Amends TCA Title 49.

Present law authorizes the state board of education to enter into reciprocal agreements with the educator licensing authorities of other states whereby holders of licenses in other states may be issued licenses in this state. This bill adds requirements that, for persons seeking licensure in Tennessee and who are licensed in states that have reciprocal agreements with the state board, the state board or department of education must issue a license that is equivalent to the license that the person was issued in the other state. In the case of principals and superintendents, such requirement will only apply if the person served as a supervisor or principal in the other state for no less than one school year. This bill also requires that, when issuing a supervisor's, principal's, or public school teacher's license to an individual who is a military spouse and who possesses an active supervisor's, principal's, or public school teacher's license in another state, the department must issue a license that is equivalent to the license that the individual possesses in the other state upon the department's receipt of documentation from the individual evidencing the individual's active military dependent status. This bill requires the department of education to submit a report on the effectiveness of supervisors, principals, and public school teachers who obtained a Tennessee educator license through an out-of-state pathway compared with the effectiveness of other supervisors, principals, and public school teachers licensed in this state to the education committee of the senate and the education instruction committee of the house of representatives by July 31, 2022, and by July 31 each year thereafter. The report must be posted on the department's website. Under present law, a supervisor, principal, or public school teacher is not required to take an assessment to advance or renew a license if: (1) At the time of application for an initial license, the supervisor, principal, or public school teacher possessed an active professional license in a state that has a reciprocal agreement with the state board; (2) At the time of application for advancement or renewal of a license, the supervisor, principal, or public school teacher is employed to serve or teach courses in the individual's area of endorsement in a public school in this state; and (3) The supervisor, principal, or public school teacher earned an overall performance effectiveness level of “above expectations” or “significantly above expectations” as provided in the evaluation guidelines adopted by the state board of education in each of the first two years immediately following the issuance of the individual's initial license. This bill adds an exception to (3), whereby, if a licensee who receives an overall performance effectiveness level during only one of the first two years immediately following the issuance of the individual's initial license, the state board will be required to use the most recent overall performance effectiveness level that is available. If the licensee did not receive an overall performance effectiveness level during both of the first two years immediately following the issuance of the individual's initial license, then a director of schools or the director of a public charter school will be required to submit a recommendation to the state board on the licensee's effectiveness for the purposes of determining whether the licensee is required to take an assessment. This bill authorizes the state board of education to promulgate rules necessary to effectuate its purposes. ON MARCH 15, 2021, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED SENATE BILL 479, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 makes this bill's provisions for reciprocal licensure effective July 1, 2021, instead of upon becoming a law and revises this bill's exception to the present law provision described in (3) of the Bill Summary. This amendment adds an exception to (3), as described in the Bill Summary, whereby, if a licensee did not receive an overall performance effectiveness level during one or both of the two years immediately following the issuance of the licensee's initial license, then the licensee may choose to use the licensee's most recent overall performance effectiveness level that is available to demonstrate an overall performance effectiveness level of "above expectations" or "significantly above expectations" for purposes of qualifying for an exemption from being required to take an assessment to advance or renew the licensee's license, or the licensee may request that the director of schools or the director of the public charter school submit a recommendation to the department on the licensee's effectiveness. If a director of schools or the director of a public charter school submits a recommendation to the department attesting to a licensee's effectiveness, then this bill requires the commissioner of education to consider the overall performance effectiveness level requirement met, and shall not require the licensee to take an assessment to advance or renew a license.