SB 5772 - DIGEST

     Finds and declares:

     (1) Public school educators and administrators should be afforded greater decision-making authority over licensing and standards of practice, responsibilities long held by members of other professions including law, medicine, nursing, engineering, and real estate;

     (2) Creation of a public, rule-making body whose sole focus is educator preparation, licensure, assessment, and standards of practice would be likely to bring greater focus and attention to the profession;

     (3) Professional educator standards boards are consumer protection boards, establishing policies to ensure the public that its practitioners are competent;

     (4) The highest possible standards for all educators are essential in ensuring attainment of high academic standards by all students; and

     (5) Granting educators the authority to determine standards for entry to or continuation in the profession of education could become an important form of acknowledgment of the value of teachers and administrators and would represent the high level of trust, as professionals, that teachers and administrators have earned and to which they are entitled.