Text: HF00638 Text: HF00640 Text: HF00600 - HF00699 Text: HF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 256.16, Code 1999, is amended to read
1 2 as follows:
1 3 256.16 SPECIFIC CRITERIA FOR TEACHER PREPARATION AND
1 4 CERTAIN EDUCATORS.
1 5 1. Pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 5, the state
1 6 board shall adopt rules requiring all higher education
1 7 institutions providing practitioner preparation to provide for
1 8 exposure to regular classroom experiences within the first
1 9 eighteen months of a student's acceptance into the program,
1 10 and include in the professional education program, preparation
1 11 that contributes to the education of students with
1 12 disabilities and students who are gifted and talented, which
1 13 must be successfully completed before graduation from the
1 14 practitioner preparation program.
1 15 2. A person initially applying for a license shall
1 16 successfully complete a professional education program
1 17 containing the subject matter specified in this section,
1 18 before the initial action by the board of educational
1 19 examiners takes place.
1 20 3. The state board shall adopt rules requiring higher
1 21 education institutions providing practitioner preparation to
1 22 maintain data on program graduates for at least three years
1 23 after the students' graduation.
1 24 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 280.27 PEER ASSISTANCE AND REVIEW
1 25 PROGRAMS.
1 26 1. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise
1 27 requires:
1 28 a. "Beginning teacher" means an individual serving under
1 29 an initial provisional or conditional license, issued by the
1 30 board of educational examiners under chapter 272, who is
1 31 assuming a position as a classroom teacher.
1 32 b. "Classroom teacher" means an individual who holds a
1 33 valid practitioner's license and who is employed by a school
1 34 district under sections 279.13 through 279.19 to provide
1 35 instruction to students.
2 1 c. "Consultant" means a professional licensed pursuant to
2 2 chapter 272.
2 3 d. "Mentor" means an individual employed by a school
2 4 district as a classroom teacher who holds a valid license to
2 5 teach issued under chapter 272. The individual shall have a
2 6 record of four years of successful teaching practice, shall be
2 7 employed as a classroom teacher on a nonprobationary basis,
2 8 and must demonstrate professional commitment to the
2 9 improvement of teaching and learning, and the development of
2 10 beginning teachers.
2 11 e. "Peer in need of assistance" means an experienced
2 12 classroom teacher who is experiencing difficulty in the
2 13 classroom.
2 14 f. "Peer review panel" means a panel composed of school
2 15 district or accredited nonpublic school administrators,
2 16 teachers, and representatives from the collective bargaining
2 17 unit representing the teachers.
2 18 2. Each area education agency shall prepare a model peer
2 19 assistance and review program plan and shall provide each
2 20 school district and accredited nonpublic school within its
2 21 area with a copy of the model plan. The plan shall include a
2 22 model evaluation component which a school district or
2 23 nonpublic school may use to measure the effectiveness of its
2 24 peer assistance and review program. Any modifications to the
2 25 model plan shall be submitted to school districts and schools
2 26 as soon as practical. The board of directors of a school
2 27 district and the authorities in charge of a nonpublic school
2 28 shall adopt a peer assistance and review program plan and
2 29 written procedures for the program, and may use, alter, or
2 30 revise the model plan provided by the area education agency at
2 31 their discretion.
2 32 3. The peer review assistance and review program plan
2 33 adopted by the board of directors of a school district or the
2 34 authorities in charge of a nonpublic school shall require that
2 35 all beginning teachers and peers in need of assistance, who
3 1 are employed by the school district or nonpublic school,
3 2 enroll in the program and be teamed with a mentor. At a
3 3 minimum, the plan shall also provide for a process for
3 4 training mentors; an orientation meeting for beginning
3 5 teachers; assignment of a beginning teacher or peer in need of
3 6 assistance to a mentor prior to the beginning of the school
3 7 calendar; the minimum amount of contact time between the
3 8 mentor and beginning teacher or peer in need of assistance;
3 9 the minimum amount of release time for meetings for planning,
3 10 demonstration, observation, feedback, and workshops; the
3 11 process for dissolving the partnership between a mentor and a
3 12 beginning teacher or peer in need of assistance; and the
3 13 process for measuring the results of the program.
3 14 4. The peer review panel shall create a list of classroom
3 15 teachers eligible to act as mentors and from this list shall
3 16 appoint a consultant, preferably an individual who has
3 17 achieved certification by the national board for professional
3 18 teaching standards, upon the approval of the board of
3 19 directors of a school district or the authorities in charge of
3 20 a nonpublic school, to direct the peer assistance and review
3 21 program. The consultant shall be released from daily
3 22 classroom teaching duties for not more than three years. The
3 23 salary paid to the consultant by a school district shall be
3 24 equal to the amount of salary the person would have received
3 25 from the district in the person's regular classroom teacher
3 26 position for the school year during which the person serves as
3 27 a consultant.
3 28 5. Peer review assistance and review program plans shall
3 29 provide for at least weekly visits by the mentor to the
3 30 classroom of a beginning teacher or peer in need of
3 31 assistance. Mentors shall provide bimonthly progress reports
3 32 to the consultant. The consultant shall provide the peer
3 33 review panel and the beginning teacher or peer in need of
3 34 assistance with a copy of the monthly progress report. The
3 35 panel shall meet periodically with the consultant to discuss
4 1 progress, formulate goals, and share experiences with and
4 2 provide guidance to the consultant. The consultant shall
4 3 provide a final evaluation of each beginning teacher and peer
4 4 in need of assistance to the peer review panel. A beginning
4 5 teacher's contract shall be renewed only upon the approval of
4 6 the panel. The panel may recommend contract termination to
4 7 the board of directors of a school district or the authorities
4 8 in charge of a nonpublic school based on the final evaluation
4 9 of a peer in need of assistance.
4 10 6. School districts and nonpublic schools are encouraged
4 11 to work with area education agencies, collective bargaining
4 12 units representing the teachers, and postsecondary
4 13 institutions in the preparation and implementation of a peer
4 14 assistance and review program plan.
4 15 Sec. 3. STATE MANDATE FUNDING SPECIFIED. In accordance
4 16 with section 25B.2, subsection 3, the state cost of requiring
4 17 compliance with any state mandate included in this Act shall
4 18 be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid
4 19 received by the school district under section 257.16. This
4 20 specification of the payment of the state cost shall be deemed
4 21 to meet all the state funding-related requirements of section
4 22 25B.2, subsection 3, and no additional state funding shall be
4 23 necessary for the full implementation of this Act by and
4 24 enforcement of this Act against all affected school districts.
4 25 EXPLANATION
4 26 This bill requires the state board of education to adopt
4 27 rules requiring postsecondary institutions with approved
4 28 practitioner preparation programs to provide exposure to
4 29 regular classroom experiences within the first 18 months of a
4 30 student's acceptance in a program, and to maintain data on
4 31 program graduates for at least three years after graduation.
4 32 The bill also requires that all schools and school districts
4 33 implement a peer assistance and review program.
4 34 Each area education agency is required to prepare a model
4 35 peer assistance and review program plan and provide the plan
5 1 to all schools and school districts. The schools and school
5 2 districts must adopt a plan, and may use, alter, or revise the
5 3 plan provided by an area education agency.
5 4 The plan adopted by the school or school district must
5 5 require that all beginning teachers and peers in need of
5 6 assistance, who are employed by the school district or
5 7 nonpublic school, enroll in the program and be teamed with a
5 8 mentor. A "peer in need of assistance" is defined as an
5 9 experienced classroom teacher who is experiencing difficulty
5 10 in the classroom.
5 11 At a minimum, the plan shall also provide for a process for
5 12 training mentors; an orientation meeting for beginning
5 13 teachers; assignment of a beginning teacher or peer in need of
5 14 assistance with a mentor prior to the beginning of the school
5 15 calendar; the minimum amount of contact time between the
5 16 mentor and beginning teacher or peer in need of assistance;
5 17 the minimum amount of release time for meetings for planning,
5 18 demonstration, observation, feedback, and workshops; the
5 19 process for dissolving the partnership between a mentor and a
5 20 beginning teacher or peer in need of assistance; and the
5 21 process for measuring the results of the program.
5 22 "Peer review panel" means a panel composed of school
5 23 district or school administrators, teachers, and
5 24 representatives from the collective bargaining unit
5 25 representing the teachers.
5 26 A peer review panel, which is a panel composed of school
5 27 district or school administrators, teachers, and
5 28 representatives from the collective bargaining unit
5 29 representing the teachers, creates a list of classroom
5 30 teachers eligible to act as mentors and from this list
5 31 appoints a consultant to direct the peer assistance and review
5 32 program. A consultant employed by a school district is to
5 33 receive the same salary that person would have received from
5 34 performing the person's regular position, but is to be
5 35 released from daily classroom teaching duties.
6 1 Plans must provide for weekly visits by the mentor to the
6 2 classroom of a beginning teacher or peer in need of
6 3 assistance. Mentors are to provide bimonthly progress reports
6 4 to the consultant, who provides the peer review panel and the
6 5 beginning teacher or peer in need of assistance with a copy of
6 6 the report.
6 7 The panel must meet periodically with the consultant to
6 8 discuss progress, formulate goals, and share experiences with
6 9 and provide guidance to the consultant. The consultant is to
6 10 provide a final evaluation of each beginning teacher and peer
6 11 in need of assistance to the peer review panel. A beginning
6 12 teacher's contract can be renewed only upon the approval of
6 13 the panel. The panel may recommend contract termination to
6 14 the board of directors of a school district or the authorities
6 15 in charge of a nonpublic school based on the final evaluation
6 16 of a peer in need of assistance.
6 17 This bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code
6 18 section 25B.3. The bill requires that the state cost of any
6 19 state mandate included in the bill be paid by a school
6 20 district from state school foundation aid received by the
6 21 school district under section 257.16. The specification is
6 22 deemed to constitute state compliance with any state mandate
6 23 funding-related requirements of Code section 25B.2. The
6 24 inclusion of this specification is intended to reinstate the
6 25 requirement of political subdivisions to comply with any state
6 26 mandates included in the bill.
6 27 LSB 2079YH 78
6 28 kh/jw/5
Text: HF00638 Text: HF00640 Text: HF00600 - HF00699 Text: HF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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