March 22, 2005, Introduced by Reps. Robertson, Caswell, Meyer, Gosselin and Gleason and referred to the Committee on Education.
A bill to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled
"The revised school code,"
by amending section 1531 (MCL 380.1531), as amended by 2000 PA 497,
and by adding section 1161.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1161. (1) Not later than the beginning of the 2006-2007
school year, the board of a school district or board of directors
of a public school academy shall ensure that the reading
instruction provided at each grade level in each school it operates
meets all of the following:
(a) Teaches from sound to print for pupils to access the
English alphabet.
(b) Teaches phonemes only.
(c) Teaches from simple to complex, with the most common
spelling of a sound first.
(d) Teaches blending and segmenting of words using a
multisensory approach.
(e) Teaches the pupil the proper process of how to form each
letter and has the pupil say the sound as he or she writes each
letter.
(f) Teaches that letter strings of up to 4 letters can
represent a sound.
(g) Teaches that all sounds can be spelled in a variety of
ways.
(h) Teaches that the same spelling can represent different
sounds.
(i) Provides explicit instruction for reading fluency
including timed rereading of a passage until a designated goal, in
words per minute, is attained.
(j) Teaches how the English alphabet is used both in reading
and spelling and teaches these 2 areas simultaneously for optimum
gains.
(k) Assesses pupils’ progress by analyzing their spelling
error patterns in authentic writing pieces, including sentences,
stories, and unedited classroom writing projects, in order to
understand the pupil’s independent level of accurate word reading.
(l) On a yearly basis, administers standardized pretesting and
posttesting to measure pupil progress and identify areas of
weakness needing further instruction.
(2) Not later than December 31, 2005, the department shall
select or develop and make available to school districts and public
school academies a model reading curriculum that meets the
requirements of subsection (1).
(3) The board of a school district or board of directors of a
public school academy shall ensure that each teacher assigned to
teach reading at any level in a school it operates is trained in
the techniques described in subsection (1) before implementation of
the instruction described in subsection (1).
Sec. 1531. (1) Except as provided in this act, the
superintendent of public instruction shall determine the
requirements for and issue all licenses and certificates for
teachers, including preprimary teachers, and the requirements for
an endorsement of teachers as qualified counselors and an
endorsement of teachers for teaching a foreign language in an
elementary grade in the public schools of the state.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this act, the
superintendent of public instruction shall only issue a teaching
certificate to a person who has passed appropriate examinations as
follows:
(a) For a secondary level teaching certificate, has passed
both the basic skills examination and the appropriate available
subject area examination for each subject area in which he or she
applies to be certified.
(b) For an elementary level teaching certificate, has passed
the basic skills examination and, if it is available, the
elementary certification examination, and has passed the
appropriate available subject area examination for each subject
area, if any, in which he or she applies to be certified.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in this act, the
superintendent of public instruction shall issue a Michigan
teaching certificate to a person holding a certificate from another
state or a teaching degree from an out-of-state teacher preparation
institution who applies for a Michigan teaching certificate only if
the person passes appropriate examinations as follows:
(a) For a secondary level teaching certificate, pass both the
basic skills examination and the appropriate available subject area
examination for each subject area in which he or she applies to be
certified. The superintendent of public instruction may accept
passage of an equivalent examination approved by the superintendent
of public instruction to meet 1 or both of these requirements.
(b) For an elementary level teaching certificate, pass the
basic skills examination and, if it is available, the elementary
certification examination, and pass the appropriate available
subject area examination for each subject area, if any, in which he
or she applies to be certified. The superintendent of public
instruction may accept passage of an equivalent examination
approved by the superintendent of public instruction to meet 1 or
more of these requirements.
(4) Except as otherwise provided in this act, the
superintendent of public instruction shall only issue a teaching
certificate to a person who has met the elementary or secondary, as
applicable, reading credit requirements established under
superintendent of public instruction rule and who demonstrates that
he or she has received training in the reading instruction
techniques described in section 1161 as part of his or her teacher
preparation
program. Not later than 1 year after
the effective date
of
the amendatory act that added this subsection January 11, 2002,
the superintendent of public instruction, in cooperation with
appropriate curriculum specialists and teacher educators, shall
revise existing reading standards to recognize reading disorders
and to enable teachers to make referrals for instruction and
support for pupils with reading disorders.
(5) Subject to subsection (7), if a person holding a teaching
certificate from another state 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 person a Michigan professional
education teaching certificate and applicable endorsements
comparable to those the person holds in the other state, without
requiring the person to pass a basic skills examination or the
applicable subject area examination otherwise required under
subsection (2) or (3). To be eligible to receive a Michigan
professional education teaching certificate under this subsection,
a person shall provide evidence satisfactory to the department that
he or she meets all of the following requirements:
(a) Has taught successfully for at least 3 years in a position
for which the person's teaching certification from the other state
was valid.
(b) Has earned, after his or her initial certification in
another state, at least 18 semester credit hours in a planned
course of study at an institution of higher education approved by
the superintendent of public instruction or has earned, at any
time, a master's or doctoral degree approved by the superintendent
of public instruction.
(c) Has met the elementary or secondary, as applicable,
reading credit requirement established under superintendent of
public instruction rule and has received training approved by the
department in the reading instruction techniques described in
section 1161.
(6) A person who receives a teaching certificate and
endorsement or endorsements under subsection (5) is eligible to
receive 1 or more additional endorsements comparable to
endorsements the person holds in another state only if the person
passes the appropriate subject area examinations required under
subsection (2) or (3).
(7) The superintendent of public instruction shall deny a
Michigan teaching certificate to a person described in subsection
(5) for fraud, material misrepresentation, or concealment in the
person's application for a certificate or for a conviction for
which a person's teaching certificate may be revoked under section
1535a.
(8) The department, based upon criteria recommended pursuant
to subsection (10), shall provide to approved teacher education
institutions guidelines and criteria approved by the superintendent
of public instruction for use in the development or selection of a
basic skills examination and approved guidelines and criteria for
use in the development or selection of subject area examinations.
(9) For the purposes of this section, the superintendent of
public instruction, based upon criteria recommended pursuant to
subsection (10), shall develop, select, or develop and select 1 or
more basic skills examinations and subject area examinations. In
addition, the superintendent of public instruction, based upon
criteria recommended pursuant to subsection (10), shall approve an
elementary certification examination and a reading subject area
examination.
(10) The superintendent of public instruction shall appoint an
11-member teacher examination advisory committee comprised of
representatives of approved teacher education institutions and
Michigan education organizations and associations. Not more than
1/2 of the members comprising this committee shall be certified
teachers. This committee shall recommend criteria to be used by the
superintendent of public instruction in the development, selection,
or development and selection of 1 or more basic skills
examinations, and criteria to be used by the superintendent of
public instruction in the development, selection, or development
and selection of subject area examinations. In addition, the
committee shall recommend guidelines for the use and administration
of those examinations. The basic skills examinations referred to in
this subsection may be developed by the superintendent of public
instruction or selected by the superintendent of public instruction
from commercially or university developed examinations. In
addition, an approved teacher education institution, pursuant to
guidelines and criteria described in subsection (8), may develop an
examination at its own expense for approval by the superintendent
of public instruction. An approved teacher education institution
that develops its own examination is liable for any litigation that
results from the use of its examination.
(11) The superintendent of public instruction shall appoint a
7-member standing technical advisory council comprised of persons
who are experts in measurement and assessment. This council shall
advise the superintendent of public instruction and the teacher
examination committee on the validity, reliability, and other
technical standards of the examinations that will be used or are
being used and of the administration and use of those examinations.
(12) 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 basic skills
examination, the elementary certification examination, and the
subject area examinations to the house and senate education
committees. The report shall also contain a financial statement
regarding revenue received from the assessment of fees levied
pursuant to subsection (14) and the amount of and any purposes for
which that revenue was expended.
(13) The basic skills examination, the elementary
certification examination, and the subject area examinations
required by this section may be taken at different times during an
approved teacher preparation program, but the basic skills
examination must be passed before a person is enrolled for student
teaching and the elementary certification examination and the
subject area examinations, as applicable, must be passed before a
person is recommended for certification.
(14) The department, or if approved by the superintendent of
public instruction, a private testing service, may assess fees for
taking the basic skills examination, elementary certification
examination, and the subject area examinations. The fees, which
shall be set by the superintendent of public instruction, shall not
exceed $50.00 for a basic skills examination or $75.00 for an
elementary certification examination or a subject area examination.
However, if a subject area examination for vocational education
includes a performance examination, an additional fee may be
assessed for taking the performance examination, not to exceed the
actual cost of administering the performance examination. Fees
received by the department shall be expended solely for
administrative expenses that it incurs in implementing this
section.
(15) If a person holding a teaching certificate from another
state applies for a Michigan teaching certificate and meets all
requirements for the Michigan teaching certificate except passage
of the appropriate examinations under subsection (3), the
superintendent of public instruction shall issue a nonrenewable
temporary teaching certificate, good for 1 year, to the person. The
superintendent of public instruction shall not issue a Michigan
teaching certificate to the person after expiration of the
temporary teaching certificate unless the person passes appropriate
examinations as described in subsection (3).
(16) As used in this section:
(a) "Basic skills examination" means an examination developed
or selected by the superintendent of public instruction or
developed pursuant to subsection (10) by an approved teacher
education institution for the purpose of demonstrating the
applicant's knowledge and understanding of basic language and
mathematical skills and other skills necessary for the certificate
sought, and for determining whether or not an applicant is eligible
for a provisional Michigan teaching certificate.
(b) "Elementary certification examination" means a
comprehensive examination for elementary certification that has
been developed or selected by the superintendent of public
instruction for demonstrating the applicant's knowledge and
understanding of the core subjects normally taught in elementary
classrooms and for determining whether or not an applicant is
eligible for an elementary level teaching certificate.
(c) "Subject area examination" means an examination related to
a specific area of certification, which examination has been
developed or selected by the superintendent of public instruction
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.
(17) The superintendent of public instruction shall promulgate
rules for the implementation of this section.
(18) Notwithstanding any rule to the contrary, the
superintendent of public instruction shall continue to issue state
elementary or secondary continuing education certificates pursuant
to R 390.1132(1) of the Michigan administrative code to persons who
completed the requirements of that rule by December 31, 1992 and
who apply for that certificate not later than March 15, 1994. If
the superintendent of public instruction has issued a state
elementary or secondary professional education certificate to a
person described in this section, the superintendent of public
instruction shall consider the person to have a state elementary or
secondary, as applicable, continuing education certificate.