House Bill 174 Summary

• Creates the Mississippi Delta Alternative Teacher Licensure Pilot Program within the State Department of Education to establish an alternative route to teacher licensure for qualified persons in the Mississippi Delta Region, which includes 16 specific counties (Bolivar, Carroll, Coahoma, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Leflore, Panola, Quitman, Sharkey, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tunica, Warren, Washington, and Yazoo).

• Establishes the Mississippi Delta Alternative Teacher License effective July 1, 2019, with three qualification options: (1) 21 ACT equivalent and Praxis Core passing score; (2) 18 ACT equivalent with 2.75+ GPA in content area; or (3) passing all but one developmental area of Praxis Core and Praxis II exams, or portfolio/video submission.

• Limits use of the alternative license to Delta Region school districts that submit written requests to the State Department of Education and agree to provide at least 50 additional hours of professional development to license holders during their first three years of employment.

• Requires employing school districts to assign a veteran on-site mentor teacher to alternative license holders during their first two years of employment, with mentor compensation provided under existing law.

• Permits teachers licensed through the alternative program to participate in other teacher recruitment and retention programs including the William F. Winter Teacher Forgivable Loan Program and Mississippi Employer-Assisted Housing Teacher Shortage Program.

• Deletes the July 1, 2020 repeal dates for the Mississippi Critical Teacher Shortage Act of 1998 sections, allowing those programs to continue indefinitely.