AZ SB1039

School districts and charter schools with A or B letter grades for three consecutive years may apply to the state board of education to approve alternative teacher certification.

Teachers pursuing alternative certification must hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited university, pass background and fingerprint clearance requirements, and work in the classroom for at least one full year before receiving a certificate.

Alternative certification requires 80 percent of a teacher's students to perform at grade level or achieve at least one year of academic growth by end of school year, measured using state board-approved assessments.

School districts and charter schools must submit data demonstrating their teacher training program's effectiveness and must ensure high quality teachers are equally distributed across all schools in the district or charter school.

The state board of education shall adopt rules to facilitate the alternative certification approval process but may not impose requirements more restrictive than those prescribed in the bill.