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2016 SESSION

16104758D
HOUSE BILL NO. 279
AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
(Proposed by the House Committee on Education
on February 1, 2016)
(Patron Prior to Substitute--Delegate Byron)
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1-299.5, relating to teacher licensure; Virginia career and technical education adjunct faculty licenses.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 22.1-299.5 as follows:

§ 22.1-299.5. Virginia career and technical education adjunct faculty license.

A. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the Board shall establish a Virginia career and technical education adjunct faculty provisional license (provisional license) and a Virginia career and technical education adjunct faculty renewable license (renewable license) for qualified individuals to teach high school career and technical education courses for no more than 50 percent of the instructional day or year, on average.

B. The Board shall issue a one-year provisional license to an individual who:

1. Submits an application to the Board;

2. Holds, at minimum, an associate degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education;

3. Holds a professional technical license or industry certification recognized in the career and technical area for which the applicant seeks adjunct licensure, if applicable;

4. Either (i) has completed an associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degree program major from a regionally accredited institution of higher education in the content area for which an endorsement is sought or (ii) has completed the content area requirements for an endorsement in a teaching area or the equivalent through verifiable experience or academic study;

5. Has at least five years of full-time work experience or its equivalent in the area in which adjunct faculty licensure is sought; and

6. Has obtained qualifying scores on the communication and literacy professional teacher's assessment prescribed by the Board.

C. The employing school division shall assign a mentor to supervise a provisional licensee during his first year of service.

D. A provisional licensee shall complete nine semester hours of specialized professional studies credit from a regionally accredited institution of higher education within one year of receiving the provisional license. Such coursework shall include human growth and development; curriculum, instructional, and technology procedures; and classroom and behavior management and may be completed through distance learning programs.

E. The Board may grant a one-year extension of a provisional license if the provisional licensee has not completed the required coursework or the employing school division decides the provisional licensee requires additional preparation. The Board shall grant an extension only upon the request of the employing school division. The Board may grant up to two extensions of a provisional license for a total of three years of provisional licensure.

F. The Board shall issue a five-year renewable license to a provisional licensee who has completed the required coursework and is recommended for a renewable license by the employing school division.