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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 58th Legislature (202 2)
HOUSE BILL 3908 By: Pfeiffer
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to teachers; amending 70 O.S. 2021,
Section 6-187, which relates to teacher
certification; authorizing State Board of E ducation
to annually renew emergency or provisional
certificates of certain individuals; and providing an
effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PE OPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOM A:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Secti on 6-187, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 6-187. A. Prior to July 1, 2014, a competency
examination shall be adopted by the Oklahoma Commission for T eacher
Preparation and begin ning July 1, 2014, a competency examination
shall be adopted by the Co mmission for Educational Quality and
Accountability for t he general education, professional education and
various subject areas and grade levels for purposes of ensuring
academic achievement and competency of each teacher candidate or
teacher in the subjec t area the person is seeking certification to
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teach which shall also include certification as an administrator, as
prescribed by the State Board of Education.
The Commission, consistent with the purposes of this section,
shall promulgate rules and procedur es to guarantee the
confidentiality of examinat ions.
B. No teacher candidate shall be eligible for certification
until successfully completing the competency examination except
those candidates who make application to the State Board and meet
the criteria for the alternative placement program pursuant to
Section 6-122.3 of this title. Certification shall be limited to
areas of approval in which the certified teacher has successfully
completed the examination. Subject to the provisions of subsection
C of this section, testing for certification for sub jects in which a
teacher candidate or teacher is seeking a minor teaching assignment
or an endorsement to teach shall be limited to the spe cific subject
area test.
A teacher candidate or teacher may take the g eneral education,
professional education or sub ject area portions of the examination
subject to any limit imposed by the Commission.
C. 1. Except as otherwi se provided for in this subs ection, a
teacher may be certified in as many areas as the teacher mee ts the
necessary requirements provided by law a nd has successfully
completed the subject area portion of the examination.
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2. Except as otherwise provided for in this paragraph,
certification in early childhood, elementary, or special education
shall require completion of an appropriate teacher educati on program
approved by the Commission.
Any teacher who is certified to teach elementary education may
be certified in early childhood educa tion upon meeting the
requirements provided in law and successful comp letion of the
appropriate subject area portion of the examination. Any teacher
who is certified to teach early childhood education may be certified
in elementary education upon meeting the requirements provided in
law and successful completion of the appr opriate subject area
portion of the examination . Any special education teacher who
becomes certified to teach through completion of an accredited
teacher preparation program may be cert ified in early childhood or
elementary education upon meeting the requ irements provided in law
and successful complet ion of the appropriate subject portion of the
examination. Any teacher who becomes certified to teach through
completion of an accredited teacher preparation program or becomes
alternatively certified to teac h through the Troops to Teachers
program may be certified in special education upon meeting the
requirements provided in law and successful completion of the
appropriate subject area por tion of the examination. Any special
education teacher who has not co mpleted a Commission -approved
teacher education program in elementary education or early childhood
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education but who has successfully completed the subject ar ea
portion of the examinatio n may be certified in elementary education
or early childhood educatio n for the purpose of providing direct
instruction and serving as the teacher of record for grading
purposes in special education settings only.
D. The Commission shall offer the compete ncy examination at
least four times per calendar year on dates to be e stablished by the
Commission.
E. If a teacher candidate or teacher is a non -native-English
speaker, the Commission shall offer the subject area competency
examination in the native lang uage of the teacher candidate or
teacher only if the teacher candidate or teacher is employed or has
been offered employment by a school district as a teacher in a
foreign language immersion program offered by the school distric t.
If a non-native-English speaker who has received certification in a
subject area after taking the subject area competency examination in
the native language of the speaker seeks to add a certification area
in the future and that person is no longer emp loyed as a teacher in
a foreign language immersion program, the examination for the
additional certification area shall be taken in English. The State
Board of Education shall issue a restricted license or certificate
to any teacher who has completed a su bject area competency
examination in the native language of the teacher as provided for in
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this subsection restricting the teacher to teaching on ly in a
foreign language immersion program.
F. The State Board of Education, in consultation with the
Commission for Educational Quality a nd Accountability, may grant an
exception to the requirement to comple te a subject area examination
for initial certification in a field which does not require an
advanced degree if the candidate has an advanced degree in a subj ect
that is substantially co mparable to the content assessed on a
subject area examination. The a dvanced degree shall be from an
institution accredited by a national or regional accrediting agency
which is recognized by the Secretary of the United States Department
of Education. The Commission shall provide the Board with the
necessary information to determine comparability.
G. 1. Nothing in the Oklahoma Teacher Preparation Act shall
restrict the right of the State Board of Education to issue an
emergency or provisional certificat e, as needed. Provided, however,
prior to the issuance of an emergenc y certificate, the distric t
shall document substantial efforts to employ a teacher who holds a
provisional or standard certificate. In the event a district i s
unable to hire an individu al meeting this criteria, the district
shall document efforts to emplo y an individual with a pro visional or
standard certificate in another curricular area with academic
preparation in the field of need. Only after these altern atives
have been exhausted shall the district be allowed to employ an
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individual meeting minimum s tandards as established by the State
Board of Education for the issuance of emergency certificates.
2. The State Board of Education may renew the emergency o r
provisional certificate of an individual who has been employed by a
school district board of edu cation for at least two (2) years if the
following criteria are met:
a. the individual has been granted an emergency or
provisional certificate pursuant to pa ragraph 1 of
this subsection for two (2) years,
b. the individual has not successfully completed t he
competency examinations required by this section,
c. the individual submits a portfolio of his or her work
to the State Board of Education, which shall inc lude
evidence of progress to ward standard certification,
d. the employing school district board of education
agrees to renew the individual 's contract to teach for
the ensuing fiscal year, and
e. the superintendent of the employing school district
submits to the State Board of Educat ion the reason the
emergency or provisional certificate should be rene wed
and provides evidence of the district 's inability to
hire a teacher who holds a standard certificate.
3. The State Board of Education may annually renew the
emergency or provisional certificate of an individual who has been
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employed by a school distri ct board of education for two (2) two-
year periods as provided in paragraph 2 of this subsection, if the
individual meets the criteria provided in paragraph 2 of t his
subsection and the individual has not successfully completed the
competency examinations required by this section .
4. Individuals employed by a school district under an emergency
or provisional certificate shall not be considered career teachers
and therefore not entitled t o the protections of the Teacher Due
Process Act of 1990.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2022.
58-2-9959 EK 01/10/22