HB 1566 -- Teacher Certification

Co-Sponsors:  Copenhaver, Haywood, Fraser, Hagan-Harrell

This bill extensively revises the statutes concerning teacher
certification, removing the power of the State Board of Education
to license teachers and placing it in a newly created Board of
Professional Educators' Standards and Practices within the
Coordinating Board for Higher Education.  The 19-member board
will consist of nine teachers, three college faculty members from
teacher education programs, three school administrators, one
district school board member, one public representative, and the
commissioners of Elementary and Secondary Education and Higher
Education, ex officio.  The Governor will appoint members for
four-year terms; the bill details procedures for soliciting
nominations as well as organizational procedures.  The board will
have an executive director.

The bill recognizes teaching as a profession and sets out the
conditions for licensure, which include age, health, and
character requirements.  Existing administrative rules on
certification are repealed 60 days after the effective date of
the bill, and a separate procedure for enacting board rules is
established.  Existing licenses are continued.  Causes for denial
or revocation are established, and procedures by which the board
may initiate disciplinary action are provided.  The
Administrative Hearing Commission will hold hearings on
disciplinary actions.  Applicants denied licenses are entitled to
a hearing before the whole board.  Teaching without a valid
license is a class A misdemeanor; using fraud to secure a license
is a class D felony.

The board also has exclusive authority to approve teacher
preparation programs; institutions whose programs are denied
approval have a right to appeal the denial.  Certain board
actions may be delegated to one or more members or staff.  Fees
associated with certification must be set to cover the cost of
administering the certification statutes and will be deposited in
the Professional Educators' Standards and Practices Board Fund.

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated October 11, 2002 at 9:01 am