SB 5983-S.E - DIGEST

(DIGEST AS ENACTED)

Recognizes the importance of ongoing professional development and growth for teachers with the goal of improving student achievement.

Declares an intent to ensure that professional certification is administered in such a way as to ensure that the professional development and growth of individual teachers is directly aligned to their current and future teaching responsibilities as professional educators.

Requires the agency responsible for educator certification to adopt rules for professional certification that identify an evaluation process of approved programs that includes a review of the program coursework and applicant coursework load requirements, linkages of programs to individual teacher professional growth plans, linkages to school district and school improvement plans, and, to the extent possible, linkages to school district professional enrichment and growth programs for teachers, where such programs are in place in school districts. The agency shall provide a preliminary report on the evaluation process to the senate and house of representatives committees on education policy by November 1, 2005. The board shall identify: (1) A process for awarding conditional approval of a program that shall include annual evaluations of the program until the program is awarded full approval;

(2) A less intensive evaluation cycle every three years once a program receives full approval unless the responsible agency has reason to intensify the evaluation;

(3) A method for investigating programs that have received numerous complaints from students enrolled in the program and from those recently completing the program;

(4) A method for investigating programs at the reasonable discretion of the agency; and

(5) A method for using, in the evaluation, both program completer satisfaction responses and data on the impact of educators who have obtained professional certification on student work and achievement.