House File 439

                                  HOUSE FILE       
                                  BY  BUKTA, MASCHER, STEVENS, MYERS,
                                      CHAMBERS, TYMESON, WILDERDYKE,
                                      FOEGE, WISE, D. TAYLOR, MERTZ,
                                      MILLER, GASKILL, WHITAKER, DAVITT,
                                      WINCKLER, WENDT, WHITEAD, QUIRK,
                                      FORD, DANDEKAR, BELL, COHOON,
                                      LYKAM, GREIMANN, FREVERT, CONNORS,
                                      MURPHY, REASONER, OLDSON, PETERSEN,
                                      THOMAS, JOCHUM, BERRY, LENSING,
                                      OSTERHAUS, HUNTER, KUHN, and STRUYK


    Passed House,  Date               Passed Senate, Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act directing the board of educational examiners to convene an
  2    educator licensing review working group.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  4 TLSB 2640HH 80
  5 kh/cl/14

PAG LIN

  1  1    Section 1.  EDUCATOR LICENSING REVIEW WORKING GROUP.
  1  2    1.  The board of educational examiners, in consultation
  1  3 with the department of education, shall convene a working
  1  4 group to identify and recommend measures to improve Iowa's
  1  5 current teacher and administrator preparation and licensing
  1  6 practices.  The working group shall review the current teacher
  1  7 and administrator preparation and licensing processes to
  1  8 identify essential standards to maintain quality preparation
  1  9 and licensing requirements for teachers and administrators.
  1 10 The review shall also do the following:
  1 11    a.  Identify state laws and agency rules that are no longer
  1 12 essential to maintain quality.
  1 13    b.  Compare Iowa's teacher and administrator preparation
  1 14 and licensing practices with those of neighboring states, and
  1 15 identify those areas where Iowa's practices differ from, or
  1 16 are consistent with, the practices of the states neighboring
  1 17 Iowa.
  1 18    c.  Identify potential barriers preventing teacher and
  1 19 administrator candidates from neighboring states from applying
  1 20 for licensure in Iowa.
  1 21    2.  The working group shall consist of teachers,
  1 22 administrators, and representatives of the department of
  1 23 education, the state board of education, the board of
  1 24 educational examiners, and practitioner preparation
  1 25 institutions.
  1 26    3.  The working group shall submit its findings and
  1 27 recommendations to the chairpersons and ranking members of the
  1 28 senate and house standing education committees and the joint
  1 29 appropriations subcommittee on education by January 15, 2004.
  1 30                           EXPLANATION
  1 31    This bill directs the board of educational examiners, in
  1 32 consultation with the department of education, to convene an
  1 33 educator licensing review working group to improve Iowa's
  1 34 current teacher and administrator preparation and licensing
  1 35 practices by identifying standards essential for the
  2  1 maintenance of quality preparation and licensure requirements
  2  2 for teachers and administrators, identifying state laws and
  2  3 agency rules that are no longer essential to maintain quality,
  2  4 comparing Iowa's teacher and administrator preparation and
  2  5 licensing practices with those of neighboring states, and
  2  6 identifying potential barriers preventing teacher and
  2  7 administrator candidates from neighboring states from applying
  2  8 for licensure in Iowa.
  2  9    The working group must submit its findings and
  2 10 recommendations to the chairpersons and ranking members of the
  2 11 senate and house standing education committees and the joint
  2 12 appropriations subcommittee on education by January 15, 2004.
  2 13 LSB 2640HH 80
  2 14 kh/cl/14