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HB603 INTRODUCED
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HB603
9JH9CBP-1
By Representatives DuBose, Collins
RFD: Education Policy
First Read: 10-Mar-26
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9JH9CBP-1 03/10/2026 OW (L)cr 2025-3415
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First Read: 10-Mar-26
SYNOPSIS:
Under existing law, educator preparation
providers (EPPs) and Alternative Teacher Preparation
Organizations (ATPOs) are state-approved entities that
are responsible for preparing educators for
certification.
This bill would require the State Department of
Education, in collaboration with the State Board of
Education and the Alabama Commission on Higher
Education, to revise and annually update a teacher
preparation report card evaluating the performance of
each EPP and ATPO.
This bill would require the department to
prominently publish the teacher preparation report
cards on the department's official website.
This bill would require EPPs, ATPOs, and other
stakeholders to annually provide the department with
data for the report cards.
This bill would require the department to create
a standard survey for program completers and the
employers of program completers to assess satisfaction
with teacher preparation.
This bill would require the board to annually
review the report cards to determine if interventions
or support is needed for each EPP or ATPO.
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or support is needed for each EPP or ATPO.
This bill would also allocate funding to the
department to implement the provisions effectively.
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to teacher certification preparation programs;
to require the State Department of Education, in collaboration
with the State Board of Education and the Alabama Commission
on Higher Education, to publish a teacher preparation report
card evaluating the performance of each Educator Preparation
Provider (EPP) and Alternative Teacher Preparation
Organization (ATPO); to require the department to prominently
publish the report cards on the department's official website;
to require EPPs, ATPOs, and other stakeholders to annually
provide the department with data for the report cards; to
require the department to create a survey to assess program
completion satisfaction with program completers and teacher
preparation programs; to require annual review of the report
cards by the department; and to allocate funding for
implementation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. For the purposes of this act, the following
terms have the following meanings:
(1) ALTERNATIVE TEACHER PREPARATION ORGANIZATION
(ATPO). An organization that the State Board of Education
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(ATPO). An organization that the State Board of Education
deems qualified to offer certification programs to qualified
individuals in the state in accordance with Section 16-23-3.1,
Code of Alabama 1975.
(2) BOARD. The State Board of Education.
(3) DEPARTMENT. The State Department of Education.
(4) EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROVIDER (EPP). Any
state-approved teacher or principal education program,
including public, private, and alternative certification
providers, authorized by the state to provide teacher
training.
(5) ENDORSEMENT TYPE. The teaching field and grade
levels a teacher is certified to teach.
(6) PROGRAM COMPLETER. An individual who has completed
all requirements for an approved program and who has been
recommended to the State Department of Education for a
professional educator certificate with the appropriate
endorsements.
(7) REPORT CARD. A teacher preparation report card.
Section 2. It is the intent of the Legislature to
codify and expand the work that the board and the department
have already begun with educator report cards.
Section 3. (a) The department, in collaboration with
the board and the Alabama Commission on Higher Education,
shall publish and annually update a report card that evaluates
the performance of each EPP and ATPO.
(b) The department shall make each report card easily
accessible to the public on the department's official website
by prominently displaying detailed metrics and summative
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by prominently displaying detailed metrics and summative
ratings of overall program performance in easy-to-read
formats.
(c) The report card shall focus on the preparedness and
effectiveness of each EPP's and ATPO's program completers and
shall include, but not be limited to, each of the following:
(1) The number of program applicants, unconditional
admits, conditional admits, enrollees, and program completers,
disaggregated by candidate certificate type, endorsement type,
and demographics.
(2) The number of qualified applicants that apply but
are denied admittance for each endorsement type.
(3) Program admission criteria and enrollment profile,
including, but not limited to, average grade point average and
SAT or ACT score range.
(4) First attempt pass rates by program enrollees, and
all other attempt pass rates by program enrollees, in numbers
and percentages, on exams or other assessments taken to
fulfill the requirements of the Alabama Educator Certification
Assessment Program (AECAP), disaggregated by endorsement type
and demographics.
(5) Employment outcomes for program completers,
including at least the following measures specifically for
program completers employed as classroom teachers in Alabama:
a. Percentage of program completers employed as
classroom teachers in Alabama within one year of program
completion.
b. Percentage of program completers teaching in-field
versus out-of-field.
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versus out-of-field.
c. Percentage of program completers working in a public
school setting, along with the district or local education
agency of employment.
d. Percentage teaching in a shortage teaching field.
e. Percentage teaching in a location with a critical
teaching shortage.
(6) One-year and three-year retention rates of program
completers employed as classroom teachers in Alabama.
(7) Performance of program completers in at least the
first three years working in the classroom, including
evaluations and student performance data on state summative
assessments.
(8) Results of satisfaction surveys from program
completers and the employers of program completers.
(9) Review of standards and coursework for inclusion of
evidence-based content and training, including, but not
limited to, the science of reading, which shall include
program alignment to the requirements of the Alabama Literacy
Act pursuant to Chapter 6G of Title 16, Code of Alabama 1975;
development of mathematic proficiency, which shall include
program alignment to the requirements of the Alabama Numeracy
Act pursuant to Chapter 6H of Title 16, Code of Alabama 1975;
multiple evidence-based methods of instruction; and the number
of clinical practice hours completed.
Section 4. (a) EPPs, ATPOs, the Alabama Commission on
Higher Education, local education agencies, and other relevant
stakeholders shall annually provide the department with
accurate and timely data for the metrics specified in Section
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accurate and timely data for the metrics specified in Section
3.
(b) With input from stakeholders pursuant to subsection
(a), the department shall develop and administer a survey at
the end of the program completer's first year of teaching,
designed to assess the satisfaction of program completers and
the employers of program completers as to how well the EPP or
ATPO prepared the program completer for certification and
teaching.
(c) The department shall ensure the confidentiality of
individual candidate information by using appropriate data
suppression thresholds in providing aggregate, public-facing
data on the report card.
(d) The department shall include the data collection
and evaluation methodology clearly and publicly on the report
card.
(e) On an annual basis, the department shall provide
each EPP and ATPO with a more granular report that includes
field-level data, and where possible individual-level data,
associated with each of the report card measures specified in
Section 3, so that the EPP or ATPO can analyze program impact
for accreditation purposes and make meaningful improvements to
program structure and effectiveness.
(f) Where possible, the department shall link data to
existing educator reports and tools.
Section 5. The board shall annually review each report
card and, for each EPP and ATPO, determine whether
intervention or support is needed based on the information in
each report card. Intervention may include initiating a full
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each report card. Intervention may include initiating a full
approval review, which may result in probationary approval or
denial.
Section 6. Appropriate funding shall be allocated to
the department to implement this act effectively.
Section 7. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2026.
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