GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1995

H	2 

HOUSE BILL 881
Second Edition Engrossed 5/4/95

Short Title:  Alternative Teacher Certification.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Representatives Wood; and Watson.
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Referred to:  Education.
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April 12, 1995

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO PROVIDE AN ALTERNATIVE METHOD OF TEACHER CERTIFICATION.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 115C-296 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C-296.  Board sets certification requirements.
(a)	The State Board of Education shall have entire control of certifying all applicants for teaching positions in all public elementary and high schools of North Carolina; and it shall prescribe the rules and regulations for the renewal and extension of all certificates and shall determine and fix the salary for each grade and type of certificate which it authorizes: Provided, that the State Board of Education shall require each applicant for an initial certificate or graduate certificate to demonstrate his academic and professional preparation by achieving a prescribed minimum score at least equivalent to that required by the Board on November 30, 1972, on a standard examination appropriate and adequate for that purpose: Provided, further, that in the event the Board shall specify the National Teachers Examination for this purpose, the required minimum score shall not be lower than that which the Board required on November 30, 1972: Provided, further, that the State Board of Education shall not decrease the certification standards for physical education teachers or health education teachers below the standards in effect on June 1, 1988.
(b)	It is the policy of the State of North Carolina to maintain the highest quality teacher education programs and school administrator programs in order to enhance the competence of professional personnel certified in North Carolina.  To the end that teacher preparation programs are upgraded to reflect a more rigorous course of study, the State Board of Education shall submit to the General Assembly not later than November 1, 1994, a plan to promote this policy.  The State Board of Education, as lead agency in coordination and cooperation with the University Board of Governors, the Board of Community Colleges and such other public and private agencies as are necessary, shall continue to refine the several certification requirements, standards for approval of institutions of teacher education, standards for institution-based innovative and experimental programs, standards for implementing consortium-based teacher education, and standards for improved efficiencies in the administration of the approved programs.  The standards for approval of institutions of teacher education shall require that teacher education programs for students who do not major in special education include courses in the identification and education of children with learning disabilities.  The State Board of Education shall incorporate the criteria developed in accordance with G.S. 116-74.21 for assessing proposals under the School Administrator Training Program into its school administrator program approval standards.
(c)	It is the policy of the State of North Carolina to encourage lateral entry into the profession of teaching by skilled individuals from the private sector. To this end, the State Board of Education shall develop criteria and procedures for two programs to accomplish the employment of such individuals as classroom teachers. Regardless of credentials or competence, no one shall begin teaching above the middle level of differentiation. 
Under the first program, skilled individuals who choose to enter the profession of teaching laterally may be granted a provisional teaching certificate for no more than five years and shall be required to obtain certification before contracting for a sixth year of service with any local administrative unit in this State.
Under the second program, skilled individuals who choose to enter the profession of teaching laterally and who satisfactorily complete the National Teachers Examination to determine if the individuals possess the basic skills in reading, writing, and mathematics, that are necessary to teach, may be granted a provisional teaching certificate for no more than one year. During that year the person is required to serve an internship. To qualify for an internship for certification to teach in kindergarten through fifth grade, an individual shall have a bachelors degree in liberal arts, English, history, mathematics, life science, earth science, child psychology, or a foreign language, from an institution accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Universities.  To qualify for an internship for certification to teach in grades six through twelve, an individual shall have a bachelors degree in the subject area for which the certification is sought from an institution accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Universities.  At the end of the one-year internship, the Board shall grant certification to the individual if the individual demonstrates to the Board the academic knowledge and the ability to communicate information effectively to students, if the students taught during the one-year internship have attained an appropriate level of academic achievement, and if the individual meets the other requirements established by the State Board.  Before the first occasion on which a local board of education may employ as a teacher an individual certified under this second program, the board must first hold a public hearing to explain this method of certification and to receive input from the community."
(c1)	It is further the policy of the State of North Carolina to ensure that local boards of education can provide the strongest possible leadership for schools based upon the identified and changing needs of individual schools.  To this end, before the 1994-95 school year begins, the State Board of Education shall carefully consider a lateral entry program for school administrators to ensure that local boards of education will have sufficient flexibility to attract able candidates."
Sec. 2.  This act is effective upon ratification.