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A bill to be entitled

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An act relating to educator certification requirements;

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amending s. 1012.56, F.S.; requiring a bachelor's degree

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or higher and subject area examinations in specified

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foreign languages for the purpose of demonstrating mastery

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of that subject area knowledge; revising requirements

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relating to the issuance of temporary certificates;

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providing an effective date.

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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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     Section 1.  Subsections (4) and (6) of section 1012.56,

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Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

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     1012.56  Educator certification requirements.--

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     (4)  MASTERY OF SUBJECT AREA KNOWLEDGE.--Acceptable means of

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demonstrating mastery of subject area knowledge are:

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     (a)  Achievement of passing scores on subject area

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examinations required by state board rule;

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     (b)  Completion of the subject area specialization

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requirements specified in state board rule and verification of

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the attainment of the essential subject matter competencies by

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the district school superintendent of the employing school

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district or chief administrative officer of the employing state-

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supported or private school for a subject area for which a

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subject area examination has not been developed and required by

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state board rule;

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     (c)  Completion of the subject area specialization

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requirements specified in state board rule for a subject coverage

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requiring a master's or higher degree and achievement of a

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passing score on the subject area examination specified in state

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board rule;

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     (d)  A valid professional standard teaching certificate

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issued by another state; or

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     (e)  A valid certificate issued by the National Board for

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Professional Teaching Standards or a national educator

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credentialing board approved by the State Board of Education; or.

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     (f) Completion of a bachelor's degree or higher and

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documentation of the attainment of an oral proficiency interview

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score above the intermediate level and a written proficiency

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score above the intermediate level on a test administered by the

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American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages for which

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there is no Florida-developed examination. The languages may

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include, but are not limited to, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Greek,

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Haitian Creole, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and

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Russian.

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School districts are encouraged to provide mechanisms for those

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middle school teachers holding only a K-6 teaching certificate to

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obtain a subject area coverage for middle grades through

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postsecondary coursework or district add-on certification.

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     (6)  TYPES AND TERMS OF CERTIFICATION.--

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     (a)  The Department of Education shall issue a professional

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certificate for a period not to exceed 5 years to any applicant

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who meets all the requirements outlined in subsection (2).

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     (b)  The department shall issue a temporary certificate to

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any applicant who completes the requirements outlined in

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paragraphs (2)(a)-(f) and completes the subject area content

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requirements specified in state board rule or demonstrates

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mastery of subject area knowledge pursuant to subsection (4) and

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holds an accredited degree or a degree approved by the Department

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of Education at the level required for the subject area

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specialization in state board rule.

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     (c)  The department shall issue one nonrenewable 2-year

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temporary certificate and one nonrenewable 5-year professional

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certificate to a qualified applicant who holds a bachelor's

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degree in the area of speech-language impairment to allow for

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completion of a master's degree program in speech-language

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impairment.

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Each temporary certificate is valid for 3 school fiscal years and

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is nonrenewable. However, the requirement in paragraph (2)(g)

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must be met within 1 calendar year of the date of employment

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under the temporary certificate. Individuals who are employed

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under contract at the end of the 1 calendar year time period may

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continue to be employed through the end of the school year in

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which they have been contracted. A school district shall not

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employ, or continue the employment of, an individual in a

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position for which a temporary certificate is required beyond

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this time period if the individual has not met the requirement of

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paragraph (2)(g). The State Board of Education shall adopt rules

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to allow the department to extend the validity period of a

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temporary certificate for 2 years when the requirements for the

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professional certificate, not including the requirement in

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paragraph (2)(g), were not completed due to the serious illness

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or injury of the applicant or other extraordinary extenuating

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circumstances. The department shall reissue the temporary

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certificate for 2 additional years upon approval by the

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Commissioner of Education. A written request for reissuance of

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the certificate shall be submitted by the district school

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superintendent, the governing authority of a university lab

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school, the governing authority of a state-supported school, or

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the governing authority of a private school.

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     Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.