Amends TCA Title 49.

This bill requires the state board of education to:<br /> <br /> (1) Provide professional development credit to a teacher who successfully completes a foreign language course that will assist the teacher in educating students for whom English is a second language;<br /> (2) Apply such professional development credit earned by a teacher toward the professional development credits required for the teacher to advance or renew a license; and<br /> (3) Develop policies to govern the approved foreign language courses and to measure and document a teacher's successful completion of an approved foreign language course.<br /> <br /> This bill allows local boards of education and charter schools to grant teachers one day of in-service credit for successfully completing an approved foreign language course. If a board or school elects to grant in-service credit, then the board or school must adopt policies to measure and document a teacher's successful completion of an approved foreign language course.<br /> <br /> This bill also requires the state board to develop policies to allow a teacher with an active endorsement in one or more of the foreign languages for which the board has approved a foreign language course pursuant to (3) above to teach a course in that foreign language to other teachers interested in earning professional development credit or in-service credit. A teacher who teaches a foreign language course approved by the state board will be eligible to receive additional professional development credit for teaching the course.<br /> <br />