HS/HCS/SCS/SB 296 - Currently, the State Board of Education offers three professional levels of teaching certificates. This act replaces the three-tier system with a two-tier system comprising of an initial four-year professional certificate and a career continuous professional certificate.

Possessors of the initial professional certificate shall:

(1) Participate in a mentoring program approved and provided by the district for a minimum of two years;

(2) Complete thirty contact hours of professional development which may include classroom hours in an appropriate college curriculum; and

(3) Participate in a beginning teacher assistance program.

The career continuous professional certificate shall be issued upon successful completion of four years of teaching under, and completion of the requirements for, the initial professional certificate and shall:

(1) Be perpetual, based upon verification of actual employment in an educational position; and

(2) Be valid, provided that the possessor annually and successfully completes fifteen contact hours of professional development. However, the professional development requirements shall be waived for any individual who has a professional development plan in place with their local school district and who meets two of the following three criteria: ten years of teaching experience; a master's degree; rigorous national certification as approved by the state board of education.

The act contains a provision which allows the possessor of a valid career continuous professional certificate who is not exempt from the professional development requirements and who fails to meet the annual fifteen-hour professional development requirement to, within two years, make up the missing hours. If the possessor of a career continuous professional certificate fails to make up the missing hours within two years, that person's certificate shall become inactive. In order to reactivate the certificate, the possessor must complete twenty- four contact hours of professional development within six months of reactivating their certificate.

Further, this act allows a teacher who has not been employed in an educational position for three years or more to reactivate their last level of certification by completing twenty-four contact hours of professional development six months prior to or after reactivating their certificate.

Anyone who holds, as of August 28, 2003, a valid PC-I, PC- II, or continuous professional certificate shall, upon expiration of their current certificate, be issued the appropriate level of certificate based upon the classification system established by this act.

Also, the act exempts all valid teaching certificates issued prior to September 1, 1988 from the professional development requirements of the act.

Additionally, the act mandates that the State Board grant, upon an appropriate background check, a teaching certificate aligned with an applicant's current area of certification, commensurate with the years of teaching experience, to any person who is hired to teach in a public school in this state and who possesses a valid teaching certificate from another state. Further, this substitute removes a provision from Section 161.092, RSMo, which articulates a similar, yet conflicting, policy in this regard.

Further, the act allows the State Board to assess a fee to holders of an initial professional certificate for the issuance of the career continuous professional certificate. However, such fee shall not exceed the combined costs of issuance and any criminal background check required as a condition of issuance.

Current law allows holders of a doctor of philosophy degree to be granted a certificate under certain conditions. This act replaces the term "doctor of philosophy" with "doctoral degree".

Also, this act adds "enticement of a child" and "attempting to entice a child" to the list of sexual offences for which a certificate of license to teach may be either revoked or not issued.

When a certificate holder pleads guilty or is found guilty of any offense that would authorize the state board of education to seek discipline against that holder's certificate, the local board of education or DESE shall immediately provide written notice to the state board of education and the attorney general regarding the plea of guilty or finding of guilty.

Further, this act adds a condition to the State Board of Education's authority to classify the public schools of this state. The act states that any rule requirements for the purpose of classifying the public schools must be in place for two years prior to implementation. However, the "two years prior to implementation" condition shall not apply to any requirement for which a time line for adoption is mandated in either federal or state law.

This act contains the provisions of the SCS/HCS/HB 281 and the HCS/SS/SCS/SB 265.
DONALD THALHUBER