Florida Senate - 2023 SB 808
By Senator Powell
24-01338-23 2023808__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to educator certifications; amending
3 s. 1012.55, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes
4 made by the act; amending s. 1012.56, F.S.; providing
5 that individuals who meet specified requirements have
6 met certain educator certification requirements;
7 revising the number of years for which certain
8 temporary educator certificates are valid; providing
9 an effective date.
10
11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
12
13 Section 1. Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of section
14 1012.55, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
15 1012.55 Positions for which certificates required.—
16 (1)
17 (e)1. The department shall issue a 5-year 3-year temporary
18 certificate in educational leadership under s. 1012.56(7) to an
19 individual who:
20 a. Earned a passing score on the Florida Educational
21 Leadership Examination.
22 b. Served as a commissioned or noncommissioned military
23 officer in the United States Armed Forces for at least 3 years.
24 c. Was honorably discharged or has retired from the United
25 States Armed Forces.
26 d. Is employed full time in a position for which an
27 educator certificate is required in a Florida public school,
28 state-supported school, or nonpublic school that has a Level II
29 program under s. 1012.562.
30 2. A Level II program under s. 1012.562 must accept an
31 applicant who holds a temporary certificate under subparagraph
32 1. The department shall issue a permanent certification as a
33 school principal to an individual who holds a temporary
34 certificate under subparagraph 1. and successfully completes the
35 Level II program.
36 Section 2. Subsections (3) and (5) and paragraphs (c) and
37 (e) of subsection (7) of section 1012.56, Florida Statutes, are
38 amended to read:
39 1012.56 Educator certification requirements.—
40 (3) MASTERY OF GENERAL KNOWLEDGE.—Acceptable means of
41 demonstrating mastery of general knowledge are:
42 (a) Achievement of passing scores on the general knowledge
43 examination required by state board rule;
44 (b) Documentation of a valid professional standard teaching
45 certificate issued by another state;
46 (c) Documentation of a valid certificate issued by the
47 National Board for Professional Teaching Standards or a national
48 educator credentialing board approved by the State Board of
49 Education;
50 (d) Documentation of two semesters of successful, full-time
51 or part-time teaching in a Florida College System institution,
52 state university, or private college or university that awards
53 an associate or higher degree and is an accredited institution
54 or an institution of higher education identified by the
55 Department of Education as having a quality program;
56 (e) Achievement of passing scores, identified in state
57 board rule, on national or international examinations that test
58 comparable content and relevant standards in verbal, analytical
59 writing, and quantitative reasoning skills, including, but not
60 limited to, the verbal, analytical writing, and quantitative
61 reasoning portions of the Graduate Record Examination. Passing
62 scores identified in state board rule must be at approximately
63 the same level of rigor as is required to pass the general
64 knowledge examinations; or
65 (f) Documentation of receipt of a master’s or higher degree
66 from an accredited postsecondary educational institution that
67 the Department of Education has identified as having a quality
68 program resulting in a baccalaureate degree or higher.
69
70 An individual who holds a certificate pursuant to this section;
71 has served as a classroom teacher, as defined in s.
72 1012.01(2)(a), for the immediately preceding 3 school years; has
73 earned an effective or highly effective rating on his or her
74 evaluation under s. 1012.34 for the immediately preceding 3
75 school years; and has met the requirements of subsection (6) has
76 met the requirements of this subsection. A school district that
77 employs an individual who does not achieve passing scores on any
78 subtest of the general knowledge examination must provide
79 information regarding the availability of state-level and
80 district-level supports and instruction to assist him or her in
81 achieving a passing score. Such information must include, but
82 need not be limited to, state-level test information guides,
83 school district test preparation resources, and preparation
84 courses offered by state universities and Florida College System
85 institutions.
86 (5) MASTERY OF SUBJECT AREA KNOWLEDGE.—Acceptable means of
87 demonstrating mastery of subject area knowledge are:
88 (a) For a subject requiring only a baccalaureate degree for
89 which a Florida subject area examination has been developed,
90 achievement of a passing score on the Florida-developed subject
91 area examination specified in state board rule;
92 (b) For a subject for which a Florida subject area
93 examination has not been developed, achievement of a passing
94 score on a standardized examination specified in state board
95 rule, including, but not limited to, passing scores on both the
96 oral proficiency and written proficiency examinations
97 administered by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign
98 Languages;
99 (c) For a subject for which a Florida subject area
100 examination has not been developed or a standardized examination
101 has not been specified in state board rule, completion of the
102 subject area specialization requirements specified in state
103 board rule and verification of the attainment of the essential
104 subject matter competencies by the district school
105 superintendent of the employing school district or chief
106 administrative officer of the employing state-supported or
107 private school;
108 (d) For a subject requiring a master’s or higher degree,
109 completion of the subject area specialization requirements
110 specified in state board rule and achievement of a passing score
111 on the Florida-developed subject area examination or a
112 standardized examination specified in state board rule;
113 (e) Documentation of a valid professional standard teaching
114 certificate issued by another state;
115 (f) Documentation of a valid certificate issued by the
116 National Board for Professional Teaching Standards or a national
117 educator credentialing board approved by the State Board of
118 Education;
119 (g) Documentation of successful completion of a United
120 States Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center
121 program; or
122 (h) Documentation of a passing score on the Defense
123 Language Proficiency Test (DLPT).
124
125 An individual who holds a certificate pursuant to this section;
126 has served as a classroom teacher, as defined in s.
127 1012.01(2)(a), for the immediately preceding 3 school years; has
128 earned an effective or highly effective rating on his or her
129 evaluation under s. 1012.34 for the immediately preceding 3
130 school years; and has met the requirements of subsection (6) has
131 met the requirements of this subsection. School districts are
132 encouraged to provide mechanisms for middle grades teachers
133 holding only a K-6 teaching certificate to obtain a subject area
134 coverage for middle grades through postsecondary coursework or
135 district add-on certification.
136 (7) TYPES AND TERMS OF CERTIFICATION.—
137 (c) The department shall issue one nonrenewable 5-year 2
138 year temporary certificate and one nonrenewable 5-year
139 professional certificate to a qualified applicant who holds a
140 bachelor’s degree in the area of speech-language impairment to
141 allow for completion of a master’s degree program in speech
142 language impairment.
143 (e)1. A temporary certificate issued under subparagraph
144 (b)1. is valid for 3 school fiscal years and is nonrenewable.
145 2. A temporary certificate issued under paragraph (b)
146 subparagraph (b)2. is valid for 5 school fiscal years, is
147 limited to a one-time issuance, and is nonrenewable.
148
149 At least 1 year before an individual’s temporary certificate is
150 set to expire, the department shall electronically notify the
151 individual of the date on which his or her certificate will
152 expire and provide a list of each method by which the
153 qualifications for a professional certificate can be completed.
154 The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to allow the
155 department to extend the validity period of a temporary
156 certificate for 2 years when the requirements for the
157 professional certificate were not completed due to the serious
158 illness or injury of the applicant, the military service of an
159 applicant’s spouse, other extraordinary extenuating
160 circumstances, or if the certificateholder is rated highly
161 effective in the immediate prior year’s performance evaluation
162 pursuant to s. 1012.34 or has completed a 2-year mentorship
163 program pursuant to subsection (8). The department shall extend
164 the temporary certificate upon approval by the Commissioner of
165 Education. A written request for extension of the certificate
166 shall be submitted by the district school superintendent, the
167 governing authority of a university lab school, the governing
168 authority of a state-supported school, or the governing
169 authority of a private school.
170 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.