1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; amending teacher licensure provisions; establishing 
1.3 	an alternative teacher preparation program and limited-term teacher license; 
1.4 	requiring reports;amending Minnesota Statutes 2010, sections 122A.16; 
1.5 	122A.23, subdivision 1; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
1.6 	chapter 122A.
1.7 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.8 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 122A.16, is amended to read:
1.9 	122A.16 HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHER DEFINED.
1.10 	(a) A qualified teacher is one holding a valid license, under this chapter, to perform 
1.11 	the particular service for which the teacher is employed in a public school.
1.12 	(b) For the purposes of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, a highly qualified 
1.13 	teacher is one who holds a valid license under this chapter to perform the particular service 
1.14 	for which the teacher is employed in a public school ~~or~~; who meets the requirements 
1.15 	of a highly objective uniform state standard of evaluation (HOUSSE); or who holds a 
1.16 	valid multiyear license under this chapter and has obtained a qualifying score on all 
1.17 	examinations and content area and pedagogy tests required by the Board of Teaching to 
1.18 	perform the particular service for which the teacher is employed.
1.19 	All Minnesota teachers teaching in a core academic subject area, as defined by the 
1.20 	federal No Child Left Behind Act, in which they are not fully licensed may complete the 
1.21 	following HOUSSE process in the core subject area for which the teacher is requesting 
1.22 	highly qualified status by completing an application, in the form and manner described by 
1.23 	the commissioner, that includes:
1.24 	(1) documentation of student achievement as evidenced by norm-referenced test 
1.25 	results that are objective and psychometrically valid and reliable;
2.1 	(2) evidence of local, state, or national activities, recognition, or awards for 
2.2 	professional contribution to achievement;
2.3 	(3) description of teaching experience in the teachers' core subject area in a public 
2.4 	school under a waiver, variance, limited license or other exception; nonpublic school; and 
2.5 	postsecondary institution;
2.6 	(4) test results from the Praxis II content test;
2.7 	(5) evidence of advanced certification from the National Board for Professional 
2.8 	Teaching Standards;
2.9 	(6) evidence of the successful completion of course work or pedagogy courses; and
2.10 	(7) evidence of the successful completion of high quality professional development 
2.11 	activities.
2.12 	Districts must assign a school administrator to serve as a HOUSSE reviewer to 
2.13 	meet with teachers under this paragraph and, where appropriate, certify the teachers' 
2.14 	applications. Teachers satisfy the definition of highly qualified when the teachers receive 
2.15 	at least 100 of the total number of points used to measure the teachers' content expertise 
2.16 	under clauses (1) to (7). Teachers may acquire up to 50 points only in any one clause (1) 
2.17 	to (7). Teachers may use the HOUSSE process to satisfy the definition of highly qualified 
2.18 	for more than one subject area.
2.19 	(c) Achievement of the HOUSSE criteria is not equivalent to a license. A teacher 
2.20 	must obtain permission from the Board of Teaching in order to teach in a public school.

2.21 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 122A.23, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
2.22 		Subdivision 1.Preparation equivalency. When a license to teach is authorized to 
2.23 	be issued to any holder of a diploma or a degree of a Minnesota state university, or of the 
2.24 	University of Minnesota, or of a liberal arts university, or a technical training institution, 
2.25 	such license may also, in the discretion of the Board of Teaching or the commissioner of 
2.26 	education, whichever has jurisdiction, be issued to any holder of a diploma or a degree 
2.27 	of a teacher training institution of equivalent rank and standing of any other state. The 
2.28 	diploma or degree must be granted by virtue of the completion of a course in teacher 
2.29 	preparation essentially equivalent in content to that required by such Minnesota state 
2.30 	university or the University of Minnesota or a liberal arts university in Minnesota or a 
2.31 	technical training institution as preliminary to the granting of a diploma or a degree of the 
2.32 	same rank and class. An applicant who holds a diploma or degree that is not essentially 
2.33 	equivalent may fulfill any missing requirement by taking and passing a comprehensive 
2.34 	examination testing the subject area of the missing coursework.

3.1 	Sec. 3. [122A.245] ALTERNATIVE TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAM 
3.2 	AND LIMITED-TERM TEACHER LICENSE.
3.3 		Subdivision 1.Requirements. (a) The Board of Teaching must approve qualified 
3.4 	teacher preparation programs under this section that are a means to acquire a two-year 
3.5 	limited-term license and to prepare for acquiring a standard entrance license. Partnerships 
3.6 	are composed of (1) school districts or charter schools and (2) either:
3.7 	(i) a college or university with a board-approved alternative teacher preparation 
3.8 	program;
3.9 	(ii) a nonprofit corporation formed for an education-related purpose and subject to 
3.10 	chapter 317A with a board-approved teacher preparation program; or
3.11 	(iii) a board-approved teacher preparation program within a district.
3.12 	(b) Prior to participation in this program, a candidate must:
3.13 	(1) have a bachelor's degree;
3.14 	(2) pass the reading, writing, and mathematics skills examination under section 
3.15 	122A.18; and
3.16 	(3) obtain qualifying scores on board-approved content area and pedagogy tests.
3.17 		Subd. 2.Characteristics. An alternative teacher preparation program under this 
3.18 	section must include:
3.19 	(1) a minimum 200-hour instructional phase that provides intensive preparation 
3.20 	before that person assumes classroom responsibilities;
3.21 	(2) a research-based and results-oriented approach focused on best teaching practices 
3.22 	to increase student proficiency and growth measured against state academic standards;
3.23 	(3) strategies to combine pedagogy and best teaching practices to better inform 
3.24 	teachers' classroom instruction;
3.25 	(4) assessment, supervision, and evaluation of the program participant to determine 
3.26 	the participant's specific needs throughout the program and to support the participant 
3.27 	in successfully completing the program;
3.28 	(5) intensive, ongoing, and multiyear professional learning opportunities that can 
3.29 	accelerate initial educators' professional growth and that include developing dispositions 
3.30 	and practices that support student learning, orientations to the workplace, a network of 
3.31 	peer support, seminars and workshops, and mentoring focused on standards of professional 
3.32 	practice and continual professional growth; and
3.33 	(6) a requirement that program participants demonstrate to the local site team under 
3.34 	subdivision 5 that they are making satisfactory progress toward acquiring a standard 
3.35 	entrance license from the Board of Teaching.
4.1 		Subd. 3.Program approval. The Board of Teaching must approve alternative 
4.2 	teacher preparation programs under this section based on board-adopted criteria that 
4.3 	reflect best practices for alternative teacher preparation programs consistent with this 
4.4 	section. The board must permit licensure candidates to demonstrate pedagogy and content 
4.5 	standards in school-based settings and through other nontraditional means.
4.6 		Subd. 4.Employment conditions. Where applicable, teachers with a limited-term 
4.7 	license under this section are members of and subject to the terms of the local collective 
4.8 	bargaining agreement between the local representative of the teachers and the school 
4.9 	board.
4.10 		Subd. 5.Approval for standard entrance license. A local site team that may 
4.11 	include teachers, school administrators, postsecondary faculty, and nonprofit staff 
4.12 	must evaluate the performance of the teacher candidate consistent with board-adopted 
4.13 	performance measures and using the Minnesota state standards of effective practice for 
4.14 	teachers established in rule and submit to the board an evaluation report recommending 
4.15 	whether or not to issue the teacher candidate a standard entrance license.
4.16 		Subd. 6.Applicants trained in other states. A person who, in another state, has 
4.17 	successfully completed an alternative teacher preparation program from a university, 
4.18 	college, or nonprofit corporation that has been approved under subdivision 1 may apply 
4.19 	for a standard entrance license under subdivision 7. A candidate under this subdivision 
4.20 	must have two years of teaching experience prior to applying for the standard license. 
4.21 	The candidate must request from the local site where the candidate taught a formal 
4.22 	performance evaluation using methodology identical or substantially similar to the 
4.23 	Minnesota state standards of effective practice for teachers and a report recommending 
4.24 	whether or not to issue the teacher candidate a standard entrance license.
4.25 		Subd. 7.Standard entrance license. The Board of Teaching must issue a standard 
4.26 	entrance license to a teacher candidate under this section who successfully performs 
4.27 	throughout the program, has successfully completed all necessary examinations and 
4.28 	content area and pedagogy tests, and is recommended for licensure under subdivisions 
4.29 	5 and 6.
4.30 		Subd. 8.Highly qualified or qualified teacher. If a person with a valid limited-term 
4.31 	license under this section does not meet the requirements of a highly qualified teacher 
4.32 	under section 122A.16, a person is a qualified teacher and the teacher of record within 
4.33 	the meaning of section 122A.16.
4.34 		Subd. 9.Reports. The Board of Teaching must submit an interim report on the 
4.35 	efficacy of this program to the K-12 education policy and finance committees of the 
4.36 	legislature by February 15, 2013, and a final report by February 15, 2015.

5.1 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for the 2011-2012 school year and 
5.2 	later.