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2013 SESSION

13102831D
SENATE BILL NO. 1157
Offered January 9, 2013
Prefiled January 9, 2013
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1-290.02, relating to the establishment of the Commonwealth Teaching Fellows Program.
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Patron-- Barker
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Referred to Committee on Education and Health
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.  That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 22.1-290.02 as follows:

§ 22.1-290.02. Commonwealth Teaching Fellows Program established.

A. With such funds as may be appropriated for this purpose and any gifts, donations, grants, bequests, and other funds that may be received on behalf of the Program, the Board of Education or a local school division in conjunction a Virginia college or university with an approved education preparation program (Administrator) may establish and administer a Commonwealth Teaching Fellows Program (Program) to (i) train and prepare individuals who hold baccalaureate degrees from regionally accredited institutions of higher education but who have not completed coursework in education, including new college graduates and professionals who seek to switch careers, to teach in the public elementary and secondary schools of the Commonwealth and (ii) match such individuals with appropriate teaching jobs, including, but not limited to, jobs in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and jobs in any critical teacher shortage area as determined by the Board pursuant to § 22.1-290.01.

B. The Board shall create, and update from time to time, guidelines for the development and administration of Programs, which shall include (i) selective candidate recruitment with a focus on high academic achievement and content knowledge and (ii) a rigorous and intensive teaching preparation course of at least eight weeks in length, hereinafter referred to as "pre-service training," to train Commonwealth Teaching Fellows, hereinafter referred to as "Fellows." Such guidelines shall include a process to monitor and evaluate the outcomes of the program and may include provisions for pilot programs.

Pre-service training shall be provided by a Virginia college or university with an approved education preparation program and shall place significant emphasis on actual classroom instruction practice. The Administrator may require the Fellow to pay for all or part of the cost of participation in pre-service training. The guidelines shall include a process for approving Virginia colleges or universities with approved education preparation programs to provide pre-service training.

The guidelines shall include criteria for authorizing a local school division to establish and administer a Program. These criteria shall address the recruitment, hiring, and retention of Fellows and shall include best practices for training and assigning teachers to mentor each Fellow, classroom observation, professional collaboration, and ongoing professional development of Fellows who have been hired by a school board in the Commonwealth.

C. The Administrator shall work with each Fellow before or during pre-service training to match the Fellow with the employment opportunities set forth in subsection A. Such employment shall be subject to each Fellow's successful completion of pre-service training.

D. The Board shall issue a three-year provisional license to each Fellow who has completed pre-service training and has been recruited and hired as a teacher pursuant to this section. Each Fellow who has been issued such a three-year provisional license shall be required to complete additional training by the Administrator as may be prescribed by the Board, which shall include classroom observation, curriculum and instruction, including educational technology; reading; and other specific course content relating to the Standards of Learning, differentiation of instruction, and classroom and behavior management. The Administrator may require the Fellow to pay for all or part of such additional training.

E. Each Fellow who is employed pursuant to a three-year provisional license shall be considered a probationary teacher, shall not be eligible for continuing contract status during the three-year licensure period, and shall be subject to the probationary terms of employment specified in § 22.1-303. Except as specified in this section and § 22.1-303, each Fellow who is employed by a school division while holding a three-year provisional license shall be entitled to all rights and subject to all requirements provided by law or regulation.

F. Each Fellow who is employed pursuant to a three-year provisional license shall be issued a collegiate professional or postgraduate professional license by the Department of Education upon the expiration of the provisional license upon satisfaction of the following conditions: (i) the successful completion of three years of teaching experience while holding a valid three-year provisional license, as certified by the Board, (ii) achievement of a satisfactory score on the professional teacher's examinations required by the Board, and (iii) fulfillment of such additional standards as may be prescribed by the Board.