The Florida Senate

1012.39  Employment of substitute teachers, teachers of adult education, nondegreed teachers of career education, and career specialists; students performing clinical field experience.--

(1)  Notwithstanding ss. 1012.32, 1012.55, 1012.56, and 1012.57, or any other provision of law or rule to the contrary, each district school board shall establish the minimal qualifications for:

(a)  Substitute teachers to be employed pursuant to s. 1012.35 The qualifications shall require the filing of a complete set of fingerprints in the same manner as required by s. 1012.32

(b)  Part-time and full-time teachers in adult education programs. The qualifications shall require the filing of a complete set of fingerprints in the same manner as required by s. 1012.32 Faculty employed solely to conduct postsecondary instruction may be exempted from this requirement.

(c)  Part-time and full-time nondegreed teachers of career and technical programs. Qualifications shall be established for agriculture, business, health occupations, family and consumer sciences, industrial, marketing, career specialist, and public service education teachers, based primarily on successful occupational experience rather than academic training. The qualifications for such teachers shall require:

1.  The filing of a complete set of fingerprints in the same manner as required by s. 1012.32 Faculty employed solely to conduct postsecondary instruction may be exempted from this requirement.

2.  Documentation of education and successful occupational experience including documentation of:

a.  A high school diploma or the equivalent.

b.  Completion of 6 years of full-time successful occupational experience or the equivalent of part-time experience in the teaching specialization area. Alternate means of determining successful occupational experience may be established by the district school board.

c.  Completion of career education training conducted through the local school district inservice master plan.

d.  For full-time teachers, completion of professional education training in teaching methods, course construction, lesson planning and evaluation, and teaching special needs students. This training may be completed through coursework from an accredited or approved institution or an approved district teacher education program.

e.  Demonstration of successful teaching performance.

(2)  Substitute, adult education, and nondegreed career education teachers who are employed pursuant to this section shall have the same rights and protection of laws as certified teachers.

(3)  A student who is enrolled in a state-approved teacher preparation program in a postsecondary educational institution that is approved by rules of the State Board of Education and who is jointly assigned by the postsecondary educational institution and a district school board to perform a clinical field experience under the direction of a regularly employed and certified educator shall, while serving such supervised clinical field experience, be accorded the same protection of law as that accorded to the certified educator except for the right to bargain collectively as an employee of the district school board.

History.--s. 714, ch. 2002-387.