Amends TCA Title 49.

This bill makes additions and changes to present law provisions relative to educator licensing, as discussed below. This bill requires the department of education to issue a practitioner license to teach in grades 9-12 to any applicant who: (1) Holds at least a bachelor's degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution of higher education that includes at least 24 semester hours of credit in the content area in which the applicant will be teaching; (2) Has at least five years of work experience in the subjects to be taught; and (3) Enrolls in and successfully completes a teacher preparation program approved by the state board of education or completes a training course offered by an LEA that meets requirements established by the state board. The teacher preparation program must not exceed nine semester hours that are designed to meet the knowledge and skills for teacher preparation. The practitioner license must bear an endorsement to teach only in a subject area in which the applicant is approved to teach. Applicants seeking a practitioner license will not receive an endorsement to teach a course in which an end-of-course examination is required for students to satisfy graduation requirements established by the state board. The practitioner license issued will be valid for three years and may be renewed once. To obtain a professional license after holding a practitioner license, an educator must: (1) Have three years of teaching experience; (2) Have the recommendation of the director of schools, charter school leader, or charter management organization leader; and (3) Complete professional development requirements established by the state board. Upon advancement to a professional license, an educator may add endorsements pursuant to licensure rules and policies established by the state board. This bill requires the state board of education to: (1) Approve alternative teacher endorsement and licensure pathways for current and prospective educators. These must include pathways for the addition of endorsement areas for current educators, alignment with other professional licenses and certifications, and exceptions to standard licensure requirements for advanced degrees and professional experience the state board deems sufficient to ensure the quality of the educator; (2) Approve a process for an LEA or for two or more LEAs working together to establish a district teacher training program for the purpose of recommending current educators with a professional license or higher for additional endorsements; and (3) Establish the minimum educational requirements needed for current educators to participate in district teacher training programs. The training program must certify that the educational requirements established by the state board for the additional endorsement have been met by the current educator. The licensure process above will be in addition to any process already established by the state board. A current or prospective educator seeking an additional endorsement through a district teacher training program established under this bill will not be required to take an assessment or enroll in a teacher preparation program to receive the additional endorsement. The department of education will create a process specifically for reviewing district teacher training programs. Present law prohibits the state board from issuing professional licenses upon the work done in any college or university, except from a list of standard teacher-training institutions, colleges and universities that will be approved by the state board after inspection as may be provided by the state board. This bill adds that this provision does not apply to a license being issued through an alternative licensure pathway established by the state board as described above. For the purpose of promulgating rules, this bill will take effect upon becoming law. For all other provisions, this bill will take effect on January 1, 2022. ON MAY 4, 2021, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 1534, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bill and requires the state board of education to approve a process for an LEA, or for two or more LEAs working together, to establish a district teacher training program for the purpose of recommending eligible educators for endorsements. An educator must possess an active Tennessee professional teaching license and must be employed by an LEA participating in the program to be eligible to participate in a program established under this amendment. This amendment also requires the state board to establish the minimum requirements for district teacher training programs; provided, that the minimum requirements must allow eligible educators to add endorsement areas to the educator's license. District teacher training programs established under this amendment must certify to the department of education that the eligible educator has met the requirements established by the state board for the endorsement. This amendment prohibits the state board from requiring an eligible educator seeking an endorsement through a district teacher training program to enroll in a teacher preparation program in order to receive the endorsement. This amendment states that it does not prohibit a district teacher training program from partnering with a teacher preparation program approved by the state board. To ensure the quality of an educator who receives an endorsement under this amendment, the state board must require the eligible educator to take an assessment pursuant to the state board's rules and policies. This provision will not apply to an educator who has six or more years of teaching experience and who earned an overall performance effectiveness level of "above expectations" or "significantly above expectations" on the educator's most recent evaluation; however, this exemption will not apply, and the educator will have to take an assessment, if the educator is seeking an endorsement in foundational literacy skills under the Tennessee Literacy Success Act, which was enacted the general assembly in extraordinary session in 2021. This amendment requires the department of education to create a process for the review of district teacher training programs established under this amendment. For rulemaking purposes, this bill as amended will take effect upon becoming law. For all other purposes, this bill as amended will take effect July 1, 2022. ON MAY 4, 2021, THE SENATE SUBSTITUTED HOUSE BILL 1534 FOR SENATE BILL 653, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 1534, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 incorporates the provisions of House Amendment #1 with the following changes: (1) Replaces references to a "district teacher training program" with an "LEA teacher training program"; (2) Requires teacher training programs to "provide documentation" (rather than "certify") to the department of education certifying that the eligible educator has met the requirements established by the state board for the endorsement. This amendment also adds that the certification must be made before the endorsement is added to the eligible educator's license; (3) Deletes the exemption for educators who have six or more years teaching experience; and (4) Clarifies that this bill will take effect upon becoming a law for rulemaking purposes and July 1, 2022, for all other purposes.