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| Georgia General Assembly |
HB125.html
01 LC 18 0928S
The House Committee on
Education offers the following substitute to HB
125:
A BILL TO BE
ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Subpart 1 of Part 6 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of
Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to certificated
professional personnel, so as to provide for conditions under which the
Professional Standards Commission shall be prohibited from granting initial
renewable certificates; to provide for definitions; to provide an effective
date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Subpart 1 of Part 6 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of
the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to certificated professional
personnel, is amended by striking Code Section 20-2-200, relating to regulation
of certificated professional personnel, and inserting in its place new Code
Sections 20-2-200 and 20-2-200.1 to read as follows:
"20-2-200.
As
used in this part, the term:
(1) 'Certificated
professional personnel' means all professional personnel certificated by the
commission.
(2) 'Commission' means the
Professional Standards Commission established under Part 10 of Article 17 of
this
chapter.
20-2-200.1.
(a)
The Professional Standards Commission commission shall
provide, by regulation, for certifying and classifying all certificated
professional personnel employed in the public schools of this state. No such
personnel shall be employed in the public schools of this state unless they hold
certificates issued by the commission certifying their qualifications and
classification in accordance with such regulations. The commission shall
establish such number of classifications of other certificated professional
personnel as it may find reasonably necessary or desirable for the operation of
the public schools; provided, however, that such classifications shall be based
only upon academic, technical, and professional training, experience, and
competency of such personnel. The commission is authorized to provide for
revoking or denying a certificate for good cause after an investigation is held
and notice and hearings are provided the certificate holder. The commission
shall designate and define the various classifications of professional personnel
employed in the public schools of this state that shall be required to be
certificated under this Code section. Without limiting the generality
of the foregoing, the term 'certificated professional personnel' is defined as
all professional personnel certificated by the commission and county or regional
librarians.
(b)(1) Before granting a
renewable certificate to an applicant, the Professional Standards
Commission commission shall require the applicant to demonstrate
satisfactory proficiency on a test of specific subject matter or other
professional knowledge appropriate to the
applicant´s
field of certification.
(2) Before granting a
renewable certificate to an applicant, the commission is authorized to require
the applicant to demonstrate satisfactory proficiency on a test of oral and
written communication skills, a test of computer skill competency, and an
assessment to demonstrate satisfactory on-the-job performance appropriate to the
applicant´s
field of certification. Successful completion of the phase one InTech model
training at a state educational technology training center or by a State Board
of Education approved redelivery team shall be acceptable for certificate
renewal purposes. The on-the-job performance of teachers shall be assessed by
the instrument developed pursuant to Code Section 20-2-210. When used for
initial renewable certification, the extended form version of such instrument
shall be used with the following additional requirements: the applicant shall
produce for the days to be observed a brief written lesson plan appropriate and
sufficient for the demonstration of essential skills; the scheduling of
observation periods and intervals between them shall be designed to allow the
teacher an adequate opportunity to demonstrate the essential skills; at least
one evaluator shall be external to the school system in which the assessment is
taking place and each evaluator is certified by the commission as qualified to
administer the assessment; on-the-job performance shall be evaluated on criteria
set by the commission which will ensure demonstration of effective teaching
practices.
(3) An applicant shall be exempted from the
written planning portion of the on-the-job assessment requirement pursuant to
paragraph (2) of this subsection if:
(A) The applicant
has held a professional teaching or service certificate issued by any state in
the United States at the baccalaureate degree level or higher and has
satisfactorily performed appropriate duties on a full-time basis for at least
five of the past eight years in regionally accredited private schools of this
state or another state, or an accrediting agency with criteria and procedures
equivalent to or greater than a regional accrediting association as determined
solely by the Professional Standards Commission
commission, or in public schools of this state or another state, or a
combination thereof; or
(B) The applicant has held a
professional leadership certificate issued by any state in the United States at
a level above the
master´s
degree and has satisfactorily performed appropriate leadership duties on a
full-time basis for at least five of the past eight years in regionally
accredited private schools of this state or another state, or an accrediting
agency with criteria and procedures equivalent to or greater than a regional
accrediting association as determined solely by the Professional
Standards Commission commission, or in public schools of this
state or another state, or a combination thereof.
(4)
Exemptions authorized pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection shall not
apply to those applicants who have taken the on-the-job assessment required for
certification more than five times. Any person who qualifies for the exemption
granted under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (3) of this subsection shall
receive a nonrenewable certificate valid for a maximum of three years. During
those three years, said person shall be eligible for a renewable certificate at
such time said person demonstrates satisfactory performance on the nonwritten
portion of the required certification assessment. This exemption shall in no way
affect other certification requirements of this article or the annual
performance evaluation required pursuant to Code Section
20-2-210.
(5) Before granting an initial renewable
certificate to an applicant, the commission is authorized to require the
applicant to demonstrate satisfactory proficiency on a test of broad general
knowledge.
(6) On any test or assessment required as a
condition for receiving any renewable certificate, each applicant shall have at
least three opportunities to demonstrate the required proficiency. Each
applicant currently employed by a local unit of administration who initially
does not pass any required tests or assessments may request and thereby shall be
provided staff development assistance in the areas of identified deficiencies.
An applicant must achieve the required passing score on any of the required
tests only once for each certification level and
field.
(7) An individual holding a valid life
certificate is exempt from the provisions of this subsection for that
certificate field.
(8) An individual who has received
two unsatisfactory annual performance evaluations in the previous five-year
period pursuant to Code Section 20-2-210 shall not be entitled to a renewable
certificate prior to demonstrating that such performance deficiency has been
satisfactorily addressed, but such individual may apply to the commission for a
nonrenewable certificate.
(9) Before granting a
renewable certificate required for teaching or for administering or supervising
a school system, school, or school program to an applicant who holds a valid
renewable certificate at the time of application, the commission shall require
such applicant to demonstrate that he or she has worked as a teacher in a
classroom for not less than five days during each school year preceding the
expiration of such
applicant´s
certificate or has completed a teacher training course approved by the
commission.
(b.1)(c) Upon
certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, an
applicant shall be deemed to have met state renewal requirements for the life of
the
teacher´s
national certificate.
(c)(d)(1)
The Professional Standards Commission commission shall
grant a renewable certificate at the four-year level in a teaching field to an
applicant who has not completed a teacher preparation program; provided,
however, that such applicant meets the following
conditions:
(A) Is the holder of a
bachelor´s
degree from a regionally accredited college or university in a subject area
field corresponding to an appropriate subject area certification classification
established pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code
section;
(B) Has satisfactorily completed a one-year
supervised classroom internship involving the appropriate teaching
field;
(C) Has obtained satisfactory results on tests
and assessments pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section otherwise
required of applicants for such certification; and
(D)
Has satisfied any additional requirements or standards of the alternative
certification program established by rules or regulations of the
Professional Standards Commission
commission.
(2) The Professional
Standards Commission commission shall establish rules and
regulations to implement the requirements of this subsection as soon as
practical.
(d)(e)(1) The
Professional Standards Commission commission shall grant
a renewable certificate at the five-year level in a teaching field to an
applicant who did not complete an undergraduate teacher preparation program;
provided, however, that such applicant meets the following
conditions:
(A) Is the holder of a
master´s
degree or higher level degree from a regionally accredited college or university
in a subject area field corresponding to an appropriate subject area
certification classification established pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code
section;
(B) Has satisfactorily completed a one-year
supervised classroom internship involving the appropriate teaching
field;
(C) Has obtained satisfactory results on tests
and assessments pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section otherwise
required of applicants for such certification; and
(D)
Has satisfied any additional requirements or standards of the alternative
certification program established by rules or regulations of the
Professional Standards Commission
commission.
(2) The Professional
Standards Commission commission shall establish rules and
regulations to implement the requirements of this subsection as soon as
practical.
(e)(f)(1) The
Professional Standards Commission commission shall
charge the following fees to persons who file applications with the commission
under its regulations adopted pursuant to the authority of this Code section:
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(A) For an applicant for initial certification who is not
currently employed in Georgia public or private schools
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$ 20.00
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(B) For an applicant for initial certification who is not a
graduate of an accredited education program from a Georgia college or
university
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20.00
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(C) For an applicant for a higher certificate when the
applicant then holds a Georgia certificate but who is not currently employed in
Georgia public or private schools
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20.00
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(D) For an applicant for a certificate which adds a field
or which endorses a certificate but who is not currently employed in Georgia
public or private school
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20.00
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(E) For an applicant for a conditional
certificate
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20.00
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(F) For an applicant for the renewal of any certificate if
the applicant is not currently employed by a public or private school in
Georgia
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20.00
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(G) For evaluating transcripts where certificates are not
issued and for issuing duplicate copies of certificates
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20.00
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(2) The fees provided for in paragraph (1) of this
subsection shall be paid by an applicant by
cashier´s
check or money order as a condition for filing the
application.
(3) The fees provided for in this
subsection shall be paid by the commission into the general funds of the state.
The commission shall adopt regulations to carry out the provisions of this
subsection.
(f)(g) No
applicant who is under review by the commission shall be allowed to withdraw his
or her application for a certificate, permit, or other certification document
without the written consent of the commission. The commission shall retain its
authority over those applicants to proceed with the denial of the certificate,
permit, or other certification document upon any ground provided by law, or to
enter an order denying the certificate, permit, or other certification document
upon any ground provided by law. The suspension or expiration of any
certificate, permit, or certification document, or its surrender without the
written consent of the commission, shall not deprive the commission of its
authority to do any of the following:
(1) Institute or
continue a disciplinary proceeding against the holder of a certificate, permit,
or other certification document upon any ground provided by
law;
(2) Enter an order suspending or revoking the
certificate, permit, or other certification document;
or
(3) Issue an admonition to the holder of a
certificate, permit, or other certification
document.
(g) As used in this part, unless the
context indicates otherwise, the term 'commission' means the Professional
Standards Commission established under Part 10 of Article 17 of this
chapter.
(h)(1) On and after January 1,
2003, if more than 20 percent of the graduates of an otherwise accredited
education program from a Georgia college or university fail the PRAXIS II exam
or other exam administered by the commission for initial renewable certificates,
such program shall be placed on probation status for a period of the lesser of
three years, or until such failure rate is 20 percent or less. If, after such
three years of probation status, such program continues with a failure rate of
more than 20 percent, such program shall be placed on suspension
status.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision
of law to the contrary, the commission shall not be authorized to grant initial
renewable certificates to any applicants who are graduates of an otherwise
accredited education program from a Georgia college or university if that
program has attained suspension status under this
subsection."
SECTION 2.
This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the
Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are
repealed.