An Act To Provide Exemptions from Certain Teacher Certification Examination Requirements
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1149
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: FECTEAU, LYMAN, ROCHE, SAMPSON, STEARNS, RAFFERTY
Amends: 20-A MRSA §13013, 20-A MRSA §13032, 20-A MRSA §13032-A

Legislative Document
No. 1149
H.P. 827
House of Representatives, March 22, 2021
An Act To Provide Exemptions from Certain Teacher Certification 
Examination Requirements
Received by the Clerk of the House on March 18, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Education and Cultural Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to 
Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative FECTEAU of Augusta.
Cosponsored by Representatives: LYMAN of Livermore Falls, ROCHE of Wells, SAMPSON 
of Alfred, STEARNS of Guilford, Senator: RAFFERTY of York.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §13013, sub-§2-B, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 235, §12 
and affected by §41, is amended to read:
A.  Has graduated from an educator preparation program and has passed a qualifying 
exam examination or has received a qualifying examination waiver pursuant to section 
13032-A;
Sec. 2.  20-A MRSA §13032, first ¶, as amended by PL 2017, c. 235, §30 and 
affected by §41, is further amended to read:
A professional teacher certificate may be issued only to those applicants who have 
taken and passed the applicable teacher qualifying examination.  This limitation does not 
apply to applicants seeking a certificate under section 13013, subsection 2‑B, paragraph B, 
but such applicants must meet any exam examination requirement necessary for the 
endorsement being sought.  This section does not apply to applicants who receive a 
qualifying examination waiver pursuant to section 13032-A.
Sec. 3.  20-A MRSA §13032-A is enacted to read:
§13032-A.  Qualifying examination waiver
1.  Professional teacher certificate.  The commissioner shall waive the examination 
requirement under section 13032 for an applicant seeking a professional teacher certificate 
if the applicant has satisfactorily completed a bachelor's degree program from a regionally 
accredited college or university with an overall grade point average of 3.0 or higher, on a 
scale of 4.0, or its equivalent.
2.  Endorsements.  The commissioner shall waive any examination requirement for 
an endorsement for an applicant seeking the endorsement who has satisfactorily completed 
a bachelor's degree program from a regionally accredited college or university with an 
overall grade point average of 3.0 or higher, on a scale of 4.0, or its equivalent in the content 
area of the endorsement being sought.
3.  Professional teacher certificate; teaching experience under conditional 
certificate.  The commissioner shall waive the examination requirement for any 
pedagogical knowledge and skills assessment or its equivalent and any principles of 
learning and teaching assessment or its equivalent in department rule for any applicant 
seeking a professional teacher certificate who has successfully completed 2 full years of 
teaching under a conditional certificate. The waiver under this subsection does not apply 
to applicants who are enrolled in an educator preparation program and who have not yet 
completed the requirements for a bachelor's degree.
Rules adopted to implement this section are not subject to the provisions of section 
13006-A, subsection 3.
Sec. 4.  Rules.  By January 1, 2022, the State Board of Education shall amend the 
Department of Education's rule Chapter 115: the Credentialing of Education Personnel, and 
the Commissioner of Education shall amend the Department of Education's rule Chapter 
13: Qualifying Examinations for Teachers, Educational Specialists, and Administrators, as 
necessary to be consistent with this Act.
SUMMARY
This bill provides waivers of the applicable qualifying examinations for the following 
applicants for professional teacher certificates or endorsements:
1.  For applicants seeking a professional teacher certificate who have satisfactorily 
completed a bachelor's degree program from a regionally accredited college or university 
with an overall grade point average of 3.0 or higher, on a scale of 4.0, or its equivalent;
2. For applicants seeking endorsements who have satisfactorily completed a bachelor's 
degree program from a regionally accredited college or university with an overall grade 
point average of 3.0 or higher, on a scale of 4.0, or its equivalent in the content area of the 
endorsement being sought; and
3. For applicants seeking a professional teacher certificate who are required to take the 
pedagogical knowledge and skills assessment and principles of learning and teaching 
assessment by Department of Education rule but who have successfully completed 2 full 
years of teaching under a conditional certificate. 
This bill also provides that rules adopted to implement the qualifying examination 
waivers are not subject to the law that provides that an amendment to the teacher 
certification rules that revises the qualifications for a credential for a professional teacher 
certificate does not apply to certain persons; this change ensures that the qualifying 
examination waivers are available to all eligible applicants.