House Bill 432 passed the House on June 12, 2024 and was referred to the Senate Education Committee on June 25, 2024. The bill proposes to amend RC 3319.229 to modify the way in which an individual may qualify for a career-technical license issued by the State Board of Education.
Under current law, the superintendent of the employing district would make a request to the State Board to issue the license. This required the individual applying for the license to have an offer of employment.
Under this bill, an individual may apply for a license without first having an offer of employment. Thus, the license would not be tied to teaching in a particular district.
Minimum requirements include the applicant being enrolled in a career-technical workforce development educator preparation program that is approved by the Chancellor of Higher Education. The program must provide classroom support, include at least three semester hours of coursework in the teaching of reading in the subject area, be aligned with career-technical education and workforce development competencies developed by the Department, use a summative performance-based assessment to evaluate knowledge and skills, and consist of at least 24 semester hours of coursework, or the equivalent.
An alternative path is created by the bill for those with an offer of employment and for whom the employing superintendent requests a license instead of the individual enrolling in a career-technical workforce development educator preparation program offered by an institution of higher education. A modified “educator preparation program” created by a lead district can be used instead.
A “Lead district is defined by RC 3317.023 as “a school district, including a joint vocational school district, designated by the department as a [career technical planning district] CTPD, or designated to provide primary career-technical education leadership within a CTPD composed of a group of districts, community schools assigned to the CTPD, and STEM schools assigned to the CTPD.”
To qualify, the alternative program must be aligned with standards developed by the Department and include both of the following:
(1) Not less than nine credit hours or three semester hours of coursework in the area to be taught;
(2) Not less than forty-five hours of local professional development designed by the employing district.
Another alternative exists for those who have an offer of employment as a classroom teacher. Under this second alternative, the employing district provides a two-year mentorship program created by one or more lead districts. The program must be aligned with standards developed by the Department and include all of the following:
(1) An assigned mentor who holds a teaching license, or who has served in the capacity of an administrator;
(2) A competency-based self-assessment developed and approved by the state board of education, in consultation with individuals in the career-technical education field;
(3) A personal learning plan approved by the lead district, or the district’s designee;
(4) Participation in a structured mentoring program aligned to the individual’s personal learning plan and consisting of ninety clock hours of professional development during the initial two-year license period.
The bill also adds an alternative path to obtain the advanced career technical workforce development educator license. This alternative can be accomplished by completing either of the programs for teachers who have an offer of employment described above, as indicated by the supervisor of the program, AND, the individual has taught under the license for four years.
Finally, the bill proposes to enact RC 3319.2212. This statute would provide for a two-year career-technical educator license to an individual who meets all of the following conditions:
(1) The individual holds a valid educator license.
(2) The individual has at least five years of work experience in the subject area the individual will teach, or the individual’s work experience has been affirmed by a panel of experts as required by the state board of education.
(3) The superintendent of the employing school district has made an informal recommendation of appointment for the individual to a position as a career-technical educator.
A mentor must be assigned by the employing district. The license is renewable only once to enable the license holder to apply for a professional career-technical workforce development educator license. An advanced license would be available after completion of four years of teaching. The advanced license would be valid for five years and would be renewable.
Ennis Britton will continue to monitor this bill and keep you posted.