HB 2317 -- Professional Educators' Standards and Practices

Sponsor:  Lampe

This bill establishes the Professional Educators' Standards and
Practices Act and changes the laws regarding teacher
certification by removing the State Board of Education's
authority to license teachers and placing it with the newly
created Professional Educators' Standards and Practices Board
within the Coordinating Board for Higher Education.  The
19-member board will consist of nine teachers, three college
faculty from teacher education programs, three school
administrators, one district school board member, one public
representative, and the commissioners of the departments of
Elementary and Secondary Education and Higher Education as ex
officio members.  The Governor will appoint members to a
four-year term.  The bill specifies the procedures for soliciting
nominations as well as organizational procedures.  The board will
have an executive director.

The bill recognizes teaching as a profession and specifies the
conditions for licensure including age, health, and character
requirements.  Administrative rules on certification must be
rewritten within a year of the bill's effective date.  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, and
applicants denied licenses are entitled to a hearing before the
whole board.  Any person teaching without a valid license will be
guilty of a class A misdemeanor; and any person using fraud to
secure a license will be guilty of a class D felony.

The board will have exclusive authority to approve teacher
preparation programs, and any institution whose program is denied
approval has 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 established to cover the
cost of administering the certification statutes and will be
deposited into the newly created Professional Educators'
Standards and Practices Board Fund.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated October 15, 2008 at 3:12 pm