Opinion ID: 2070061
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: state system of regulation

Text: The Legislature has determined that teachers in all schools in the state must be certified. MCL 388.551; MSA 15.1921 and MCL 388.553; MSA 15.1923, respectively, provide in relevant parts: It is the intent of this act that the sanitary conditions of such schools, the courses of study therein, and the qualifications of the teachers thereof shall be of the same standard as provided by the general school laws of the state. No person shall teach or give instruction ... in any private, denominational or parochial school within this state who does not hold a certificate such as would qualify him or her to teach in like grades of the public schools of the state.... The regulations governing teacher qualifications are promulgated by the State Board of Education and contained in the Teacher Certification Code, 1979 AC, R 390.1101 et seq., 1981 AACS, R 390.1101 et seq. In order to obtain a provisional teaching certificate, [7] an applicant must demonstrate the following: 1) completion of at least forty semester hours in a program of general or liberal education and demonstration of an acquaintance with the substance, concepts, and methods of the principal areas of human knowledge and skills essential to communication and inquiry in modern society; 2) completion of a program providing for depth in the substantive filed to be taught; 3) completion of twenty semester hours in education courses (including at least six hours of directed teaching); 4) completion of a major of at least thirty semester hours and a minor of twenty semester hours (or for an elementary certificate completion of either a major of at least thirty semester hours or three minors of twenty semester hours each); 5) a bachelor's degree obtained from an approved Michigan college or university or an acceptable certificate issued by another state. Under these regulations, the State Board of Education has issued thousands of provisional certificates to out-of-state college graduates, including graduates of Catholic and fundamentalist Christian schools.