Effective: September 28, 2018
Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 216, House Bill 438 - 132nd General Assembly
(A)(1) The state board of education shall issue the following educator licenses:
(a) A resident educator license, which shall be valid for four years and shall be renewable for reasons specified by rules adopted by the state board pursuant to division (A)(3) of this section. The state board, on a case-by-case basis, may extend the license's duration as necessary to enable the license holder to complete the Ohio teacher residency program established under section 3319.223 of the Revised Code;
(b) A professional educator license, which shall be valid for five years and shall be renewable;
(c) A senior professional educator license, which shall be valid for five years and shall be renewable;
(d) A lead professional educator license, which shall be valid for five years and shall be renewable.
Licenses issued under division (A)(1) of this section on and after the effective date of this amendment shall specify whether the educator is licensed to teach grades pre-kindergarten through five, grades four through nine, or grades seven through twelve. The changes to the grade band specifications under this amendment shall not apply to a person who holds a license under division (A)(1) of this section prior to the effective date of this amendment . Further, the changes to the grade band specifications under this amendment shall not apply to any license issued to teach in the area of computer information science, bilingual education, dance, drama or theater, world language, health, library or media, music, physical education, teaching English to speakers of other languages, career-technical education, or visual arts or to any license issued to an intervention specialist, including a gifted intervention specialist, or to any other license that does not align to the grade band specifications.
(2) The state board may issue any additional educator licenses of categories, types, and levels the board elects to provide.
(3) The state board shall adopt rules establishing the standards and requirements for obtaining each educator license issued under this section. The rules shall also include the reasons for which a resident educator license may be renewed under division (A)(1)(a) of this section.
(B) The rules adopted under this section shall require at least the following standards and qualifications for the educator licenses described in division (A)(1) of this section:
(1) An applicant for a resident educator license shall hold at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited teacher preparation program or be a participant in the teach for America program and meet the qualifications required under section 3319.227 of the Revised Code.
(2) An applicant for a professional educator license shall:
(a) Hold at least a bachelor's degree from an institution of higher education accredited by a regional accrediting organization;
(b) Have successfully completed the Ohio teacher residency program established under section 3319.223 of the Revised Code, if the applicant's current or most recently issued license is a resident educator license issued under this section or an alternative resident educator license issued under section 3319.26 of the Revised Code.
(3) An applicant for a senior professional educator license shall:
(a) Hold at least a master's degree from an institution of higher education accredited by a regional accrediting organization;
(b) Have previously held a professional educator license issued under this section or section 3319.222 or under former section 3319.22 of the Revised Code;
(c) Meet the criteria for the accomplished or distinguished level of performance, as described in the standards for teachers adopted by the state board under section 3319.61 of the Revised Code.
(4) An applicant for a lead professional educator license shall:
(a) Hold at least a master's degree from an institution of higher education accredited by a regional accrediting organization;
(b) Have previously held a professional educator license or a senior professional educator license issued under this section or a professional educator license issued under section 3319.222 or former section 3319.22 of the Revised Code;
(c) Meet the criteria for the distinguished level of performance, as described in the standards for teachers adopted by the state board under section 3319.61 of the Revised Code;
(d) Either hold a valid certificate issued by the national board for professional teaching standards or meet the criteria for a master teacher or other criteria for a lead teacher adopted by the educator standards board under division (F)(4) or (5) of section 3319.61 of the Revised Code.
(C) The state board shall align the standards and qualifications for obtaining a principal license with the standards for principals adopted by the state board under section 3319.61 of the Revised Code.
(D) If the state board requires any examinations for educator licensure, the department of education shall provide the results of such examinations received by the department to the chancellor of higher education, in the manner and to the extent permitted by state and federal law.
(E) Any rules the state board of education adopts, amends, or rescinds for educator licenses under this section, division (D) of section 3301.07 of the Revised Code, or any other law shall be adopted, amended, or rescinded under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code except as follows:
(1) Notwithstanding division (E) of section 119.03 and division (A)(1) of section 119.04 of the Revised Code, in the case of the adoption of any rule or the amendment or rescission of any rule that necessitates institutions' offering preparation programs for educators and other school personnel that are approved by the chancellor of higher education under section 3333.048 of the Revised Code to revise the curriculum of those programs, the effective date shall not be as prescribed in division (E) of section 119.03 and division (A)(1) of section 119.04 of the Revised Code. Instead, the effective date of such rules, or the amendment or rescission of such rules, shall be the date prescribed by section 3333.048 of the Revised Code.
(2) Notwithstanding the authority to adopt, amend, or rescind emergency rules in division (G) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code, this authority shall not apply to the state board of education with regard to rules for educator licenses.
(F)(1) The rules adopted under this section establishing standards requiring additional coursework for the renewal of any educator license shall require a school district and a chartered nonpublic school to establish local professional development committees. In a nonpublic school, the chief administrative officer shall establish the committees in any manner acceptable to such officer. The committees established under this division shall determine whether coursework that a district or chartered nonpublic school teacher proposes to complete meets the requirement of the rules. The department of education shall provide technical assistance and support to committees as the committees incorporate the professional development standards adopted by the state board of education pursuant to section 3319.61 of the Revised Code into their review of coursework that is appropriate for license renewal. The rules shall establish a procedure by which a teacher may appeal the decision of a local professional development committee.
(2) In any school district in which there is no exclusive representative established under Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code, the professional development committees shall be established as described in division (F)(2) of this section.
Not later than the effective date of the rules adopted under this section, the board of education of each school district shall establish the structure for one or more local professional development committees to be operated by such school district. The committee structure so established by a district board shall remain in effect unless within thirty days prior to an anniversary of the date upon which the current committee structure was established, the board provides notice to all affected district employees that the committee structure is to be modified. Professional development committees may have a district-level or building-level scope of operations, and may be established with regard to particular grade or age levels for which an educator license is designated.
Each professional development committee shall consist of at least three classroom teachers employed by the district, one principal employed by the district, and one other employee of the district appointed by the district superintendent. For committees with a building-level scope, the teacher and principal members shall be assigned to that building, and the teacher members shall be elected by majority vote of the classroom teachers assigned to that building. For committees with a district-level scope, the teacher members shall be elected by majority vote of the classroom teachers of the district, and the principal member shall be elected by a majority vote of the principals of the district, unless there are two or fewer principals employed by the district, in which case the one or two principals employed shall serve on the committee. If a committee has a particular grade or age level scope, the teacher members shall be licensed to teach such grade or age levels, and shall be elected by majority vote of the classroom teachers holding such a license and the principal shall be elected by all principals serving in buildings where any such teachers serve. The district superintendent shall appoint a replacement to fill any vacancy that occurs on a professional development committee, except in the case of vacancies among the elected classroom teacher members, which shall be filled by vote of the remaining members of the committee so selected.
Terms of office on professional development committees shall be prescribed by the district board establishing the committees. The conduct of elections for members of professional development committees shall be prescribed by the district board establishing the committees. A professional development committee may include additional members, except that the majority of members on each such committee shall be classroom teachers employed by the district. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration date of the term for which a predecessor was appointed shall hold office as a member for the remainder of that term.
The initial meeting of any professional development committee, upon election and appointment of all committee members, shall be called by a member designated by the district superintendent. At this initial meeting, the committee shall select a chairperson and such other officers the committee deems necessary, and shall adopt rules for the conduct of its meetings. Thereafter, the committee shall meet at the call of the chairperson or upon the filing of a petition with the district superintendent signed by a majority of the committee members calling for the committee to meet.
(3) In the case of a school district in which an exclusive representative has been established pursuant to Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code, professional development committees shall be established in accordance with any collective bargaining agreement in effect in the district that includes provisions for such committees.
If the collective bargaining agreement does not specify a different method for the selection of teacher members of the committees, the exclusive representative of the district's teachers shall select the teacher members.
If the collective bargaining agreement does not specify a different structure for the committees, the board of education of the school district shall establish the structure, including the number of committees and the number of teacher and administrative members on each committee; the specific administrative members to be part of each committee; whether the scope of the committees will be district levels, building levels, or by type of grade or age levels for which educator licenses are designated; the lengths of terms for members; the manner of filling vacancies on the committees; and the frequency and time and place of meetings. However, in all cases, except as provided in division (F)(4) of this section, there shall be a majority of teacher members of any professional development committee, there shall be at least five total members of any professional development committee, and the exclusive representative shall designate replacement members in the case of vacancies among teacher members, unless the collective bargaining agreement specifies a different method of selecting such replacements.
(4) Whenever an administrator's coursework plan is being discussed or voted upon, the local professional development committee shall, at the request of one of its administrative members, cause a majority of the committee to consist of administrative members by reducing the number of teacher members voting on the plan.
(G)(1) The department of education, educational service centers, county boards of developmental disabilities, college and university departments of education, head start programs, and the Ohio education computer network may establish local professional development committees to determine whether the coursework proposed by their employees who are licensed or certificated under this section or section 3319.222 of the Revised Code, or under the former version of either section as it existed prior to October 16, 2009, meet the requirements of the rules adopted under this section. They may establish local professional development committees on their own or in collaboration with a school district or other agency having authority to establish them.
Local professional development committees established by county boards of developmental disabilities shall be structured in a manner comparable to the structures prescribed for school districts in divisions (F)(2) and (3) of this section, as shall the committees established by any other entity specified in division (G)(1) of this section that provides educational services by employing or contracting for services of classroom teachers licensed or certificated under this section or section 3319.222 of the Revised Code, or under the former version of either section as it existed prior to October 16, 2009. All other entities specified in division (G)(1) of this section shall structure their committees in accordance with guidelines which shall be issued by the state board.
(2) Educational service centers may establish local professional development committees to serve educators who are not employed in schools in this state, including pupil services personnel who are licensed under this section. Local professional development committees shall be structured in a manner comparable to the structures prescribed for school districts in divisions (F)(2) and (3) of this section.
These committees may agree to review the coursework, continuing education units, or other equivalent activities related to classroom teaching or the area of licensure that is proposed by an individual who satisfies both of the following conditions:
(a) The individual is licensed or certificated under this section or under the former version of this section as it existed prior to October 16, 2009.
(b) The individual is not currently employed as an educator or is not currently employed by an entity that operates a local professional development committee under this section.
Any committee that agrees to work with such an individual shall work to determine whether the proposed coursework, continuing education units, or other equivalent activities meet the requirements of the rules adopted by the state board under this section.
(3) Any public agency that is not specified in divisions (G)(1) or (2) of this section but provides educational services and employs or contracts for services of classroom teachers licensed or certificated under this section or section 3319.222 of the Revised Code, or under the former version of either section as it existed prior to October 16, 2009, may establish a local professional development committee, subject to the approval of the department of education. The committee shall be structured in accordance with guidelines issued by the state board.
(H) Not later than July 1, 2016, the state board, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, shall adopt rules pursuant to division (A)(3) of this section that do both of the following:
(1) Exempt consistently high-performing teachers from the requirement to complete any additional coursework for the renewal of an educator license issued under this section or section 3319.26 of the Revised Code. The rules also shall specify that such teachers are exempt from any requirements prescribed by professional development committees established under divisions (F) and (G) of this section.
(2) For purposes of division (H)(1) of this section, the state board shall define the term "consistently high-performing teacher."
The Legislative Service Commission presents the text of this section as a composite of the section as amended by multiple acts of the General Assembly. This presentation recognizes the principle stated in R.C. 1.52(B) that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation.