A teacher certification bill that stalled in regular session passed the legislature in special session and was signed by Governor Rell. The certification revisions were months in the making as legislators examined the current teacher certification statutes and explored potential amendments.    

One amendment requires boards of education to establish professional development committees that include certified personnel and representatives of their bargaining organization. The duties of the committees would be to develop, evaluate, and update comprehensive teacher professional development plans. This is a very positive change since the current statute only allows teachers to advise and assist in developing plans. 

This spring CEA lobbied hard to make legislators understand that teachers need a voice in creating their professional development programs.  This significant amendment passed the House of Representatives with broad support after failed attempts to increase the number of hours of continuing education units (CEUs) from the current 90 hours to as high as 150 CEU hours at the financial expense of teachers. Teachers must attain the CEUs to renew their professional certificate.   

The proposed increase in CEU hours, which would also have applied to teachers holding provisional certificates, was defeated because of CEA's advocacy efforts.  CEA also prevailed in preventing an amendment that would have eliminated the due process provision if a teacher's application for a certificate was denied.    

In addition, the certification changes include new coursework requirements for teachers who hold provisional certificates. Instead of 30 credit hours of graduate or undergraduate coursework beyond a bachelor's degree to qualify for a professional certificate, teachers have to complete 30 credit hours of graduate coursework.    

Part of the plan requires, starting July 1, 2012, that provisional certificate holders only use public school teaching experience to qualify for a professional certificate. To date, they had been allowed to use teaching experience at a non-public school.            

Another change in the legislation includes broadening the definition of an alternate route to certification program.