HCS SCS SB 296 -- EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS

SPONSOR:  Griesheimer (Sutherland)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Special Committee on
General Laws by a vote of 10 to 0.

This substitute requires that changes to the state school
district accreditation standards take effect no less than two
years after their adoption by rule.

The substitute also changes the standards for teacher
certification.  Currently, teacher certificates include three
levels, the first two of which are steps to a continuous
professional certificate, renewable every 10 years.  The
substitute replaces the three-level system with a two-level
system:  an initial four-year certificate and a career continuous
professional certificate.  The substitute grants current
certificate holders who qualify for a career continuous
professional certificate as of August 28, 2003, such a
certificate as their current certificates expire.  The substitute
contains professional development requirements for both levels of
certification.  For the initial certificate, requirements include
participation in a beginning teacher assistance program and two
years of mentoring.

The substitute also deletes references to the five-year
provisional certification granted to experienced teachers with
out-of-state certificates and grants a license to validly
certified teachers from other states hired to teach in this
state, commensurate with their experience, upon completion of a
background check, if the certificate holder annually completes
the requirements of the State Board of Education for that level
of certification.  Currently, holders of a doctor of philosophy
degree may be granted a certificate under certain conditions; the
substitute replaces the term with "doctoral degree."  The
substitute permits a fee to be charged for initial certificates
not to exceed the cost of their issuance plus background check.
Enticement of a child and attempting to entice a child are added
to the list of crimes for which licenses are revoked.

FISCAL NOTE:  Expected Net Effect on General Revenue Fund of $0
in FY 2004, FY 2005, and FY 2006.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that school districts need time to
prepare for changes in accreditation.  Accreditation happens on a
five-year cycle, so two years to prepare for changes is a
reasonable amount of time.

Testifying for the bill were Senator Griesheimer; and Missouri
State Teachers Association.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Becky DeNeve, Senior Legislative Analyst

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated July 25, 2003 at 10:13 am