TEACHER CERTIFICATION; INSTITUTIONS H.B. 4591 (S-2): COMMITTEE SUMMARY






House Bill 4591 (Substitute S-2)
Sponsor: Representative Hoon-Young Hopgood
House Committee: Education
Senate Committee: Appropriation


Date Completed: 10-9-07

CONTENT The bill would amend the Revised School Code to do the following:

-- Increase fees for teaching certificates and permits, generally by $35 and $20, respectively.
-- Require the Department of Education to create a teacher certification database, which would have to provide for on-line certificate renewal and credit card payment, and meet other criteria.
-- Require teacher preparation institutions and subject area specialty programs to be approved by the State according to existing administrative rules.
-- Provide that teacher preparation programs and specialty programs would be subject to periodic review; establish fees for the periodic review; and require the fee revenue to be deposited in the Teacher-Administrator Preparation and Certification Fund.
 A more detailed description of the bill follows.


Teacher Certification Database


The bill would require the Department to establish and implement a teacher certification database system that provided for at least all of the following:

-- The ability of teachers to renew a professional teaching certificate on-line.
-- On-line credit card payment capability (as described below).
-- A central registry that documented each teacher's professional development activities and completion of State Board of Education continuing education units.
-- Improved compatibility with the registry of educational personnel data reporting system.
-- Improved efficiency of the teacher preparation institution web-based teacher certification recommendation process.
-- Improved capacity to generate reports about the number of certificates and endorsements issued.
-- Improved quality control through customization of the system.


The on-line credit card payment capability would have to result in the processing of teaching certificate applications and the issuance of teaching certificates within 48 to 72 hours for in-State applicants and within three weeks for out-of-State applicants who had provided a complete application, as determined by the Department.


The Department would have to fund the system from the proposed fee increases.


Fee Increases


The Code requires applicants for teaching certificates or permits, or various types of authorizations or endorsements, to pay specified fees as a condition of being evaluated for conformance with applicable requirements. The fees depend, in part, on whether they are for original applications or for renewal or reinstatement applications, and whether the applicant is in-State or out-of-State. (In some cases, a certificate, permit, etc. is available only to in-State applicants.)


The bill would increase fees as shown in Table 1, as well as add a new fee for a school counselor license.


Table 1

  Current Fee Proposed Fee
  In-State Out-of-State In-State Out-of-State
Original Application      
  Provisional teaching certificate $125 $175 $160 $210
Professional teaching certificate 125 175 160 210
Vocational temporary authorization1) 125 175 160 210
Occupational educational certificate 125 175 160 210
School psychologist certificate 125 175 160 210
School administrator certificate 125 175 160 210
School counselor license -- -- 160 --
Substitute teacher permit 25 -- 45 --
Full-year teacher permit 25 -- 45 --
Emergency permit 25 -- 45 --
Annual vocational authorization2) 25 -- 40 --
Duplicate certificate or authorization 10 -- 25 --
       
  Renewal or Reinstatement      
  Provisional teaching certificate 75 -- 100 --
Vocational temporary authorization1) 75 -- 100 --
Professional teaching certificate 125 -- 160 --
Occupational education certificate 125 -- 160 --
School psychologist certificate 125 -- 160 --
School administrator certificate 125 -- 160 --
School counselor license -- -- 160 --
1) This also would apply to an interim occupational certificate under the bill.
2) The bill would charge this to annual occupational authorization.

In addition, the bill would eliminate reference to several categories of in-State applicants and the associated fees, as shown in Table 2.


Table 2

  Fee
Original Application
  Continuing teaching certificate $125
Full vocational authorization 125
Parent cooperative preschool certificate 50
School administrator permit 125
 
  Renewal or Reinstatement Application
  Continuing teaching certificate 125
Full vocational authorization 125
Teacher Preparation Institutions; Specialty Programs


Under the bill, a teacher preparation institution and its subject area specialty programs would have to be approved by the State as provided in R 390.1151 to R 390.1156 of the Michigan Administrative Code. (Those rules provide for the approval of teacher preparation institutions and specialty programs according to standards of the State Board, and otherwise govern approved teacher preparation institutions. The rules also provide for the acceptance of credits from out-of-State teacher preparation institutions or from institutions not approved for teacher preparation purposes.)


In addition, the teacher preparation program and subject area specialty programs of a State-approved teacher preparation institution would be subject to periodic review for conformance with State Board standards and procedures. The Department could not conduct a periodic review of a particular program more than once every five years. If the content standards for a subject area specialty program were revised, however, the Department could conduct a periodic review of that program before the five-year review period expired.


For approval or periodic review of a teacher preparation program, a State-approved teacher preparation institution would have to pay the following fees to the Department:

-- $2,000, if the institution were part of a college or university that had a total student enrollment of less than 2,000.
-- $3,500, if the institution were part of a college or university that had a total student enrollment of 2,000 or more.

A State-approved teacher preparation institution would have to pay a $300 fee for approval or periodic review of a subject area specialty program.


Fund


Under the Code, all of the application fees collected for teaching certificates and permits, and authorizations and endorsements, must be deposited in the Teacher-Administrator Preparation and Certification Fund. Under the bill, the fees paid by teacher preparation institutions for approval or periodic review also would have to be deposited in the Fund.


The Code requires revenue in the Fund to be spent for the operation of the teacher preparation and certification program and the administrator preparation and certification program and for teacher and administrator professional development, as well as other quality-related activities. Under the bill, these would include the proposed teacher certification database system.


MCL 380.1538 et al.

FISCAL IMPACT
State: The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) would face increased costs under this legislation associated with the required start-up and implementation of a new teacher certification database that would provide for the ability to renew teaching certificates on-line, pay on-line and process and issue teaching certificates within 72 hours, and meet other requirements listed in the bill.


The total cost of the new database is estimated at $2.1 million, to be paid over three years. In order to pay for this cost, as well as to eliminate a projected deficit in the Teacher-Administrator Preparation and Certification Fee Fund (which supports professional
preparation operations), this bill would increase teaching certificate fees and fees for other school-related personnel. The total amount of certification fee revenue estimated to be raised each year under the bill is $1.7 million. The Governor's fiscal year 2007-08 Department of Education budget recommendation included appropriation of sufficient funds to pay for the first year's cost for the new database, and proposed this new fee structure accordingly. Also, $200,000 of the increased revenue is intended to support alternative teacher certification programs currently operated at Central Michigan University and Wayne State University.


In addition to the above changes, the MDE would see increased revenue from a teacher college review fee, to cover the costs of periodic reviews of such colleges of education. The total annual amount of revenue expected to be raised by these fees is $54,000.


Local: The bill would have no fiscal impact on local government.

Fiscal Analyst: Kathryn Summers-Coty

Analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent. 4591/0708