | | 25 |
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| 28 | 28 | | HOUSE BILL 556 |
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| 29 | 29 | | 57TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 2025 |
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| 30 | 30 | | INTRODUCED BY |
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| 31 | 31 | | Rebecca Dow |
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| 32 | 32 | | AN ACT |
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| 33 | 33 | | RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOL PERSONNEL; INCLUDING COMMUNITY HEALTH |
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| 34 | 34 | | WORKERS IN THE DEFINITION OF AND LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR |
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| 35 | 35 | | "INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDERS". |
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| 36 | 36 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO: |
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| 37 | 37 | | SECTION 1. Section 22-1-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003, |
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| 38 | 38 | | Chapter 153, Section 3, as amended by Laws 2019, Chapter 206, |
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| 39 | 39 | | Section 1 and by Laws 2019, Chapter 207, Section 1) is amended |
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| 40 | 40 | | to read: |
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| 41 | 41 | | "22-1-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Public School Code: |
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| 42 | 42 | | A. "academic proficiency" means mastery of the |
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| 43 | 43 | | subject-matter knowledge and skills specified in state academic |
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| 44 | 44 | | content and performance standards for a student's grade level; |
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| 45 | 45 | | B. "charter school" means a school authorized by a |
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| 46 | 46 | | chartering authority to operate as a public school; |
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| 47 | 47 | | .229352.1 underscored material = new |
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| 48 | 48 | | [bracketed material] = delete |
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| 74 | 74 | | C. "commission" means the public education |
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| 75 | 75 | | commission; |
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| 76 | 76 | | D. "department" means the public education |
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| 77 | 77 | | department; |
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| 78 | 78 | | E. "home school" means the operation by the parent |
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| 79 | 79 | | of a school-age person of a home study program of instruction |
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| 80 | 80 | | that provides a basic academic educational program, including |
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| 81 | 81 | | reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies and |
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| 82 | 82 | | science; |
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| 83 | 83 | | F. "instructional support provider" means a person |
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| 84 | 84 | | who is employed to support the instructional program of a |
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| 85 | 85 | | school district, including educational assistant, school |
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| 86 | 86 | | counselor, social worker, school nurse, speech-language |
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| 87 | 87 | | pathologist, psychologist, physical therapist, occupational |
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| 88 | 88 | | therapist, recreational therapist, marriage and family |
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| 89 | 89 | | therapist, interpreter for the deaf, [and ] diagnostician and |
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| 90 | 90 | | community health worker ; |
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| 91 | 91 | | G. "licensed school employee" means teachers, |
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| 92 | 92 | | school administrators and instructional support providers; |
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| 93 | 93 | | H. "local school board" means the policy-setting |
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| 94 | 94 | | body of a school district; |
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| 95 | 95 | | I. "local superintendent" means the chief executive |
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| 96 | 96 | | officer of a school district; |
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| 97 | 97 | | J. "parent" includes a guardian or other person |
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| 98 | 98 | | having custody and control of a school-age person; |
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| 99 | 99 | | .229352.1 |
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| 100 | 100 | | - 2 - underscored material = new |
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| 101 | 101 | | [bracketed material] = delete |
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| 127 | 127 | | K. "private school" means a school, other than a |
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| 128 | 128 | | home school, that offers on-site programs of instruction and |
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| 129 | 129 | | that is not under the control, supervision or management of a |
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| 130 | 130 | | local school board; |
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| 131 | 131 | | L. "public school" means that part of a school |
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| 132 | 132 | | district that is a single attendance center in which |
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| 133 | 133 | | instruction is offered by one or more teachers and is |
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| 134 | 134 | | discernible as a building or group of buildings generally |
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| 135 | 135 | | recognized as either an elementary, middle, junior high or high |
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| 136 | 136 | | school or any combination of those and includes a charter |
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| 137 | 137 | | school; |
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| 138 | 138 | | M. "school" means a supervised program of |
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| 139 | 139 | | instruction designed to educate a student in a particular |
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| 140 | 140 | | place, manner and subject area; |
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| 141 | 141 | | N. "school administrator" means a person licensed |
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| 142 | 142 | | to administer in a school district and includes school |
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| 143 | 143 | | principals, central district administrators and charter school |
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| 144 | 144 | | head administrators; |
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| 145 | 145 | | O. "school-age person" means a person who is at |
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| 146 | 146 | | least five years of age prior to 12:01 a.m. on September 1 of |
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| 147 | 147 | | the school year, who has not received a high school diploma or |
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| 148 | 148 | | its equivalent and who has not reached the person's twenty- |
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| 149 | 149 | | second birthday on the first day of the school year and meets |
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| 150 | 150 | | other criteria provided in the Public School Finance Act; |
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| 151 | 151 | | P. "school building" means a public school, an |
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| 152 | 152 | | .229352.1 |
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| 153 | 153 | | - 3 - underscored material = new |
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| 154 | 154 | | [bracketed material] = delete |
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| 180 | 180 | | administration building and related school structures or |
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| 181 | 181 | | facilities, including teacher housing, that is owned, acquired |
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| 182 | 182 | | or constructed by the school district as necessary to carry out |
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| 183 | 183 | | the functions of the school district; |
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| 184 | 184 | | Q. "school bus private owner" means a person, other |
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| 185 | 185 | | than a school district, the department, the state or any other |
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| 186 | 186 | | political subdivision of the state, that owns a school bus; |
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| 187 | 187 | | R. "school district" means an area of land |
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| 188 | 188 | | established as a political subdivision of the state for the |
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| 189 | 189 | | administration of public schools and segregated geographically |
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| 190 | 190 | | for taxation and bonding purposes; |
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| 191 | 191 | | S. "school employee" includes licensed and |
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| 192 | 192 | | nonlicensed employees of a school district; |
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| 193 | 193 | | T. "school principal" means the chief instructional |
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| 194 | 194 | | leader and administrative head of a public school; |
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| 195 | 195 | | U. "school year" means the total number of contract |
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| 196 | 196 | | days offered by public schools in a school district during a |
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| 197 | 197 | | period of twelve consecutive months; |
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| 198 | 198 | | V. "secretary" means the secretary of public |
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| 199 | 199 | | education; |
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| 200 | 200 | | W. "state agency" or "state institution" means the |
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| 201 | 201 | | New Mexico military institute, New Mexico school for the blind |
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| 202 | 202 | | and visually impaired, New Mexico school for the deaf, New |
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| 203 | 203 | | Mexico boys' school, girls' welfare home, New Mexico youth |
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| 204 | 204 | | diagnostic and development center, Sequoyah adolescent |
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| 205 | 205 | | .229352.1 |
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| 206 | 206 | | - 4 - underscored material = new |
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| 207 | 207 | | [bracketed material] = delete |
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| 233 | 233 | | treatment center, Carrie Tingley crippled children's hospital, |
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| 234 | 234 | | New Mexico behavioral health institute at Las Vegas and any |
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| 235 | 235 | | other state agency responsible for educating resident children; |
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| 236 | 236 | | X. "state educational institution" means an |
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| 237 | 237 | | institution enumerated in Article 12, Section 11 of the |
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| 238 | 238 | | constitution of New Mexico; |
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| 239 | 239 | | Y. "substitute teacher" means a person who holds a |
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| 240 | 240 | | certificate to substitute for a teacher in the classroom; |
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| 241 | 241 | | Z. "teacher" means a person who holds a level one, |
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| 242 | 242 | | two or three-A license and whose primary duty is classroom |
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| 243 | 243 | | instruction or the supervision, below the school principal |
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| 244 | 244 | | level, of an instructional program or whose duties include |
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| 245 | 245 | | curriculum development, peer intervention, peer coaching or |
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| 246 | 246 | | mentoring or serving as a resource teacher for other teachers; |
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| 247 | 247 | | AA. "certified school instructor" means a licensed |
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| 248 | 248 | | school employee; and |
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| 249 | 249 | | BB. "certified school employee" or "certified |
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| 250 | 250 | | school personnel" means a licensed school employee." |
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| 251 | 251 | | SECTION 2. Section 22-10A-17 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003, |
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| 252 | 252 | | Chapter 153, Section 48, as amended) is amended to read: |
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| 253 | 253 | | "22-10A-17. INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDER LICENSES.-- |
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| 254 | 254 | | A. The following instructional support providers |
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| 255 | 255 | | shall obtain appropriate licensure from the department: |
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| 256 | 256 | | educational assistants, school counselors, school social |
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| 257 | 257 | | workers, school nurses, speech-language pathologists, |
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| 258 | 258 | | .229352.1 |
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| 259 | 259 | | - 5 - underscored material = new |
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| 286 | 286 | | psychologists, physical therapists, physical therapy |
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| 287 | 287 | | assistants, occupational therapists, occupational therapy |
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| 288 | 288 | | assistants, recreational therapists, marriage and family |
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| 289 | 289 | | therapists, interpreters for the deaf, diagnosticians, |
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| 290 | 290 | | attendance coaches, practical nurses, school health assistants, |
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| 291 | 291 | | school business officials, rehabilitation counselors, athletic |
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| 292 | 292 | | coaches, educational alcohol and drug abuse counselors, [and ] |
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| 293 | 293 | | substance abuse associates and community health workers . The |
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| 294 | 294 | | department may provide a professional licensing framework in |
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| 295 | 295 | | which licensees can advance in their careers through the |
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| 296 | 296 | | demonstration of increased competencies and the undertaking of |
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| 297 | 297 | | increased duties. |
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| 298 | 298 | | B. The department shall provide by rule for the |
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| 299 | 299 | | licensure requirements for any instructional support providers. |
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| 300 | 300 | | If an instructional support provider practices a licensed |
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| 301 | 301 | | profession, the provider shall provide evidence satisfactory to |
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| 302 | 302 | | the department that the provider holds a current, unsuspended |
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| 303 | 303 | | license in the profession for which the provider is applying to |
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| 304 | 304 | | provide instructional support services. |
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| 305 | 305 | | C. An instructional support provider licensed by |
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| 306 | 306 | | the department shall also hold a valid professional license or |
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| 307 | 307 | | certificate issued by the instructional support provider's |
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| 308 | 308 | | respective licensing or certifying authority, if applicable, |
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| 309 | 309 | | and shall continuously hold such underlying professional |
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| 310 | 310 | | licensure or certification for as long as the instructional |
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| 311 | 311 | | .229352.1 |
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| 312 | 312 | | - 6 - underscored material = new |
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| 339 | 339 | | support provider holds licensure issued by the department. |
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| 340 | 340 | | D. If the underlying professional license or |
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| 341 | 341 | | certificate for any reason expires, is suspended, is revoked or |
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| 342 | 342 | | is denied, a person seeking or holding an instructional support |
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| 343 | 343 | | provider license shall notify the department in writing within |
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| 344 | 344 | | fourteen calendar days of such suspension, revocation, denial |
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| 345 | 345 | | or expiration. |
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| 346 | 346 | | E. Suspension, revocation, denial or expiration of |
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| 347 | 347 | | an underlying professional license or certificate, or failure |
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| 348 | 348 | | to notify the department of such, shall constitute just cause |
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| 349 | 349 | | for discharge or termination from employment and for |
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| 350 | 350 | | suspension, revocation or denial of an instructional support |
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| 351 | 351 | | provider license." |
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| 352 | 352 | | - 7 - |
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| 353 | 353 | | .229352.1 |
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