2023 Connecticut General Statutes › Title 10 - Education and Culture › Chapter 166 - Teachers and Superintendents › Section 10-145h. - Requirements for certification as a bilingual education teacher.

(a) On and after July 1, 2021, the State Board of Education shall require an applicant for certification as a bilingual education teacher to demonstrate written competency in English and written and oral competency in the other language of instruction as a condition of certification as follows: (1) Written competency in English shall be demonstrated by (A) successful passage of the essential skills test approved by the State Board of Education, or (B) a bachelor's degree, or its equivalent, from a regionally accredited institution of higher education in which the language of instruction is English, and (2) written competency in the other language shall be demonstrated (A) on an examination, if available, of comparable difficulty as specified by the Department of Education, or (B) a bachelor's degree, or its equivalent, from a regionally accredited institution of higher education in which the language of instruction is in the other language. If such an examination is not available, competency shall be demonstrated by an appropriate alternative method as specified by the department. Oral competency in the other language shall be demonstrated by an appropriate method specified by the Department of Education.
(b) On and after July 1, 2015, the State Board of Education shall require persons seeking to become (1) elementary level bilingual education teachers to meet coursework requirements in elementary education and bilingual education, and (2) secondary level bilingual education teachers to meet coursework requirements in both the subject area they will teach and in bilingual education. The State Board of Education may issue an endorsement in bilingual education to an applicant who has (A) completed coursework requirements in (i) elementary education and bilingual education, or (ii) the subject area they will teach and bilingual education, and (B) successful passage of examination requirements for bilingual education, as approved by the State Board of Education.
(c) On and after July 1, 2000, the State Board of Education shall require bilingual education teachers holding provisional educator certificates to meet the requirements of this subsection in order to qualify for a professional educator certificate to teach bilingual education. (1) Such bilingual education teachers who teach on the elementary level shall take fifteen credit hours in bilingual education and fifteen credit hours in language arts, reading and mathematics. (2) Such bilingual education teachers who teach on the middle or secondary level shall take fifteen credit hours in bilingual education and fifteen credit hours in the subject matter that they teach. Such professional educator certificate shall be valid for bilingual education and the grade level and content area of preparation.
(d) On and after July 1, 2021, certification in (1) elementary bilingual education shall be valid for grades kindergarten to nine, inclusive, and (2) middle grades bilingual education shall be valid for grades four to nine, inclusive.
(e) Not later than January 1, 2022, the Commissioner of Education shall approve guidelines for unique endorsements to authorize the teaching of secondary bilingual humanities and secondary bilingual science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses.
(f) (1) A certified bilingual education teacher who has completed at least fifteen semester hours of credit in combined content coursework in the humanities shall be eligible to teach secondary humanities courses in a bilingual education program.
(2) A certified teacher who does not hold an endorsement in bilingual education shall be eligible to teach secondary humanities courses in a bilingual education program if such teacher completes (A) fifteen semester hours of credit in combined content coursework in the humanities, and (B) the required coursework and testing for a bilingual endorsement under this section.
(g) (1) A certified bilingual education teacher who has completed at least fifteen semester hours of credit in combined content coursework in the fields of science, technology, engineering or mathematics shall be eligible to teach secondary courses in such fields in a bilingual education program.
(2) A certified teacher who does not hold an endorsement in bilingual education shall be eligible to teach secondary science, technology, engineering or mathematics courses in a bilingual education program if such teacher completes (A) fifteen semester hours of credit in combined content coursework in the fields of science, technology, engineering or mathematics, and (B) the required coursework and testing for a bilingual endorsement under this section.
(P.A. 99-211, S. 4, 10; P.A. 05-290, S. 1; P.A. 06-13, S. 5; P.A. 08-170, S. 15; June 19 Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-1, S. 4; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5, S. 339; P.A. 21-144, S. 2.)
History: P.A. 99-211 effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 05-245 added Subsec. (d) re certification from July 1, 2005, to July 1, 2008, effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 06-13 made a technical change in Subsec. (d)(1), effective May 2, 2006; P.A. 08-170 amended Subsec. (d) to extend provisions to July 1, 2009, effective July 1, 2008; June 19 Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-1 amended Subsec. (d) to extend provisions to June 30, 2010, effective July 1, 2009; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “1999” with “2015”, adding “written” to provisions re competency in English, adding “written and oral” to provision re competency in other language of instruction, and adding provision re oral competency in other language to be demonstrated by appropriate method specified by department, amended Subsec. (b) by replacing “be certified” with “meet coursework requirements”, deleting provision re dual certification requirement may be met by earning bachelor's degree and meeting endorsement requirements, and adding Subparas. (A) and (B) re issuance of bilingual education endorsement, and deleted former Subsec. (d) re certification from July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2010, effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 21-144 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “July 1, 2015” with “July 1, 2021”, adding “as follows:”, designating existing provision re written competency in English as Subdiv. (1) and designating existing provision re passage of essential skills test as Subpara. (A) and adding Subpara. (B) re bachelor's degree, designating existing provision re competency in other language as Subdiv. (2), designating existing provision re examination of comparable difficulty as Subpara. (A) and adding Subpara. (B) re bachelor's degree, and making conforming changes, added Subsec. (d) re certification valid for certain grades for elementary bilingual education and middle grades bilingual education, Subsec. (e) re approval of guidelines for unique endorsements, Subsec. (f) re eligibility to teach secondary humanities courses in bilingual education program, and Subsec. (g) re eligibility to teach secondary courses in fields of science, technology, engineering or mathematics in bilingual education program, effective July 1, 2021.