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H0399........................................................by MR. SPEAKER Requested by: Board of Education TEACHERS - ELEMENTARY - Amends existing law to provide that by September 2002 all kindergarten through grade eight teacher candidates from an Idaho teacher preparation program shall pass the State Board of Education's preservice assessment measure in order to qualify for an Idaho standard elementary teaching certificate. 01/07 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing Rpt prt - to Educ 02/05 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg 02/06 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg 02/11 3rd rdg - PASSED - 67-0-3 AYES -- Aikele, Barraclough, Barrett, Bedke, Bell, Bieter, Black, Block, Boe, Bolz, Bradford, Bruneel, Callister, Campbell, Clark, Collins, Crow, Cuddy, Deal, Denney, Ellis, Ellsworth, Eskridge, Field(13), Field(20), Gagner, Gould, Hadley, Hammond, Harwood, Henbest, Higgins, Hornbeck, Jaquet, Jones, Kellogg, Kendell, Kunz, Lake, Langford, Loertscher, Mader, Martinez, McKague, Montgomery, Mortensen, Moyle, Pearce, Pischner, Pomeroy, Raybould, Roberts, Robison, Sali, Schaefer, Sellman, Shepherd, Smith(33), Smith(23), Smylie, Stone, Tilman, Trail, Wheeler, Wood, Young, Mr. Speaker NAYS -- None Absent and excused -- Meyer, Ridinger, Stevenson Floor Sponsor - Higgins Title apvd - to Senate 02/12 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Educ 02/21 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg 02/22 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg 02/28 3rd rdg - PASSED - 30-1-4 AYES -- Andreason, Boatright, Brandt, Bunderson, Burtenshaw, Cameron, Darrington, Davis, Deide, Dunklin, Goedde, Hill, Ingram, Ipsen, Keough, King-Barrutia, Little, Lodge, Noh, Richardson, Risch, Sandy, Schroeder, Sims, Sorensen, Stegner, Stennett, Thorne, Wheeler, Williams NAYS -- Marley Absent and excused -- Branch(Bartlett), Frasure, Geddes, Hawkins Floor Sponsor - Goedde Title apvd - to House 03/01 To enrol 03/04 Rpt enrol - Sp signed 03/05 Pres signed 03/06 To Governor 03/11 Governor signed Session Law Chapter 71 Effective: 07/01/02
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-sixth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2002IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 399 BY MR. SPEAKER Requested by: Board of Education 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO PRESERVICE ASSESSMENT MEASURES FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS; 3 AMENDING SECTION 33-1207A, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE THAT BY SEPTEMBER 2002, 4 ALL KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE 8 TEACHER CANDIDATES FROM AN IDAHO TEACHER 5 PREPARATION PROGRAM SHALL PASS THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION'S PRESERVICE 6 ASSESSMENT MEASURE IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR AN IDAHO STANDARD ELEMENTARY 7 TEACHING CERTIFICATE. 8 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 9 SECTION 1. That Section 33-1207A, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 10 amended to read as follows: 11 33-1207A. TEACHER PREPARATION. (1) Higher Education Institutions. The 12 state board shall review teacher preparation programs at the institutions of 13 higher education under their supervision and shall assure that the course 14 offerings and graduation requirements are consistent with the state board 15 approved, research based "Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Plan." To assure the 16 most immediate compliance with this requirement, the board may allocate funds, 17 subject to appropriation, to institutions which require revision of the pro- 18 gram. 19 The state board shall be responsible for the development of a single 20 preservice assessment measure for all kindergarten through grade eight (8) 21 teacher preparation programs. The assessment must include a demonstration of 22 teaching skills and knowledge congruent with current research on best reading 23 practices. In addition the assessment must include how children acquire lan- 24 guage; the basic sound structure of English, including phonological and 25 phonemic awareness; phonics and structural analysis; semantics and syntactics; 26 how to select reading textbooks; and how to use diagnostic tools and test data 27 to improve teaching. It shall also include the preservice teacher's knowledge 28 base of reading process: phonological awareness; sound-symbol correspondence 29 (intensive, systematic phonemes); semantics (meaning); syntax (grammar and 30 language patterns); pragmatics (background knowledge and life experience); and 31 comprehension and critical thinking. By September 2002, all K-8 teacher candi- 32 datesshall pass this assessment as part of the graduation requirementsfrom 33 an Idaho teacher preparation program shall pass this assessment in order to 34 qualify for an Idaho standard elementary teaching certificate. The state board 35 shall report the number of preservice teachers taking and passing the 36 performance-based reading assessment to the legislature and governor annually. 37 All costs associated with administration of this test shall be borne by the 38 institution which administers the test and shall be shown as a line item in 39 the appropriation request of the institution for state reimbursement. 40 (2) In-service Programs. Each teacher employed in a classroom for kinder- 41 garten through grade eight (8), Title I, or special education and each school 42 administrator of a school which includes kindergarten through grade eight (8), 43 Title I, or special education shall complete three (3) credits (or forty-five 2 1 (45) contact hours of in-service training) of a state approved reading 2 instruction course titled "Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Course" based on the 3 state approved research based "Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Plan" in order to 4 recertify. Courses which qualify for credit shall be approved by the state 5 department of education, and any educator who completes a state approved read- 6 ing instruction course prior to September 2001, shall be deemed to have met 7 the requirements of this subsection. Completion of a state approved reading 8 instruction course shall be a one-time requirement for renewal of certifica- 9 tion for those currently employed in an Idaho school district and shall be 10 included within current requirements for continuing education for renewal. The 11 department shall provide a waiver of this requirement if the applicant suc- 12 cessfully completes the reading assessment measure developed for preservice 13 purposes as provided in subsection (1) of this section. The department shall 14 establish a procedure to allow a waiver of this requirement if the applicant 15 teaches in a secondary grade subject which does not directly involve teaching 16 reading or writing. 17 The board of trustees of every school district shall include in its plan 18 for in-service training, coursework covering reading skills development, 19 including diagnostic tools to review and adjust instruction continuously, and 20 the ability to identify students who need special help in reading. The dis- 21 trict plan for in-service training in reading skills shall be submitted to the 22 state department of education for review and approval, in a format specified 23 by the department.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE RS 11461 This bill provides clarity to law established as part of the Idaho Reading Initiative. Current law (Idaho Code 33-1207A) provides that the state board of education shall develop a preservice assessment measure on best reading practices for all kindergarten through grade eight teacher preparation programs. The law then goes on to require that all new teacher candidates must pass the assessment. This bill would clarify that only K-8 teacher candidates must pass the assessment. Additionally, passage of this assessment in current law is tied to graduation from an Idaho teacher preparation program. It is possible that there are postsecondary students in teacher education programs who will not pass the assessment, and then will not go on to apply for teaching certification. It is not believed that the original intent of the law was to punish these students by not allowing them to graduate, but rather to ensure that those individuals who do not pass the assessment are not eligible for a teaching certificate. Therefore, this legislation makes passage of the assessment a qualification for an Idaho Standard Elementary Teaching Certificate rather than a requirement for graduation from a postsecondary teacher education program. FISCAL IMPACT There is no fiscal impact associated with the proposed changes. Contact: Randi McDermott Agency: Office of the State Board of Education Phone: 332-1567 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 399