teacher certification;
teaching experience
HB 2637 clarifies that a teacher is not mandated to obtain classroom experience other than the required student teaching in order to keep their certification.
Current statute states that the State Board of Education (SBE) shall create rules for supervising and controlling the certification of persons engaged in instructional work. The SBE must prescribe rules for certification, including rules for certification of teachers who have teaching experience and who are trained in other states, which are not unnecessarily restrictive and are substantially similar to the rules prescribed for the certification of teachers trained in Arizona. Until July 1, 2006, the rules shall require applicants for all certificates for common school instruction to complete a minimum of 45 classroom hours or three college level credit hours, or the equivalent, of training in research based systematic phonics instruction from a public or private provider. The rules shall not require a teacher to obtain a master's degree or to take any additional graduate courses as a condition of certification or recertification. The rules shall allow a general equivalency diploma to be substituted for a high school diploma in the certification of emergency substitute teachers.
SBE rules define Teaching Experience as full-time employment, which includes full responsibility for the planning and delivery of instruction and evaluation of student learning.
Provisions