KRS 161.030: Certification authority -- Assessments of beginning teachers and teachers

seeking additional certification -- Conditional certificates -- Temporary

certificates -- Emeritus and exception certificates.

(1) Notwithstanding the age of th e pupil, the certification of all teachers and other

school personnel, in public schools only, is vested in the Education Professional

Standards Board. When so certified, teachers and other school personnel shall not

be required to have licensure, certific ation, or other forms of approval from any

other state agency for the performance of their respective assignments within the

system of public schools, except as provided for by law. All certificates authorized

under KRS 161.010 to 161.126 shall be issued i n accordance with the

administrative regulations of the Education Professional Standards Board. After

July 15, 1994, all certificate applications and other data collection instruments of

the board shall include a request for voluntary information about the applicant's

ethnic background. This information shall be available to help local school districts

locate minority candidates. A person who holds a certificate prior to this

requirement may request that ethnic information be added to his or her file. Nothing

in this section shall preclude the right of an individual in a nonpublic school from

seeking voluntary certification by the Education Professional Standards Board.

(2) Certificates shall be issued upon written application and in accordance with statutes

and regulations in effect at the time of application to persons who have completed,

at colleges, universities, or local school district programs approved by the

Education Professional Standards Board for the preparation of teachers and other

school personnel, the curricula prescribed by the administrative regulations of the

Education Professional Standards Board.

(3) (a) Certification of all new teachers and teachers seeking additional certification

shall require the successful completion of appropriate as sessments prior to

certification. The assessments shall be selected by the Education Professional

Standards Board and shall measure knowledge in the specific teaching field of

the applicant, including content of the field and teaching of that content. The

Education Professional Standards Board shall determine the minimum

acceptable level of achievement on each assessment. The assessments shall

measure those concepts, ideas, and facts which are being taught in teacher

education programs in Kentucky. Upon suc cessful completion of the

assessments and the approved teacher preparation program, a professional

certificate valid for five (5) years shall be issued.

(b) If an applicant for teacher certification has completed the approved teacher

preparation program an d has taken but failed to successfully complete the

appropriate assessments selected by the Education Professional Standards

Board, a conditional certificate may be issued for a period not to exceed one

(1) year. The employing school district, in collabora tion with the teacher

education institution, shall provide technical assistance and mentoring support

to the conditionally certified teacher. The teacher shall retake the assessments

during the validity period of the conditional certificate. The conditiona l

certificate shall not be reissued. Upon successful completion of the required

assessments, a professional certificate valid for five (5) years shall be issued.

The Education Professional Standards Board shall promulgate administrative

regulations to esta blish the standards and procedures for issuance of a

conditional certificate.

(c) If an out -of-state teacher with less than two (2) years' experience comes to

Kentucky after the deadline for taking the assessments, a temporary certificate

may be issued for a period up to six (6) months. The teacher shall take the

assessments during the period of the temporary certificate. If the teacher fails

the assessments, the temporary certificate shall be valid only for the current

semester. If the teacher passes the a ssessments, a professional certificate valid

for five (5) years shall be issued.

(4) A reasonable fee to be paid by the teacher and directly related to the actual cost of

the administration of the assessments shall be established by the Education

Professional Standards Board. Provisions shall be made for persons having less than

minimum levels of performance on any assessment to repeat that assessment, and

candidates shall be informed of their strengths and weaknesses in the specific

performance areas. The Education Professional Standards Board shall provide for

confidentiality of the individual assessment scores. Scores shall be available only to

the candidate and to the education officials who are responsible for determining

whether established certification standards have been met. Scores shall be used only

in the assessment for certification of new teachers and of out -of-state teachers with

less than two (2) years of teaching experience who are seeking initial certification

in Kentucky.

(5) If an applicant establishes eligibility for a five (5) year professional certificate under

the provisions of subsection (3)(a) of this section, the applicant shall also be eligible

for the issuance of a certificate for substitute teaching as provided by the

administrative regulations of the Education Professional Standards Board.

(6) (a) The Education Professional Standards Board shall issue a ten (10) year

emeritus certificate to an applicant who has:

1. Retired or will retire not more than one (1) year prior to the expiration

date of the certificate;

2. Met the requirements to receive an emeritus certificate as set forth in

administrative regulation promulgated by the Education Professional

Standards Board; and

3. Completed the required application unless the provisions of KRS

161.120 apply.

(b) The Education Professional Standards Board shall issue a one (1) time five (5)

year exception certificate to an individual:

1. Whose certificate has expired;

2. Whose rank upon expiration was Rank I or Rank II;

3. Who has met the requirements to receive an exception certificate as set

forth in administrative regulation promulgated by the Education

Professional Standards Board;

4. Who completed three (3) years of cla ssroom instruction prior to the

certificate's expiration; and

5. Who has completed the required application unless the provisions of

KRS 161.120 apply.

(c) The Education Professional Standards Board shall issue a five (5) year

certificate to an individual:

1. Whose certificate has expired;

2. Who has met the requirements for a certificate or statement of eligibility

in an administrative regulation promulgated by the Education

Professional Standards Board; and

3. Who submits proof of successful completion of six (6) credit hours of

graduate coursework.

(d) The Education Professional Standards Board shall issue a one (1) time five (5)

year certificate to an individual:

1. Whose certificate has expired;

2. Who has met the requirements for a certificate or state ment of eligibility

in an administrative regulation promulgated by the Education

Professional Standards Board; and

3. Who submits a waiver issued by a school district superintendent

exempting the applicant from the requirement to submit proof of

successful completion of six (6) credit hours of graduate coursework

under paragraph (c)3. of this subsection.

(7) The Education Professional Standards Board shall approve the curricula of any

college or university, or of any department thereof, for the training of teachers, and

any nontraditional or alternative teacher preparation program offered in a public or

private postsecondary education institution, private contractor, or state agency, and

shall also approve the curricula of any local district alternative cert ification

program, when the curricula comply with the administrative regulations of the

Education Professional Standards Board for the issuance of certificates and when

the institution has met the terms and conditions provided in KRS 161.010 to

161.120. Any student who has completed any of these curricula, as approved by the

Education Professional Standards Board, and who has completed the prescribed

requirements for the issuance of certificates shall be granted a certificate

corresponding to the curricula completed.

(8) The issuance of any certificate, except emergency certificates issued pursuant to

KRS 161.100, by the Education Professional Standards Board shall not be

dependent upon an offer of employment. The certification process, except for

emergency certificates, is independent of any job prospects and certification shall

be awarded on the basis of completing a teacher preparation program or an

alternative certification pathway and passing required assessments.