Brief ⁽¹⁾

SB 191 does three things: establishes an alternative teacher preparation program, permits school district and community college boards to contribute to an employee's tax sheltered annuity, and requires the State Board of Education to certify a licensure applicant to teach in industrial arts based upon qualification by experience.

A. Alternative Teacher Preparation Program

The bill directs the State Board of Education to adopt rules and regulations for an alternate teacher preparation program. An "alternate teacher preparation program" is a program provided for by the State Board under contractual arrangements with an accredited Kansas teacher education institution having an approved teacher education program and with accredited schools. The program must ensure the attainment of the basic competencies necessary for teaching through professional development study at the teacher education institution and practical experience at an accredited school. This program will require a teacher licensure applicant to complete:

• Nine semester hours of professional development study at a teacher education institution, including adolescent psychology, foundations of education, classroom management, and methods. This study may be taken during a summer or regular session, but must be completed prior to the applicant's entry into the classroom.
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• Ten contact hours of preservice orientation conducted by the employing accredited school prior to a classroom assignment, including school policies, procedures, curriculum, instructional model, community characteristics, and resources.
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• Internship of two years during which the applicant will enroll in three credit hours of internship each semester. Successful completion of an internship results in waiver of student teaching requirements.
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• Professional development coursework during the second year of internship or the second summer of participation in the program as needed to meet the State Board's professional development standards.
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During the internship, the teacher licensure applicant is supervised by a team of three persons consisting of a mentor teacher from the accredited school employing the applicant, the building principal, and a faculty member from the teacher education institution. This team must meet at least three times per school year to evaluate, consult with, and provide advice to the applicant. The last meeting of the first year of internship results in a recommendation for discontinuation of the program or continuation for the second year. Successful completion of the program will result in a recommendation for licensure.

In order to be recommended for initial licensure, the applicant must complete the required semester hours of professional development study at the teacher education institution and the two-year internship. An applicant would be suspended from participation in the program by failure to attain a 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale or for causes for suspension under law or State Board rules and regulations.

A teacher licensure applicant must:

• Hold a baccalaureate or higher degree, earned with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale, and granted by an accredited college or university;
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• Have earned academic credits appropriate to meeting subject and field requirements for licensure with an endorsement at the secondary level for such subject or field. Minor deficiencies in the subject or field requirement may be satisfied with additional coursework.
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• Take and pass the PPST or other basic skills test as prescribed by the State Board.
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• Apply for and receive from the State Board a restricted license valid for three years and renewable in accord with State Board rules and regulations;
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• Fulfill formal requirements for admission to a teacher education program at an accredited Kansas teacher education institution;
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• Meet nonacademic requirements of the teacher education institution;
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• Receive and document an offer of a teaching position at an accredited Kansas school;
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• Pay a fee approved by the State Board as part of the contractual arrangements with the teacher education institution and employing accredited school. The fee would be an amount necessary to pay the costs of the program, including costs related to the credit hours of professional development study and internship earned at the teacher education institution, travel expenses of the teacher education institution faculty member of the supervisory team, and costs for remuneration of the principal and mentor teacher members of the supervisory team. The applicant and employing school share equally in the costs for remuneration of the principal and mentor teacher.
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A person who completes the program successfully may apply for and be granted licensure by the State Board.

Upon completion of each school year, beginning in 2004-05, the State Board annually will report detailed information on the program's effectiveness.

B. School District and Community College Board

Contributions to Tax Sheltered Annuities

School district and community college governing boards are authorized to contribute an amount to match an employee's tax sheltered annuity. The employer's matching amount may not exceed the employee's contribution.

C. Experience Based Certification of Industrial Arts Teachers

When the State Board of Education is satisfied that an applicant for licensure to teach the industrial arts, including woodworking, metalworking, and welding, is qualified by experience in the field for which the applicant is seeking licensure to teach, the State Board must exempt the applicant from the requirement to hold an academic degree.

Background

SB 191, as introduced, contained one of the Governor's Vision 21st Century Task Force on K-12 Education recommendations -- a state grant program to assist school districts in conducting alternative teacher pay plan studies.

Proponents of SB 191, as introduced, included a Garden City (USD 457) superintendent and high school principal, the Tonganoxie (USD 464) superintendent, an Olathe (USD 233) spokesperson, the United School Administrators, and the Kansas National Education Association.

The Olathe spokesperson urged the amendment, adopted by the Committee, to permit school boards to contribute matching amounts to employee tax sheltered annuities.

The Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB) observed that SB 191 is a limited step in the direction of developing performance based compensation plans for teachers. KASB explained that two additional steps are necessary: to make it easy to adopt such plans outside of the professional negotiations law and to provide greater financial incentives to support plan implementation.

The House Education Committee amended SB 191 by removing the grant program for alternative teacher compensation studies and adding the contents of HB 2335 concerning alternative teacher preparation programs. The provisions of this element of the bill are based upon a program currently in operation at Wichita State University. The fiscal note on HB 2335 indicated that the bill would have no fiscal effect. Wichita (USD 259) and the Kansas Association of School Boards expressed support for that measure.

The House Committee of the Whole amendments clarified that the contributions of a school employer to an employee's tax sheltered annuity may not exceed the employee's contribution and added the provision concerning certification of industrial arts teachers.

1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/fulltext.cgi