HB 603

HB603 INTRODUCED
1 HB603
2 9JH9CBP-1
3 By Representatives DuBose, Collins
4 RFD: Education Policy
5 First Read: 10-Mar-26
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9JH9CBP-1 03/10/2026 OW (L)cr 2025-3415
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4 SYNOPSIS:
5Under existing law, educator preparation
6providers (EPPs) and Alternative Teacher Preparation
7Organizations (ATPOs) are state-approved entities that
8are responsible for preparing educators for
9certification.
10This bill would require the State Department of
11Education, in collaboration with the State Board of
12Education and the Alabama Commission on Higher
13Education, to revise and annually update a teacher
14preparation report card evaluating the performance of
15each EPP and ATPO.
16This bill would require the department to
17prominently publish the teacher preparation report
18cards on the department's official website.
19This bill would require EPPs, ATPOs, and other
20stakeholders to annually provide the department with
21data for the report cards.
22This bill would require the department to create
23a standard survey for program completers and the
24employers of program completers to assess satisfaction
25with teacher preparation.
26This bill would require the board to annually
27review the report cards to determine if interventions
28or support is needed for each EPP or ATPO.
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29This bill would also allocate funding to the
30department to implement the provisions effectively.
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32
33A BILL
34TO BE ENTITLED
35AN ACT
36
37Relating to teacher certification preparation programs;
38 to require the State Department of Education, in collaboration
39 with the State Board of Education and the Alabama Commission
40 on Higher Education, to publish a teacher preparation report
41 card evaluating the performance of each Educator Preparation
42 Provider (EPP) and Alternative Teacher Preparation
43 Organization (ATPO); to require the department to prominently
44 publish the report cards on the department's official website;
45 to require EPPs, ATPOs, and other stakeholders to annually
46 provide the department with data for the report cards; to
47 require the department to create a survey to assess program
48 completion satisfaction with program completers and teacher
49 preparation programs; to require annual review of the report
50 cards by the department; and to allocate funding for
51 implementation.
52 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
53Section 1. For the purposes of this act, the following
54 terms have the following meanings:
55(1) ALTERNATIVE TEACHER PREPARATION ORGANIZATION
56 (ATPO). An organization that the State Board of Education
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57 deems qualified to offer certification programs to qualified
58 individuals in the state in accordance with Section 16-23-3.1,
59 Code of Alabama 1975.
60(2) BOARD. The State Board of Education.
61(3) DEPARTMENT. The State Department of Education.
62(4) EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROVIDER (EPP). Any
63 state-approved teacher or principal education program,
64 including public, private, and alternative certification
65 providers, authorized by the state to provide teacher
66 training.
67(5) ENDORSEMENT TYPE. The teaching field and grade
68 levels a teacher is certified to teach.
69(6) PROGRAM COMPLETER. An individual who has completed
70 all requirements for an approved program and who has been
71 recommended to the State Department of Education for a
72 professional educator certificate with the appropriate
73 endorsements.
74(7) REPORT CARD. A teacher preparation report card.
75Section 2. It is the intent of the Legislature to
76 codify and expand the work that the board and the department
77 have already begun with educator report cards.
78Section 3. (a) The department, in collaboration with
79 the board and the Alabama Commission on Higher Education,
80 shall publish and annually update a report card that evaluates
81 the performance of each EPP and ATPO.
82(b) The department shall make each report card easily
83 accessible to the public on the department's official website
84 by prominently displaying detailed metrics and summative
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85 ratings of overall program performance in easy-to-read
86 formats.
87(c) The report card shall focus on the preparedness and
88 effectiveness of each EPP's and ATPO's program completers and
89 shall include, but not be limited to, each of the following:
90(1) The number of program applicants, unconditional
91 admits, conditional admits, enrollees, and program completers,
92 disaggregated by candidate certificate type, endorsement type,
93 and demographics.
94(2) The number of qualified applicants that apply but
95 are denied admittance for each endorsement type.
96(3) Program admission criteria and enrollment profile,
97 including, but not limited to, average grade point average and
98 SAT or ACT score range.
99(4) First attempt pass rates by program enrollees, and
100 all other attempt pass rates by program enrollees, in numbers
101 and percentages, on exams or other assessments taken to
102 fulfill the requirements of the Alabama Educator Certification
103 Assessment Program (AECAP), disaggregated by endorsement type
104 and demographics.
105(5) Employment outcomes for program completers,
106 including at least the following measures specifically for
107 program completers employed as classroom teachers in Alabama:
108a. Percentage of program completers employed as
109 classroom teachers in Alabama within one year of program
110 completion.
111b. Percentage of program completers teaching in-field
112 versus out-of-field.
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113c. Percentage of program completers working in a public
114 school setting, along with the district or local education
115 agency of employment.
116d. Percentage teaching in a shortage teaching field.
117e. Percentage teaching in a location with a critical
118 teaching shortage.
119(6) One-year and three-year retention rates of program
120 completers employed as classroom teachers in Alabama.
121(7) Performance of program completers in at least the
122 first three years working in the classroom, including
123 evaluations and student performance data on state summative
124 assessments.
125(8) Results of satisfaction surveys from program
126 completers and the employers of program completers.
127(9) Review of standards and coursework for inclusion of
128 evidence-based content and training, including, but not
129 limited to, the science of reading, which shall include
130 program alignment to the requirements of the Alabama Literacy
131 Act pursuant to Chapter 6G of Title 16, Code of Alabama 1975;
132 development of mathematic proficiency, which shall include
133 program alignment to the requirements of the Alabama Numeracy
134 Act pursuant to Chapter 6H of Title 16, Code of Alabama 1975;
135 multiple evidence-based methods of instruction; and the number
136 of clinical practice hours completed.
137Section 4. (a) EPPs, ATPOs, the Alabama Commission on
138 Higher Education, local education agencies, and other relevant
139 stakeholders shall annually provide the department with
140 accurate and timely data for the metrics specified in Section
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141 3.
142(b) With input from stakeholders pursuant to subsection
143 (a), the department shall develop and administer a survey at
144 the end of the program completer's first year of teaching,
145 designed to assess the satisfaction of program completers and
146 the employers of program completers as to how well the EPP or
147 ATPO prepared the program completer for certification and
148 teaching.
149(c) The department shall ensure the confidentiality of
150 individual candidate information by using appropriate data
151 suppression thresholds in providing aggregate, public-facing
152 data on the report card.
153(d) The department shall include the data collection
154 and evaluation methodology clearly and publicly on the report
155 card.
156(e) On an annual basis, the department shall provide
157 each EPP and ATPO with a more granular report that includes
158 field-level data, and where possible individual-level data,
159 associated with each of the report card measures specified in
160 Section 3, so that the EPP or ATPO can analyze program impact
161 for accreditation purposes and make meaningful improvements to
162 program structure and effectiveness.
163(f) Where possible, the department shall link data to
164 existing educator reports and tools.
165Section 5. The board shall annually review each report
166 card and, for each EPP and ATPO, determine whether
167 intervention or support is needed based on the information in
168 each report card. Intervention may include initiating a full
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169 approval review, which may result in probationary approval or
170 denial.
171Section 6. Appropriate funding shall be allocated to
172 the department to implement this act effectively.
173Section 7. This act shall become effective on October
174 1, 2026.
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