HOUSE BILL No. 5141

 

 

October 19, 2017, Introduced by Reps. Kahle, Lucido, Victory, Kelly, Frederick, Kosowski, Hughes, Leutheuser, Allor and Hauck and referred to the Committee on Workforce and Talent Development.

 

     A bill to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled

 

"The revised school code,"

 

by amending sections 553a, 1231, 1233, and 1233b (MCL 380.553a,

 

380.1231, 380.1233, and 380.1233b), section 553a as amended by 2011

 

PA 277, sections 1231 and 1233 as amended by 2016 PA 192, and

 

section 1233b as amended by 1995 PA 289.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 553a. (1) An authorizing body may issue a contract to

 

establish a school of excellence that is a cyber school. A cyber

 

school shall provide full-time instruction to pupils through online

 

learning or otherwise on a computer or other technology, and this

 

instruction and learning may occur remote from a school facility.

 

     (2) A contract for a school of excellence that is a cyber


school shall include all of the provisions required under section

 

553 and all of the following:

 

     (a) A requirement that a teacher who holds appropriate

 

certification according to state board rule or who is engaged to

 

teach under section 1233b will be responsible for all of the

 

following for each course in which a pupil is enrolled:

 

     (i) Improving learning by planned instruction.

 

     (ii) Diagnosing the pupil's learning needs.

 

     (iii) Assessing learning, assigning grades, and determining

 

advancement.

 

     (iv) Reporting outcomes to administrators and parents or legal

 

guardians.

 

     (b) A requirement that the cyber school will make educational

 

services available to pupils for a minimum of at least 1,098 hours

 

during a school year and will ensure that each pupil participates

 

in the educational program for at least 1,098 hours during a school

 

year.

 

     (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act or any

 

rule, if a school of excellence that is a cyber school is in

 

compliance with the requirements of subsection (2)(a) regarding a

 

certificated teacher or a teacher engaged to teach under section

 

1233b, any other adult assisting with the oversight of a pupil

 

during the pupil's participation in the cyber school's education

 

program is not required to be a certificated teacher, a teacher

 

engaged to teach under section 1233b, or an employee of the school.

 

     (4) Notwithstanding any rule to the contrary, a cyber school

 

is not required to comply with any rule that would require a


pupil's physical presence or attendance in a classroom.

 

     (5) At the end of a cyber school's second complete school year

 

of operations, the authorizing body of a school of excellence that

 

is a cyber school shall submit to the superintendent of public

 

instruction and the legislature, in the form and manner prescribed

 

by the superintendent of public instruction, a report detailing the

 

operation of the cyber school, providing statistics of pupil

 

participation and academic performance, and making recommendations

 

for any further statutory or rule change related to cyber schools

 

and online learning in this state.

 

     Sec. 1231. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (5),

 

the board of a school district shall hire and contract with

 

qualified teachers. Contracts with teachers shall be in writing and

 

signed on behalf of the school district by a majority of the board,

 

by the president and secretary of the board, or by the

 

superintendent of schools or an authorized representative of the

 

board. The contracts shall specify the wages agreed upon.

 

     (2) A teacher's contract shall be filed with the secretary of

 

the board and a duplicate copy of the contract shall be furnished

 

to the teacher.

 

     (3) Except as otherwise provided under this act, a contract

 

with a teacher is not valid unless the individual holds a valid

 

teaching certificate or is engaged to teach under section 1233b at

 

the time the contractual period begins or the individual is engaged

 

to teach in a community district under section 1233c. A contract

 

shall terminate if the certificate expires by limitation and is not

 

renewed immediately or if it is suspended or revoked by proper


legal authority.

 

     (4) The board of a school district, after a teacher has been

 

employed at least 2 consecutive years by the board, may enter into

 

a continuing contract with a certificated teacher or a teacher

 

engaged to teach under section 1233b or, for a community district,

 

with an individual engaged to teach in a community district under

 

section 1233c.

 

     (5) The school board of a school district that is a community

 

district may employ or contract for, or both, qualified teachers

 

and other qualified instructional personnel at a public school that

 

formerly operated as an achievement school , as defined in section

 

3 of the state school aid act of 1979, MCL 388.1603, as necessary

 

to carry out the purposes of the community district.

 

     (6) As used in this section: , "teacher"

 

     (a) "Achievement school" means a public school formerly within

 

the education achievement system that was operated, managed,

 

authorized, established, or overseen by the achievement authority.

 

     (b) "Teacher" does not include a substitute teacher.

 

     Sec. 1233. (1) Except as otherwise provided by law, and

 

subject to section sections 1233b and 1233c, the board of a school

 

district or intermediate school board of an intermediate school

 

district shall not permit a teacher who does not hold a valid

 

teaching certificate to teach in a grade or department of the

 

school.

 

     (2) The board of a school district or intermediate school

 

board of an intermediate school district shall not allow an

 

individual to serve in a counseling role in the school district or


intermediate school district, as the role is defined by the

 

superintendent of public instruction, unless the individual meets 1

 

or more of the following and the board or intermediate school board

 

complies with subsection (7):

 

     (a) The individual holds a valid teaching certificate with a

 

school counseling endorsement.

 

     (b) The individual meets all of the following:

 

     (i) Holds a master's degree awarded after completion of an

 

approved school counselor education program that includes at least

 

all of the following skills and content areas or their equivalent:

 

     (A) Guidance services--philosophy, principles, and practices.

 

     (B) Individual and group analysis--nature and range of human

 

characteristics and appraisal methods.

 

     (C) Guidance information--vocational development theory,

 

educational and occupational information.

 

     (D) Counseling theory and practice--individual and group

 

procedures, administration and coordination relationships,

 

professional relationships, and ethics.

 

     (E) Supervised experiences--laboratory, practicum, or

 

internship.

 

     (F) Evaluation--statistics and research methodology, follow-up

 

evaluation, and measurement methods.

 

     (ii) Has successfully completed the department's guidance

 

counselor examination.

 

     (iii) Has been recommended by an approved school counselor

 

education program to provide services as a school counselor.

 

     (c) The individual meets both of the following:


     (i) Has at least 5 years of successful experience serving in a

 

school counseling role in another state within the immediately

 

preceding 7-year period.

 

     (ii) Has successfully completed the department's guidance

 

counselor examination.

 

     (3) Except for teachers engaged to teach under section 1233b

 

and teachers engaged to teach in a community district under section

 

1233c, the intermediate superintendent shall notify the

 

superintendent of public instruction immediately of the names of

 

noncertificated teachers teaching in violation of subsection (1)

 

and the names of individuals serving in counseling roles in

 

violation of subsection (2), the employing district, and the amount

 

of time the noncertificated teachers or unqualified individuals

 

were employed.

 

     (4) A vocational teacher preparation institution shall utilize

 

the employment experience of an annually authorized teacher for the

 

purpose of waiving student teaching as a requirement for vocational

 

certification if the annually authorized teacher is supervised by

 

the teacher preparation institution.

 

     (5) All vocational education teachers certified after June 1,

 

1995 shall pass a competency test.

 

     (6) The board of a school district or intermediate school

 

district may employ an individual without a teaching certificate as

 

a substitute teacher if the individual has at least 90 semester

 

hours of college credit from a college or university.

 

     (7) If the board of a school district or intermediate school

 

board of an intermediate school district chooses to employ an


individual who does not hold a valid teaching certificate to serve

 

in a counseling role, as permitted under subsection (2), the school

 

board or intermediate school board shall comply with sections 1230

 

and 1230a with respect to that individual to the same extent as

 

required for employing an individual with a teaching certificate to

 

serve as a teacher.

 

     Sec. 1233b. (1) Except Subject to subsection (2) and except as

 

provided in subsection (3), the board of a local school district or

 

intermediate school district or the board of directors of a public

 

school academy may engage a full-time or part-time noncertificated,

 

nonendorsed teacher to teach a course in computer science, a

 

foreign language, mathematics, biology, chemistry, engineering,

 

physics, robotics, or in another subject area determined by the

 

state board to be appropriate to be included under this section and

 

so designated by the state board, or any combination of these

 

subject areas, in grades 9 through 12, or in a career and technical

 

education program.

 

     (2) Subject to subsection (3), a noncertificated, nonendorsed

 

teacher is qualified to teach pursuant to under this section if he

 

or she meets all at least 1 of the following minimum requirements:

 

     (a) All of the following:

 

     (i) (a) Possesses an earned bachelor's degree from an

 

accredited postsecondary institution.

 

     (ii) (b) Has a major or a graduate degree in the field of

 

specialization in which he or she will teach.

 

     (iii) (c) If the teacher desires to teach for more than 1

 

year, has passed both a basic skills examination and a subject area


examination, if a subject area examination exists, in the field of

 

specialization in which he or she will teach.

 

     (iv) (d) Except in the case of persons individuals engaged to

 

teach a foreign language, has, in the 5-year period immediately

 

preceding the date of hire, not less than 2 years of occupational

 

experience in the field of specialization in which he or she will

 

teach.

 

     (b) For teaching in a career and technical education program,

 

is engaged to teach in a subject matter or field in which the

 

teacher has achieved expertise, as determined by the board of a

 

school district or intermediate school district or board of

 

directors of a public school academy, and satisfies both of the

 

following:

 

     (i) Has a high school diploma or a high school equivalency

 

certificate as defined in section 4 of the state school aid act of

 

1979, MCL 388.1604.

 

     (ii) Either of the following:

 

     (A) Holds a professional license or certification in that same

 

subject matter or field.

 

     (B) Previously held a professional license or certification in

 

that same subject matter or field that expired no more than 2 years

 

before the start of employment as a teacher and was in good

 

standing immediately before the license or certification expired.

 

     (3) The requirements listed in subsection (2) for a teacher

 

engaged to teach pursuant to under this section shall be in

 

addition to any other requirements established by the board of a

 

local school district or intermediate school district or board of


directors of a public school academy, as applicable.

 

     (4) Except as provided in subsection (5), the board of a local

 

school district or intermediate school district or board of

 

directors of a public school academy shall not engage a full-time

 

or part-time noncertificated, nonendorsed teacher to teach a course

 

described in subsection (1) if the district or public school

 

academy is able to engage a certificated, endorsed teacher.

 

     (5) If the board of a local school district or intermediate

 

school district or board of directors of a public school academy is

 

able to engage a certificated, endorsed teacher to teach a course

 

described in subsection (1), the local or intermediate school board

 

or board of directors may employ or continue to employ a

 

noncertificated, nonendorsed teacher to teach the course if both of

 

the following conditions are met:

 

     (a) The noncertificated, nonendorsed teacher is annually and

 

continually enrolled and completing credit in an approved teacher

 

preparation program leading to a provisional teaching certificate.

 

     (b) The noncertificated, nonendorsed teacher has a planned

 

program leading to teacher certification on file with the employing

 

school district or intermediate school district or public school

 

academy, his or her teacher preparation institution, and the

 

department. of education.

 

     (6) If the noncertificated, nonendorsed teacher completes 3

 

years of successful classroom teaching, as determined by regular

 

observation and review by school district, intermediate school

 

district, or public school academy personnel and teacher

 

preparation institution personnel, the department of education and


a teacher preparation institution shall utilize the teaching

 

experience of a noncertificated, nonendorsed teacher for the

 

purpose of waiving student teaching as a condition for receiving a

 

continued employment authorization in the school district,

 

intermediate school district, or public school academy and a

 

provisional teaching certificate.

 

     Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days

 

after the date it is enacted into law.

 

     Enacting section 2. This amendatory act does not take effect

 

unless Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 5142 (request no.

 

04154'17 a) of the 99th Legislature is enacted into law.