STATE OF OKLAHOMA

1st Session of the 53rd Legislature (2011)

SENATE BILL 978	By:	Myers and Jolley of the Senate

			and

		Sears and Martin (Scott) of the House

AS INTRODUCED

An Act relating to teacher professional development; amending 70 O.S. 2001, Section 6-200, as last amended by Section 1, Chapter 94, O.S.L. 2009 (70 O.S. Supp. 2010, Section 6-200), which relates to professional development institutes; giving the State Department of Education certain authority; transferring certain duties and powers from the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation to the State Department of Education; authorizing the State Department of Education to enter into certain contracts; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1.     AMENDATORY     70 O.S. 2001, Section 6-200, as last amended by Section 1, Chapter 94, O.S.L. 2009 (70 O.S. Supp. 2010, Section 6-200), is amended to read as follows:
Section 6-200.  A.  Subject to the availability of funds, the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation State Department of Education shall have authority to develop and administer training for residency committees and training for professional development through professional development institutes.  Included in the professional development institutes training shall be technology training.  Professional development institutes shall be accepted by the State Board of Education for professional development purposes and shall be defined as continuing education experiences which consist of a minimum of thirty (30) clock hours.  The institutes shall be competency-based, emphasize effective learning practices, require collaboration among participants, and require each participant to prepare a work product which can be utilized in the classroom by the participant.  Any state professional development institutes institute administered by the Commission Department shall be chosen through a competitive bid process and, if funds are available, subject to peer review.  The Commission Department, prior to offering any professional development institute, shall promulgate rules related to administering state professional development institutes.
B.  The Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation State Department of Education shall develop, offer and administer professional development institutes to train elementary school teachers in reading education and if funds are available, which may include but not be limited to grant, foundation, or other funds, to train middle school teachers in reading education.  Funds appropriated for this purpose shall be used for the cost of developing, administering and contracting for the professional development institutes.  When possible, certified reading specialists shall be included as consultants.  All costs of the institutes shall be included in the contract price and no tuition or registration fee shall be collected from teachers attending the institutes.  The institutes shall be offered by or through the Commission Department.  Working in conjunction with the State Department of Education, the Commission The Department shall develop a state plan for administration of such institutes and shall report on or before November 1 of each year to the Governor and the Legislature on the format of and participation in the institutes.  The State Department of Education shall cooperate with and provide any information requested, including data available through the state student record system, to the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation or other vendor as is necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
C.  Subject to the availability of funds, the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation State Department of Education shall:
1.  Contract for an independent evaluation of the reading professional development institutes.  The evaluation shall determine adherence to program requirements as provided in this section and the program’s effectiveness in increasing teacher knowledge and student achievement; and
2.  Provide continued support of the reading professional development institutes through ongoing teacher development at individual school sites.  Funds may be used for the cost of mentor training, payment for substitute teachers, on-site facilitation, and any other costs necessary to ensure improved reading by students.
D.  1.  For the purpose of implementing comprehensive reading reform and systemic change, the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation State Department of Education shall award one-year grants renewable for up to two (2) additional years to public schools that serve students in kindergarten through third grade.  The grants will provide for:
a.	a five-day initial professional development institute in elementary school reading for teachers of kindergarten through third grade, instructional leaders, and principals,
b.	a three-day follow-up professional development institute in elementary school reading for teachers of kindergarten through third grade and instructional leaders, and
c.	continued support through ongoing teacher development at school sites, including four (4) days of professional development for principals and literacy resource specialists, and six (6) days of on-site visits by a program consultant.
2.  In order to qualify for a grant pursuant to this subsection, the following requirements shall be met:
a.	at least eighty percent (80%) of the teachers of kindergarten through third grade at the school shall have demonstrated support for the training program provided pursuant to this subsection,
b.	the principal shall ensure that all members of the leadership team and all teachers of kindergarten through third grade will participate in all phases of the training program,
c.	the school district shall ensure that any new teacher of kindergarten through third grade or principal at the school will participate in all phases of the training program, and
d.	the school district shall employ a literacy resource specialist for at least two (2) years after completion of the training provided in this subsection.  One or more districts may share a literacy resource specialist upon approval of the Commission Department.
3.  Any school which has been determined by the State Board of Education to be a school in need of improvement or a school that has not made adequate yearly progress in reading shall be given priority for receipt of a grant.  Grants shall be awarded based on the amount of funds allocated to the Commission for Teacher Preparation State Department of Education for the purposes of this section.  Funds may be used for payment for substitute teachers, program consultants, on-site facilitation, and literacy resource specialists.
4.  For program evaluation purposes, each school awarded a grant pursuant to this subsection shall provide to the Commission Department student-level data and results of the reading assessments administered pursuant to the Oklahoma School Testing Program Act for the year prior to the grant award, for each year a grant is received by the school, and for three (3) years after completion of the program.  If funds are not sufficient to award grants to all eligible applicants, schools may be placed on a waiting list for priority consideration for the following year’s round of grant awards which shall be superior to the priority given to schools as provided in paragraph 3 of this subsection, if the school provides student data for the current year to the Commission Department as provided in this paragraph.
5.  The professional development institutes in elementary reading provided pursuant to this section shall incorporate the requirements of the Reading Sufficiency Act.
E.  As additional funds become available for such purpose, the Commission Department shall develop and offer professional development institutes in:
1.  Mathematics for teachers in grades kindergarten through nine;
2.  The use of technology in the classroom;
3.  Training of residency committee members in teacher mentoring; and
4.  Hands-on inquiry-based science for elementary teachers.
F.  The State Department of Education is authorized to contract through the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation or other vendors to provide the professional development institutes as required in this section.
SECTION 2.  It being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is hereby declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and be in full force from and after its passage and approval.

53-1-1773	AM	5/11/2011 4:40:52 PM