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State Representative Kurt Zellers
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-5502
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Alternative Certification for Teacher Licensure Passes Zellers: "Alternative Licensure works. It’s the right thing to do."
SAINT PAUL, MN -- (March 3, 2011) -- Speaker of the House Kurt Zellers today said the passage of legislation to allow alternative certification for teacher licensure is an example of what Republicans and Democrats can do when they work together.
Zellers said alternative certification for licensure is a bill that has seen a well-worn path at the State Capitol since it was first introduced more than six years ago. A recent speech by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Minnesota’s great track record of education reform was showing complacency. Not having an alternative teacher licensure program was one of the reasons Minnesota missed out on millions of dollars in federal Race to the Top funds last year.
"Minnesota has been a leader in education but we are falling behind over resistance to change and new ideas. Today we finally passed legislation that will improve education by reducing barriers that stand between highly-qualified teaching candidates and entering the classroom,"said Speaker of the House Kurt Zellers. "I commend the Republicans and Democrats who worked on this solution, and thank Governor Dayton for his commitment to sign this into law."
The bill, as approved by the Minnesota and Senate, allows the Board of Teaching to recognize the experience and professional expertise of teaching candidates who graduated from accredited schools in other states. It also allows teaching candidates to receive a two-year teaching license as they work toward a full five-year license.
Candidates under the two-year license must have a bachelor’s degree, pass basic rigorous content examinations sills standards and meet Board of Teaching requirement. The alternative teacher licensing programs must include at least 200 hours of instruction with a student teaching component; results-oriented focus on teaching methods that improve learning; an assessment and evaluation of candidates’ strengths and weaknesses; and a requirement that candidates make progress toward a standard teaching license. Candidates must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA, a tougher requirement than traditional programs. The bill also creates a Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA) to ensure the on-going quality of teacher training programs.
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