(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) of this section, the board of a school district shall not enter into an employment contract with any person as a teacher, except in a local college district or in an adult education program, unless such person holds an initial or a professional teacher's license or authorization issued pursuant to the provisions of article 60.5 of this title.
(2) (a) The general assembly hereby recognizes that many persons with valuable professional expertise in areas other than teaching provide a great benefit to students through their experience and functional knowledge when hired by a school district. To facilitate the employment of these persons and comply with the requirements of federal law, the general assembly has statutory provisions to create an alternative teacher license and alternative teacher programs to enable school districts to employ persons with expertise in professions other than teaching. These provisions enable a school district to employ a person with professional expertise in a particular subject area, while ensuring that the person receives the necessary training and develops the necessary skills to be a highly qualified teacher. The general assembly strongly encourages each school district to hire persons who hold alternative teacher licenses to provide a wide range of experience in teaching and functional subject matter knowledge for the benefit of the students enrolled in the school district.
(b) A school district may hire a person who holds an alternative teacher license to teach as an alternative teacher pursuant to an alternative teacher contract as described in section 2260.5-207.
(3) The board of a school district may enter into an employment contract with any person to serve as an administrator based upon qualifications set by the board of the school district. Nothing in this article shall be construed to require that an administrator, as a condition of employment, possess any type of license or authorization issued pursuant to article 60.5 of this title.
Source: L. 90: Entire article R&RE, p. 1120, § 1, effective July 1. L. 99: Entire section amended, p. 1196, § 12, effective June 1. L. 2000: (3) added, p.1062, § 2, effective May 26. L. 2005: (1) and (2) amended, pp. 189, 190, §§ 32, 36, effective April 7. L. 2009: (2) amended, (SB 09-160), ch. 292, p. 1456, § 10, effective May 21.
Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 22-63-103 as it existed prior to 1990.