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28	28	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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30	30	1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
31	31
32	32	HOUSE BILL 1394 By: Provenzano
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37	37
38	38	AS INTRODUCED
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40	40	An Act relating to teacher certification; amending 70
41	41	O.S. 2021, Section 6 -187, as last amended by Section
42	42	164, Chapter 452, O.S.L. 2 024 (70 O.S. Supp. 2024,
43	43	Section 6-187), which relates to competency
44	44	examinations; exempting certain candidates from
45	45	competency examination; providing an effective date;
46	46	and declaring an emergency .
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52	52	BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OK LAHOMA:
53	53	SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 6-
54	54	187, as last amended by Section 164, Chapter 452, O.S.L. 2024
55	55	(70 O.S. Supp. 2024, Section 6 -187), is amended to read as
56	56	follows:
57	57	Section 6-187. A. Prior to July 1, 2014, a co mpetency
58	58	examination shall be adopted by the Oklahoma Commission for
59	59	Teacher Preparation and beginning July 1, 2014, a competency
60	60	examination shall be adopted by the Commission for
61	61	Educational Quality and Accountability for the professional
62	62	education and various subject areas and grade levels for
63	63	purposes of ensuring academic achiev ement and competency of
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90	90	each teacher candidate or teacher in the subject area the
91	91	person is seeking certification to teach which shall also
92	92	include certification as an administra tor, as prescribed by
93	93	the State Board of Education.
94	94	The Commission, consistent with the purposes of this section,
95	95	shall promulgate rules and procedures to guarantee the
96	96	confidentiality of examinations.
97	97	B. No teacher candidate shall be eligible for certifi cation
98	98	until successfully completing the competency examination except
99	99	those candidates who make application to the State Board and meet
100	100	the criteria for the alternative placement program pursuant to
101	101	Section 6-122.3 of this title or who have successfully c ompleted and
102	102	graduated from an institution of higher education approved by the
103	103	State Board of Education for teacher training and have had two (2)
104	104	years of effective evaluations at the same school district in
105	105	accordance with Section 6 -101.10 of this title . Certification shall
106	106	be limited to areas of approval in which the certified te acher has
107	107	successfully completed the examination. Subject to the provisions
108	108	of subsection C of this section, testing for certification for
109	109	subjects in which a teacher candidate or teacher is seeking a minor
110	110	teaching assignment or an endorsement to teach shall be limited to
111	111	the specific subject area test.
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138	138	A teacher candidate or teacher may take the professional
139	139	education or subject area portions of the examination subject to any
140	140	limit imposed by the Commission.
141	141	C. 1. Except as otherwise provided for in th is subsection, a
142	142	teacher may be certified in as many areas as the teacher meets the
143	143	necessary requirements provided by law and has successfully
144	144	completed the subject area portion of the examination.
145	145	2. Except as otherwise provided for in this paragraph,
146	146	certification in early childhood, elementary, or special education
147	147	shall require completion of an appropriate teacher education program
148	148	approved by the Commission.
149	149	Any teacher who is certified to teach elementary education may
150	150	be certified in early childhoo d education upon meeting the
151	151	requirements provided in law and successful completion of the
152	152	appropriate subject area portion of the examination. Any teacher
153	153	who is certified to t each early childhood education may be certified
154	154	in elementary education upon meeting the requirements provided in
155	155	law and successful completion of the appropriate subject area
156	156	portion of the examination. Any special education teacher who
157	157	becomes certified to teach through completion of an accredited
158	158	teacher preparation program may be certified in early childhood or
159	159	elementary education upon meeting the requirements provided in law
160	160	and successful completion of the appropriate subject portion of the
161	161	examination. Any teacher who becomes certified to teach through
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188	188	completion of an accredited teacher preparation program or becomes
189	189	alternatively certified to teach through the Troops to Teachers
190	190	program may be certified in special education upon meeting the
191	191	requirements provided in law and successful completion of the
192	192	appropriate subject a rea portion of the examination. Any special
193	193	education teacher who has not completed a Commission -approved
194	194	teacher education program in elementary education or early childhood
195	195	education but who has successfully completed the subject area
196	196	portion of the examination may be certified in elementary education
197	197	or early childhood education for the purpose of providing direct
198	198	instruction and serving as the teacher of record for grading
199	199	purposes in special education settings only.
200	200	D. The Commission shall offer the competency examination at
201	201	least four times per calendar year on dates to be established by the
202	202	Commission.
203	203	E. If a teacher candidate or teacher is a non -native-English
204	204	speaker, the Commission shall offer the subject area competency
205	205	examination in the native language of the teacher candidate or
206	206	teacher only if the teacher candidate or teacher is employed or has
207	207	been offered employment by a school district as a teacher in a
208	208	foreign language immersion program offered by the school district.
209	209	If a non-native-English speaker who has received certification in a
210	210	subject area after taking the subject area competency examination in
211	211	the native language of the speaker seeks to add a certific ation area
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238	238	in the future and that person is no longer employed as a teacher in
239	239	a foreign language immersion program, the examination for the
240	240	additional certification area shall be taken in English. The State
241	241	Board of Education shall issue a restricted lic ense or certificate
242	242	to any teacher who has completed a subject area competency
243	243	examination in the native language of the teacher as provided for in
244	244	this subsection restricting the teacher to teaching only in a
245	245	foreign language immersion program.
246	246	F. The State Board of Education, in consultation with the
247	247	Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability, may grant an
248	248	exception to the requirement to complete a subject area examination
249	249	for initial certification in a field which does not require an
250	250	advanced degree if the candidate has an advanced degree in a subject
251	251	that is substantially comparable to the content assessed on a
252	252	subject area examination. The advanced degree shall be from an
253	253	institution accredited by a national or regional accrediting agency
254	254	which is recognized by the Secretary of the United States Department
255	255	of Education. The Commission shall provide the Board with the
256	256	necessary information to determine comparability.
257	257	G. 1. Nothing in the Oklahoma Teacher Preparation Act shall
258	258	restrict the right of the State Board of Education to issue an
259	259	emergency or provisional cer tificate, as needed. Provided, however,
260	260	prior to the issuance of an emergency certificate, the district
261	261	shall document substantial efforts to employ a teacher who holds a
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288	288	provisional or standard certificate. In the event a district is
289	289	unable to hire an individual meeting this criteria, the district
290	290	shall document efforts to employ an individual with a provisional or
291	291	standard certificate in another curricular area with academic
292	292	preparation in the field of need. Only after these alternatives
293	293	have been exhausted shall the district be allowed to employ an
294	294	individual meeting minimum standards as established by the State
295	295	Board of Education for the issuance of emergency certificates.
296	296	2. The State Board of Education may renew the emergency or
297	297	provisional certificate of an individual who has been employed by a
298	298	school district board of education for at least two (2) years if the
299	299	following criteria are met:
300	300	a. the individual has been grant ed an emergency or
301	301	provisional certificate pursuant to paragraph 1 of
302	302	this subsection for two (2) years,
303	303	b. the individual has not successfully completed the
304	304	competency examinations required by this section,
305	305	c. the individual submits a portfolio of his or her work
306	306	to the State Board of Education, which shall include
307	307	evidence of progress toward standard certification,
308	308	d. the employing school district board of education
309	309	agrees to renew the individual 's contract to teach for
310	310	the ensuing fiscal year, and
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337	337	e. the superintendent of the employing school district
338	338	submits to the State Board of Education the reason the
339	339	emergency or provisional certificate should be renewed
340	340	and provides evidence of the district 's inability to
341	341	hire a teacher who holds a standard certific ate.
342	342	3. 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 to the protections of the Teacher Due
345	345	Process Act of 1990.
346	346	H. The State Board of Education may grant an exception to the
347	347	requirements for all certification examinations for teacher
348	348	candidates who are "deaf", which for the purposes of this section
349	349	shall mean having a hearing loss so severe that the person cannot
350	350	process auditory linguistic inform ation with or without
351	351	accommodation and whose primary language and teaching environment is
352	352	American Sign Language. The Board may grant an exception upon:
353	353	1. Verification by a licensed audiologist of a hearing loss so
354	354	severe that the teacher candidate can not process auditory linguistic
355	355	information with or without accommodation;
356	356	2. Demonstration of fluency in American Sign Language;
357	357	3. Demonstration of competency in the subject area of
358	358	specialization as approved by the Board in lieu of certification
359	359	examinations; and
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386	386	4. Sponsorship by a certified deaf education teacher for a
387	387	mentorship program.
388	388	The Board may promulgate rules and other requirements as
389	389	necessary to grant the exceptions described in this subsection.
390	390	Applicable teaching environments may incl ude American Sign Language
391	391	immersion programs, the Oklahoma School for the Dea f, programs for
392	392	the deaf or other classroom settings in which American Sign Language
393	393	is the language of instruction.
394	394	SECTION 2. This act shall become effective J uly 1, 2025.
395	395	SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
396	396	of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
397	397	declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
398	398	be in full force from and after i ts passage and approval.
399	399
400	400	60-1-11251 AQH 12/28/24

Oklahoma 2025 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HB1394 Compare Versions