2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 17 - Education › §17:8.1. Certification of teachers

RS 17:8.1 - Certification of teachers
A. In carrying out its responsibility to prescribe the qualifications and provide for the certification of teachers under authority of R.S. 17:7(6), the qualifications and requirements established by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for certification of any applicant who completes an approved teacher education program in Louisiana shall include but not be limited to the following:
(1) Beginning with the 2024-2025 academic year, that each approved teacher education program shall not require more than one hundred twenty semester hours of college credit for degree completion, inclusive of any classroom observation time or mentorship requirements. Programs designated by the Board of Regents as dual degrees or dual certifications shall be permitted to exceed the one-hundred-twenty-semester-hour credit limit.
(2) That the applicant shall have attained a 2.20 average on a 4.00 scale as a condition for entrance into a teacher education program. However, an applicant who has not attained a 2.20 average may be granted conditional acceptance into a teacher education program. In order for a student granted conditional acceptance to continue in a teacher education program that awards credit hours, the student shall achieve a 3.00 average on the first twelve credit hours of the program. In order for a student granted conditional acceptance to continue in a teacher education program that does not award credit hours, the student shall demonstrate mastery of competencies as required by the program and by the school system in which the applicant completes required clinical practice.
(3)(a) That the applicant shall have achieved a 2.50 average on a 4.00 scale at graduation from an approved program.
(b) An applicant who has passed all requisite examinations covering preprofessional skills and content knowledge but who does not meet the requirement of Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph may be certified upon completion of a postbaccalaureate program or may be granted a provisional teaching permit pursuant to R.S. 17:8.3.
(4) The applicant shall meet at least one of the following requirements:
(a) Complete the prescribed number of semester hours in the teaching of reading as established in policy by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in accordance with the level of certification to be awarded. This requirement shall be in addition to requirements for English courses. The courses in the teaching of reading shall emphasize techniques of teaching reading and the recognition and correction of reading problems of the student that are based on the science of reading and designed for educators and that include information on instructing students regarding phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
(b) Possess the reading and literacy competencies identified in scientifically based reading research at the national level and approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for the teaching of reading.
(5) That the applicant shall have spent a minimum of two hundred seventy clock hours in student teaching with at least one hundred eighty hours spent in actual teaching.
(6) That the applicant shall have completed a substantial portion of the one hundred eighty hours of actual student teaching on an all-day basis.
NOTE: Paragraph (A)(7) as enacted by Acts 2022, No. 448, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2024.
(7) That an applicant who is applying for initial certification to teach kindergarten through third grade shall, as part of the examination required pursuant to R.S. 17:8.2, pass a rigorous test of scientifically researched, evidence-based reading instruction and intervention, including data-based decisionmaking principles related to reading instruction and intervention, as approved by the Department of Education.
B. The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education may adopt any rules necessary for the orderly implementation of this Section and may make further provisions with regard to qualifications and requirements not inconsistent with this Section.
C. Additionally, whenever there is a qualification or condition established by law or board policy, or both, that a teacher holding a standard professional level teacher certificate shall comply with in order for the teacher to be issued a standard professional level teacher certificate, and it is not possible for a teacher at a nonpublic school to comply with the qualification or condition due to the teacher being employed at a nonpublic school, the board shall establish an alternative method or process by which the nonpublic school teacher may meet the qualification or condition. A teacher employed in a nonpublic school who meets the qualifications or conditions pursuant to the alternative method or process established pursuant to this Subsection shall be issued a standard professional level teacher certificate which shall be valid for all purposes in this state and under all of the same conditions as if it had been issued to a teacher who complied with the qualifications or conditions as otherwise established by law or board policy. Prior to establishing an alternative method or process, the board shall direct the nonpublic school commission to formulate, develop, and recommend to the board the alternative method or process by which the nonpublic school teacher may meet the qualification or condition, and the method or process established by the board shall be consistent with the recommendations of the nonpublic school commission.
D. In carrying out its responsibility to prescribe the qualifications and provide for the certification of teachers under authority of R.S. 17:7(6), if the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education enters into any agreement for the certification to teach in Louisiana of teachers certified to teach in another state, the agreement shall:
(1) Be reciprocal, making applicable to any other state which is a party to the agreement and teachers certified to teach in the other state who seek certification in Louisiana equivalent to requirements as determined by the Department of Education to those the agreement places on Louisiana and teachers certified to teach in Louisiana who apply for certification in the other state.
(2) Provide for the certification in Louisiana of a teacher certified to teach in another state only if the teacher has been employed in a professional educational capacity requiring certification as a teacher for three years preceding application for Louisiana teacher certification unless the teacher completes the additional educational requirements as shall be approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. The provisions of this Paragraph shall not apply to a teacher who has been certified to teach in another state for less than three years and has been employed in a professional educational capacity requiring certification as a teacher for the entire period of certification.
E.(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shall grant a valid five-year standard Louisiana teaching certificate to an applicant who holds a valid out-of-state teaching certificate and who is military personnel or the spouse of military personnel serving in Louisiana, provided the applicant meets all other requirements for background checks and criminal history reviews as may be required by law and board policy.
(2) The board shall notify an applicant of the board's determination relative to the applicant's Louisiana certification not later than twenty days from receipt of a complete application.
(3) For purposes of this Subsection, "military personnel" means either of the following:
(a) A member of the armed forces of the United States.
(b) A United States Department of Defense civilian or contract employee.
Acts 2023, No. 63, §1, eff. June 6, 2023; Acts 2023, No. 371, §1; Acts 2023, No. 392, §1, eff. June 14, 2023.