HB 5358

HOUSE BILL NO. 5358
A bill to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled
"The revised school code,"
by amending section 1531 (MCL 380.1531), as amended by
2023 PA 110.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 1531. (1) Except as otherwise
provided in this act, the superintendent of public instruction shall determine
the requirements for and issue all licenses, certificates, and endorsements for
teachers, including preprimary teachers and teachers as counselors, in the
public schools of this state.
(2) Except as
otherwise provided in this act, the superintendent of public instruction shall only issue a teaching certificate or additional
endorsement only to an individual who has
passed appropriate available examinations.
The superintendent
of public instruction may accept passage of an equivalent examination approved
by the superintendent of public instruction to meet this requirement for an
individual holding a teaching certificate from another state, country, or
federally recognized Indian tribe.
(3) Except as
otherwise provided in this act, the superintendent of public instruction shall only issue a teaching certificate only to an individual who has met the elementary or
secondary, as applicable, reading credit requirements established under
superintendent of public instruction rule. If an individual holds a teaching
certificate, notwithstanding any rule to the contrary, the superintendent of
public instruction shall not advance the individual's certification to
professional certification unless the individual has successfully completed at
least a 3-credit course of study with appropriate field experiences in the
diagnosis and remediation of reading disabilities and differentiated
instruction. To meet this requirement, the course of study should include the
following elements, as determined by the department to be appropriate for the
individual's certification level and endorsements: interest inventories,
English language learning screening, visual and auditory discrimination tools,
language expression and processing screening, phonemics, phonics, vocabulary,
fluency, comprehension, spelling and writing assessment tools, and instructional
strategies. An individual may complete the course of study as part of his or her the
individual's teacher preparation program.
(4) Any revisions
to existing reading standards must include the recognition of reading disorders
and enable teachers to make referrals for instruction and support for pupils
with reading disorders.
(5) Subject to
subsection (8), if an individual holding a teaching certificate from another
state, country, or federally recognized Indian tribe applies to the
superintendent of public instruction for a Michigan teaching certificate and
meets the requirements of this subsection, the superintendent of public
instruction shall issue to the individual a Michigan teaching certificate and
endorsements comparable to those the individual holds in the other state or
country or with the federally recognized Indian tribe without requiring the
individual to pass the appropriate examinations otherwise required under
subsection (2) or to complete the reading credit requirement established under
superintendent of public instruction rule as described in subsection (3). To be
eligible to receive a Michigan teaching certificate under this subsection, an
individual shall provide evidence satisfactory to the department that he or she the individual has
taught successfully for at least 3 years in a position for which the individual's
teaching certification from the other state, country, or federally recognized
Indian tribe was valid.
(6) Subject to
subsection (8), an individual holding a teaching certificate from another
state, country, or federally recognized Indian tribe is eligible for a Michigan
professional education certificate if the individual meets both of the
following:
(a) The individual
has taught successfully for at least 3 years in a position for which the
individual's teaching certification from the other state, country, or federally
recognized Indian tribe was valid.
(b) The individual
meets the elementary or secondary, as applicable, reading credit requirement
established under superintendent of public instruction rule as described in
subsection (3).
(7) Subject to
subsection (8), if an individual holding a teaching certificate from another
state, country, or federally recognized Indian tribe applies to the
superintendent of public instruction for an additional endorsement on a valid
Michigan teaching certificate and meets the requirements of this subsection,
the superintendent of public instruction shall issue the individual an
endorsement comparable to that which the individual holds in the other state or
country or with the federally recognized Indian tribe without requiring that
the individual pass the appropriate available examinations otherwise required
under subsection (2). To be eligible to receive an additional endorsement under
this subsection, an individual shall provide evidence satisfactory to the
department that he or she the individual has taught successfully for at least 3
years in a position for which the individual's teaching endorsement from the
other state, country, or federally recognized Indian tribe is valid.
(8) The
superintendent of public instruction shall deny a Michigan teaching certificate
or endorsement to an individual described in subsection (5), (6), or (7) for
fraud, material misrepresentation, or concealment in the individual's
application for a certificate or for a conviction for which an individual's
teaching certificate may be suspended or revoked under section 1535a.
(9) For the
purposes of this section, the superintendent of public instruction, based upon
criteria recommended by a committee of teachers, representatives of approved
teacher education institutions, Michigan education organizations and
associations, and experts in measurement and assessment, shall develop, select,
or develop and select 1 or more subject area examinations. In addition, the
superintendent of public instruction, based upon criteria recommended by the
committee described in this subsection, shall approve a reading subtest to be
taken and passed by individuals seeking pre-K to grade 3 or grade 3 to grade
6-level endorsement. If the department develops for use under this subsection
an examination that had previously been contracted for using a competitive bid
process, then the department shall not expend on the development of that
examination an amount that exceeds the amount that the department expended on
procurement of the most recent competitively-bid version of that examination.
The competitive bid process must address validity, reliability, and other
technical standards of the examinations and of the appropriate administration
and use of those examinations. This subsection does
not apply after September 1, 2028.
(10) Not later than
November 30 of each year, the superintendent of public instruction shall submit
in writing a report on the development or selection and use of the subject area
examinations to the house and senate education committees. The report must also
contain a financial statement regarding revenue received from the assessment of
fees levied under subsection (12) and the amount of and any purposes for which
that revenue was expended.
(11) The
examinations required by this section may be taken at different times during an
approved teacher preparation program, but the examinations, as applicable, must
be passed before an individual is recommended for certification.
(12) The
department, or if approved by the superintendent of public instruction, a
private testing service, may assess fees for taking the appropriate available
examinations described in subsection (2). The fees, which must be set by the
superintendent of public instruction, must not exceed the actual cost of the
examination and of administering the examination. Fees received by the
department must be expended solely for administrative expenses that it incurs
in implementing this section. If the superintendent of public instruction
increases a fee charged for an examination under this subsection, at least 1
year before implementing the fee increase, the department shall notify each
approved teacher education institution of the amount of the fee increase. An
approved teacher education institution shall notify each of its affected
students of the timing and amount of such a fee increase.
(13) If an
individual holding a teaching certificate from another state, country, or
federally recognized Indian tribe applies for a Michigan teaching certificate
and meets all requirements for the Michigan teaching certificate except passage
of the appropriate available examinations under subsection (2) or the reading
credit requirement under subsection (3), the superintendent of public
instruction shall issue a nonrenewable temporary teaching certificate, good for
1 year, to the individual. The superintendent of public instruction shall not
issue a Michigan teaching certificate to the individual after expiration of the
temporary teaching certificate unless the individual has met the requirements
of this section.
(14) As used in this section:
(a) "Additional endorsement" means an endorsement
added to a Michigan teaching certificate after initial issuance of the
certificate.
(b) "An individual holding a teaching certificate from
another state, country, or federally recognized Indian tribe" means an
individual with a valid teaching certificate or an individual who is eligible
for a teaching certificate in the state or country or with the federally
recognized Indian tribe in which or with which the individual is certificated
or eligible for certification.
(c) "Subject area examination" means an examination
related to an endorsement area for the purpose of demonstrating the applicant's
knowledge and understanding of the subject matter and determining whether or
not an applicant is eligible for a Michigan teaching certificate or
endorsement.
(14) (15) The
superintendent of public instruction shall promulgate rules for the
implementation of this section.
(15) (16) Not
later than January 1, 2019, the superintendent of public instruction, in
consultation with the department of labor and economic opportunity and groups
or individuals representing employers, economic development agencies, trade
unions, secondary school principals, middle and elementary school principals,
teachers, school district and intermediate school district superintendents, and
others as determined appropriate by the department, shall promulgate rules to
allow an individual to use time spent engaging with local employers or
technical centers toward the renewal of a teaching certificate in the same
manner as state continuing education or professional development.
(16) By not later than September 1, 2027, the department of lifelong
education, advancement, and potential shall recommend, and the state board
shall approve, at least 1 teacher licensing examination for purposes of this
section. The examination approved under this subsection must already be in
existence when approved and must be administered nationally.
(17) As used in this section:
(a) "Additional endorsement" means an endorsement added to a
Michigan teaching certificate after initial issuance of the certificate.
(b) "An individual holding a teaching certificate from another
state, country, or federally recognized Indian tribe" means an individual
with a valid teaching certificate or an individual who is eligible for a
teaching certificate in the state or country or with the federally recognized
Indian tribe in which or with which the individual is certificated or eligible
for certification.
(c) "Subject area examination" means either of the following,
as applicable:
(i) Until September
1, 2028, an examination related to an endorsement area for the purpose of
demonstrating the applicant's knowledge and understanding of the subject matter
and determining whether an applicant is eligible for a Michigan teaching
certificate or endorsement.
(ii) On or after September
1, 2028, the examination approved by the state board under subsection (16).