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28	28	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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30	30	2nd Session of the 58th Legislature (202 2)
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32	32	HOUSE BILL 3908 By: Pfeiffer
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38	38	AS INTRODUCED
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40	40	An Act relating to teachers; amending 70 O.S. 2021,
41	41	Section 6-187, which relates to teacher
42	42	certification; authorizing State Board of E ducation
43	43	to annually renew emergency or provisional
44	44	certificates of certain individuals; and providing an
45	45	effective date.
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52	52	BE IT ENACTED BY THE PE OPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOM A:
53	53	SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Secti on 6-187, is
54	54	amended to read as follows:
55	55	Section 6-187. A. Prior to July 1, 2014, a competency
56	56	examination shall be adopted by the Oklahoma Commission for T eacher
57	57	Preparation and begin ning July 1, 2014, a competency examination
58	58	shall be adopted by the Co mmission for Educational Quality and
59	59	Accountability for t he general education, professional education and
60	60	various subject areas and grade levels for purposes of ensuring
61	61	academic achievement and competency of each teacher candidate or
62	62	teacher in the subjec t area the person is seeking certification to
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89	89	teach which shall also include certification as an administrator, as
90	90	prescribed by the State Board of Education.
91	91	The Commission, consistent with the purposes of this section,
92	92	shall promulgate rules and procedur es to guarantee the
93	93	confidentiality of examinat ions.
94	94	B. No teacher candidate shall be eligible for certification
95	95	until successfully completing the competency examination except
96	96	those candidates who make application to the State Board and meet
97	97	the criteria for the alternative placement program pursuant to
98	98	Section 6-122.3 of this title. Certification shall be limited to
99	99	areas of approval in which the certified teacher has successfully
100	100	completed the examination. Subject to the provisions of subsection
101	101	C of this section, testing for certification for sub jects in which a
102	102	teacher candidate or teacher is seeking a minor teaching assignment
103	103	or an endorsement to teach shall be limited to the spe cific subject
104	104	area test.
105	105	A teacher candidate or teacher may take the g eneral education,
106	106	professional education or sub ject area portions of the examination
107	107	subject to any limit imposed by the Commission.
108	108	C. 1. Except as otherwi se provided for in this subs ection, a
109	109	teacher may be certified in as many areas as the teacher mee ts the
110	110	necessary requirements provided by law a nd has successfully
111	111	completed the subject area portion of the examination.
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138	138	2. Except as otherwise provided for in this paragraph,
139	139	certification in early childhood, elementary, or special education
140	140	shall require completion of an appropriate teacher educati on program
141	141	approved by the Commission.
142	142	Any teacher who is certified to teach elementary education may
143	143	be certified in early childhood educa tion upon meeting the
144	144	requirements provided in law and successful comp letion of the
145	145	appropriate subject area portion of the examination. Any teacher
146	146	who is certified to teach early childhood education may be certified
147	147	in elementary education upon meeting the requirements provided in
148	148	law and successful completion of the appr opriate subject area
149	149	portion of the examination . Any special education teacher who
150	150	becomes certified to teach through completion of an accredited
151	151	teacher preparation program may be cert ified in early childhood or
152	152	elementary education upon meeting the requ irements provided in law
153	153	and successful complet ion of the appropriate subject portion of the
154	154	examination. Any teacher who becomes certified to teach through
155	155	completion of an accredited teacher preparation program or becomes
156	156	alternatively certified to teac h through the Troops to Teachers
157	157	program may be certified in special education upon meeting the
158	158	requirements provided in law and successful completion of the
159	159	appropriate subject area por tion of the examination. Any special
160	160	education teacher who has not co mpleted a Commission -approved
161	161	teacher education program in elementary education or early childhood
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188	188	education but who has successfully completed the subject ar ea
189	189	portion of the examinatio n may be certified in elementary education
190	190	or early childhood educatio n for the purpose of providing direct
191	191	instruction and serving as the teacher of record for grading
192	192	purposes in special education settings only.
193	193	D. The Commission shall offer the compete ncy examination at
194	194	least four times per calendar year on dates to be e stablished by the
195	195	Commission.
196	196	E. If a teacher candidate or teacher is a non -native-English
197	197	speaker, the Commission shall offer the subject area competency
198	198	examination in the native lang uage of the teacher candidate or
199	199	teacher only if the teacher candidate or teacher is employed or has
200	200	been offered employment by a school district as a teacher in a
201	201	foreign language immersion program offered by the school distric t.
202	202	If a non-native-English speaker who has received certification in a
203	203	subject area after taking the subject area competency examination in
204	204	the native language of the speaker seeks to add a certification area
205	205	in the future and that person is no longer emp loyed as a teacher in
206	206	a foreign language immersion program, the examination for the
207	207	additional certification area shall be taken in English. The State
208	208	Board of Education shall issue a restricted license or certificate
209	209	to any teacher who has completed a su bject area competency
210	210	examination in the native language of the teacher as provided for in
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237	237	this subsection restricting the teacher to teaching on ly in a
238	238	foreign language immersion program.
239	239	F. The State Board of Education, in consultation with the
240	240	Commission for Educational Quality a nd Accountability, may grant an
241	241	exception to the requirement to comple te a subject area examination
242	242	for initial certification in a field which does not require an
243	243	advanced degree if the candidate has an advanced degree in a subj ect
244	244	that is substantially co mparable to the content assessed on a
245	245	subject area examination. The a dvanced degree shall be from an
246	246	institution accredited by a national or regional accrediting agency
247	247	which is recognized by the Secretary of the United States Department
248	248	of Education. The Commission shall provide the Board with the
249	249	necessary information to determine comparability.
250	250	G. 1. Nothing in the Oklahoma Teacher Preparation Act shall
251	251	restrict the right of the State Board of Education to issue an
252	252	emergency or provisional certificat e, as needed. Provided, however,
253	253	prior to the issuance of an emergenc y certificate, the distric t
254	254	shall document substantial efforts to employ a teacher who holds a
255	255	provisional or standard certificate. In the event a district i s
256	256	unable to hire an individu al meeting this criteria, the district
257	257	shall document efforts to emplo y an individual with a pro visional or
258	258	standard certificate in another curricular area with academic
259	259	preparation in the field of need. Only after these altern atives
260	260	have been exhausted shall the district be allowed to employ an
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287	287	individual meeting minimum s tandards as established by the State
288	288	Board of Education for the issuance of emergency certificates.
289	289	2. The State Board of Education may renew the emergency o r
290	290	provisional certificate of an individual who has been employed by a
291	291	school district board of edu cation for at least two (2) years if the
292	292	following criteria are met:
293	293	a. the individual has been granted an emergency or
294	294	provisional certificate pursuant to pa ragraph 1 of
295	295	this subsection for two (2) years,
296	296	b. the individual has not successfully completed t he
297	297	competency examinations required by this section,
298	298	c. the individual submits a portfolio of his or her work
299	299	to the State Board of Education, which shall inc lude
300	300	evidence of progress to ward standard certification,
301	301	d. the employing school district board of education
302	302	agrees to renew the individual 's contract to teach for
303	303	the ensuing fiscal year, and
304	304	e. the superintendent of the employing school district
305	305	submits to the State Board of Educat ion the reason the
306	306	emergency or provisional certificate should be rene wed
307	307	and provides evidence of the district 's inability to
308	308	hire a teacher who holds a standard certificate.
309	309	3. The State Board of Education may annually renew the
310	310	emergency or provisional certificate of an individual who has been
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337	337	employed by a school distri ct board of education for two (2) two-
338	338	year periods as provided in paragraph 2 of this subsection, if the
339	339	individual meets the criteria provided in paragraph 2 of t his
340	340	subsection and the individual has not successfully completed the
341	341	competency examinations required by this section .
342	342	4. Individuals employed by a school district under an emergency
343	343	or provisional certificate shall not be considered career teachers
344	344	and therefore not entitled t o the protections of the Teacher Due
345	345	Process Act of 1990.
346	346	SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2022.
347	347
348	348	58-2-9959 EK 01/10/22

Oklahoma 2022 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HB3908 Compare Versions