HB 361 Summary

• Expands the 40-hour weekly teaching permit to include individuals teaching practical exercises in career-technical courses designed to prepare students to work as public safety officers, in addition to existing STEM school and dropout recovery community school eligibility.

• Adds "dropout recovery community school" as a defined term, meaning a community school where a majority of students are enrolled in a dropout prevention and recovery program.

• Authorizes school district boards, STEM schools, and dropout recovery community schools to engage nonlicensed permit holders to teach up to the specified hours per week, with supervision requirements until the administrator confirms teaching competency.

• Maintains existing protections requiring nonlicensed teachers to have a baccalaureate, master's, or doctoral degree or significant experience in their subject area, and prohibiting their hiring if it displaces existing licensed employees.

• Students taught by nonlicensed individuals receive the same credit as if taught by licensed teachers, and nonlicensed teachers are considered teachers under state law except for pension and certain employment-related chapters.