HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3640        FILED ON: 2/19/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 681

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Alice Hanlon Peisch

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to teacher preparation and certification.

_______________

PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3640        FILED ON: 2/19/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 681

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

_______________

An Act relative to teacher preparation and certification.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Section 38G of chapter 71 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 270, the word “student” and replacing it with the following word: candidate.

SECTION 2. Section 38G of said chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 273-275, the words, “The college or university or school district or other institution shall also provide the commissioner with a transcript of the student’s record,” and replacing it with the following:-

The approved program shall be evaluated by the commissioner on a regular basis to ensure that candidates are well prepared to meet the needs of all students in the commonwealth. Through this review, the commissioner shall meaningfully differentiate the performance of individual program providers based in part on program quality and outcomes of candidates once they are employed. The review shall include, but not be limited to program implementation of best practices in reading instruction and the extent to which new teachers’ effectiveness addresses persistent disparities in achievement.  The commissioner shall annually publish data on these programs, including the current approval status.

SECTION 3. Section 38G of said chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “record” in line 275, the following paragraph:-

All applications for reviewing and approving preparation programs under this section shall be accompanied by a fee to be determined annually by the secretary of administration and finance under the provisions of section 3B of chapter 7. These fees shall be sufficient to allow the department to carry out the responsibilities outlined in this section.

SECTION 4. Section 38G of said chapter 71 of General Laws is hereby further amended by inserting after line 289 , the following paragraph:-

In addition to any other requirements of this section, the board shall require, as a provision of an administrator's or educator's initial certification, that all educators and administrators shall have training in strategies related to culturally responsive, anti-racist pedagogy and practices. Such training shall include, but not be limited to, background on the history of race in the United States, implicit bias, and antiracist pedagogy and practical experience in the application of these strategies across subject areas.

SECTION 5. Section 57A of chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the following sentence:-

The commissioner shall annually publish data on which screening instruments are employed by each school district in the Commonwealth.

SECTION 6. Said chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 57A the following section:- 

Section 57B. The department of elementary and secondary education, in consultation with the department of early education and care, shall issue guidelines to districts requiring screening protocols for reading for all students in grades K-3 using evidence-based screeners. The commissioner shall annually publish data on which screening instruments are employed by each school district in the Commonwealth to conduct reading screening.

SECTON 7. Section 1E of chapter 69 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding at the end of the first paragraph the following sentence:-

Curricula selected to meet the curriculum frameworks for elementary literacy must be evidence-based.

SECTON 8.  Notwithstanding any general law or special law to the contrary, the department of elementary and secondary education shall, subject to appropriation, develop and administer a one-year pilot program for teacher apprenticeship during which participants shall complete a paid teaching apprenticeship for a full school year in a high-needs district in the classroom with a highly proficient mentor teacher, as determined by the department of elementary and secondary education. As used herein, “high-needs” shall be defined as: schools or districts with a high percentage of low-income students and English learners, which may include schools or districts implementing turnaround plans

The Department of elementary and secondary education shall file a report with the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate and the joint committee on education no later than one year after the completion of the pilot on the outcome of the pilot program. The report shall include, at a minimum, an evaluation of the impact of apprentices on student outcomes as compared to first year teachers not participating in the pilot and an assessment of the feasibility of expanding a full year teacher apprenticeship for all teacher candidates or all candidates in high needs districts. 

SECTION 9. (a) The department of elementary and secondary education shall conduct a study and report on potential initiatives to incentivize diverse and highly effective educators to work in high needs schools and districts. “High-needs schools or districts,” as used herein, shall be a school or district with a high percentage of low-income students and/or English learners, which may include a school or district implementing a turnaround plan. 

(b) Not later than January 1, 2022, the department of elementary and secondary education shall file a report, including any analysis, recommendations or proposed legislation, with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives and the chairs of the joint committee on education.

The report shall include, but not be limited to: (i) a survey of educator salaries across school districts; (ii) an assessment of potential incentives to attract novice educators to high needs districts; (iii) the feasibility of financial incentives for achieving National Board certification; (iv) the feasibility of establishing a master educator corps program, to be administered by the department, to incentivize educators that have achieved a certain level of mastery to transfer to high needs districts; (v) an assessment of a salary parity scale for any educators that have switched to high-needs districts; (vi) any other program, as determined by the department, to help meet the educator requirements of high needs districts; and (vii) an assessment of legislation necessary to achieve these objectives.