HF 1079 Summary

• Establishes the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board to consolidate all teacher and support personnel licensing authority previously held by the Board of Teaching and Minnesota Department of Education.

• Creates a four-tiered teacher licensing system (Tier 1-4) with varying term lengths and requirements, replacing the previous one-year, two-year, three-year, and five-year license structure.

• Transfers board composition to include 6 teachers, 1 superintendent from metro area, 1 superintendent from outside metro area, 1 elementary principal, 1 secondary principal, and 1 public member.

• Requires the board to adopt rules for teacher preparation programs, establish skills examinations in reading/writing/mathematics, and oversee licensure via portfolio and alternative preparation programs.

• Appropriates unspecified funding for fiscal years 2018-2019 and requires implementation reports on the tiered licensure system by January 1, 2019.