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Committee hears technical changes to educator licensing, including CTE exception; senators debate charter coverage
Summary
Representative Glenn Cordelli told the Senate Education Committee that House Bill 440 clarifies State Board authority to set passing scores for initial educator licensure and creates an exemption for career and technical education teachers with basic skills tests or industry certifications.
Representative Glenn Cordelli, prime sponsor of House Bill 440, told the Senate Education Committee the bill implements two technical changes at the Department of Education’s request: it specifies that the rules for initial educator licensure require passing scores on educator assessments determined by the State Board of Education and exempts career and technical education (CTE) teachers from additional educator assessments if they pass a basic skills test or hold an industry certification.
"This bill does two things, at the request of the department," Cordelli said, framing the measure as technical changes to statute governing the State Board of Education’s duties. He said the changes were a department-requested clarification and that the measure passed the House on the consent calendar.
Senators questioned whether the licensure requirements in the bill apply to public charter schools. A senator suggested amending the bill to explicitly include charter schools; others noted charter schools historically have had different staffing flexibilities and a statutory allowance that a portion of charter staff need not be state-certified. The committee briefly debated whether to move the bill forward or seek clarification about how it applies to charter schools and whether a specific amendment was necessary.
A motion to report HB 440 as "ought to pass" was made and seconded, then members discussed whether to hold the bill to clarify charter-school applicability; a sponsor agreed to withdraw the motion for the time being so senators could obtain more detail.
Representative Cordelli and senators described the change for CTE teachers as an exemption from "other educator assessments" if they have basic skills certification or industry credentials, with the intent of recognizing industry-based credentials for CTE instructors.
No final committee vote on HB 440 was recorded at the hearing; senators asked staff to clarify charter-school application and certification ratios before returning the bill for possible action.
