§ 6-15-1004 - Qualified teachers in every public school classroom. - Arkansas Statutes

6-15-1004. Qualified teachers in every public school classroom.

(a) Arkansas teachers will demonstrate competency in subject matter content on identified assessments appropriate to their teaching area in order to be granted an initial license to teach in the state.

(b) In order to obtain a teaching license, Arkansas teachers will demonstrate the ability to increase student academic achievement by demonstrating competency on identified assessments of teaching methods that result in increased student achievement.

(c) (1) In order for teachers to be able to renew a license, they must have participated in a continuing education and professional development program based on their school improvement plans, performance evaluation results, and student achievement scores.

(2) (A) For purposes of the requirement for continuing education and professional development under this section, a three-hour graduate-level college credit course shall be counted as fifteen (15) hours of the professional development hours required for teachers under the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and School Districts if the college credit is:

(i) Related to and enhances the teacher's knowledge of the subject area in which the teacher is currently teaching;

(ii) Part of the requirements for the teacher to obtain additional certification in a subject matter that has been designated by the Department of Education as having a critical shortage of teachers; or

(iii) Otherwise approved by the department as a graduate level course eligible for professional development credit.

(B) Any credit for professional development claimed under subdivision (c)(2)(A) of this section shall be approved by the department.

(C) For purposes of the requirement for continuing education and professional development under this section, each hour of training received by certified personnel related to teaching an advanced placement class for a subject covered by the College Board and Educational Testing Service shall be counted as professional development up to a maximum of thirty (30) hours.

(3) However, nothing in subdivision (c)(2) of this section shall prevent or restrict a school district from requiring additional in-service training.

(d) Effective at the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year, no teacher shall be assigned to teach a grade level or a subject for which he or she is not licensed by the state.

(e) (1) No class of students shall be under the instruction of a substitute teacher or teachers for more than thirty (30) consecutive school days in the same class during a school year unless the substitute teacher or teachers instructing the class have a bachelor's degree awarded by an accredited college or university or have been licensed to teach by the State of Arkansas.

(2) A substitute teacher or teachers possessing a bachelor's degree shall continue to teach the class from at least the thirty-first consecutive day after the regular teacher is absent from the class until the return of the regular teacher to that class.

(f) A person serving as a substitute teacher shall:

(1) Be a high school graduate; or

(2) Hold a graduate equivalent degree.

(g) Subsections (e) and (f) of this section shall not apply to substitutes for nondegreed vocational-technical teachers.

(h) (1) If subsections (e) and (f) of this section impose an undue hardship on a school district, the school district may apply to the State Board of Education for a waiver.

(2) The state board shall develop rules and regulations for granting a waiver.

(3) Any school district granted a waiver from this requirement shall be identified in the department's annual school district report card.