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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
HOUSE BILL 1394 By: Provenzano
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to teacher certification; amending 70
O.S. 2021, Section 6-187, as last amended by Section
164, Chapter 452, O.S.L. 2024 (70 O.S. Supp. 2024,
Section 6-187), which relates to competency
examinations; exempting certain candidates from
competency examination; providing an effective date;
and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 6-
187, as last amended by Section 164, Chapter 452, O.S.L. 2024
(70 O.S. Supp. 2024, Section 6-187), is amended to read as
follows:
Section 6-187. A. Prior to July 1, 2014, a competency
examination shall be adopted by the Oklahoma Commission for
Teacher Preparation and beginning July 1, 2014, a competency
examination shall be adopted by the Commission for
Educational Quality and Accountability for the professional
education and various subject areas and grade levels for
purposes of ensuring academic achievement and competency of
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each teacher candidate or teacher in the subject area the
person is seeking certification to teach which shall also
include certification as an administrator, as prescribed by
the State Board of Education.
The Commission, consistent with the purposes of this section,
shall promulgate rules and procedures to guarantee the
confidentiality of examinations.
B. No teacher candidate shall be eligible for certification
until successfully completing the competency examination except
those candidates who make application to the State Board and meet
the criteria for the alternative placement program pursuant to
Section 6-122.3 of this title or who have successfully completed and
graduated from an institution of higher education approved by the
State Board of Education for teacher training and have had two (2)
years of effective evaluations at the same school district in
accordance with Section 6-101.10 of this title. Certification shall
be limited to areas of approval in which the certified teacher has
successfully completed the examination. Subject to the provisions
of subsection C of this section, testing for certification for
subjects in which a teacher candidate or teacher is seeking a minor
teaching assignment or an endorsement to teach shall be limited to
the specific subject area test.
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A teacher candidate or teacher may take the professional
education or subject area portions of the examination subject to any
limit imposed by the Commission.
C. 1. Except as otherwise provided for in this subsection, a
teacher may be certified in as many areas as the teacher meets the
necessary requirements provided by law and has successfully
completed the subject area portion of the examination.
2. Except as otherwise provided for in this paragraph,
certification in early childhood, elementary, or special education
shall require completion of an appropriate teacher education program
approved by the Commission.
Any teacher who is certified to teach elementary education may
be certified in early childhood education upon meeting the
requirements provided in law and successful completion of the
appropriate subject area portion of the examination. Any teacher
who is certified to teach early childhood education may be certified
in elementary education upon meeting the requirements provided in
law and successful completion of the appropriate subject area
portion of the examination. Any special education teacher who
becomes certified to teach through completion of an accredited
teacher preparation program may be certified in early childhood or
elementary education upon meeting the requirements provided in law
and successful completion of the appropriate subject portion of the
examination. Any teacher who becomes certified to teach through
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completion of an accredited teacher preparation program or becomes
alternatively certified to teach through the Troops to Teachers
program may be certified in special education upon meeting the
requirements provided in law and successful completion of the
appropriate subject area portion of the examination. Any special
education teacher who has not completed a Commission-approved
teacher education program in elementary education or early childhood
education but who has successfully completed the subject area
portion of the examination may be certified in elementary education
or early childhood education for the purpose of providing direct
instruction and serving as the teacher of record for grading
purposes in special education settings only.
D. The Commission shall offer the competency examination at
least four times per calendar year on dates to be established by the
Commission.
E. If a teacher candidate or teacher is a non-native-English
speaker, the Commission shall offer the subject area competency
examination in the native language of the teacher candidate or
teacher only if the teacher candidate or teacher is employed or has
been offered employment by a school district as a teacher in a
foreign language immersion program offered by the school district.
If a non-native-English speaker who has received certification in a
subject area after taking the subject area competency examination in
the native language of the speaker seeks to add a certification area
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in the future and that person is no longer employed as a teacher in
a foreign language immersion program, the examination for the
additional certification area shall be taken in English. The State
Board of Education shall issue a restricted license or certificate
to any teacher who has completed a subject area competency
examination in the native language of the teacher as provided for in
this subsection restricting the teacher to teaching only in a
foreign language immersion program.
F. The State Board of Education, in consultation with the
Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability, may grant an
exception to the requirement to complete a subject area examination
for initial certification in a field which does not require an
advanced degree if the candidate has an advanced degree in a subject
that is substantially comparable to the content assessed on a
subject area examination. The advanced degree shall be from an
institution accredited by a national or regional accrediting agency
which is recognized by the Secretary of the United States Department
of Education. The Commission shall provide the Board with the
necessary information to determine comparability.
G. 1. Nothing in the Oklahoma Teacher Preparation Act shall
restrict the right of the State Board of Education to issue an
emergency or provisional certificate, as needed. Provided, however,
prior to the issuance of an emergency certificate, the district
shall document substantial efforts to employ a teacher who holds a
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provisional or standard certificate. In the event a district is
unable to hire an individual meeting this criteria, the district
shall document efforts to employ an individual with a provisional or
standard certificate in another curricular area with academic
preparation in the field of need. Only after these alternatives
have been exhausted shall the district be allowed to employ an
individual meeting minimum standards as established by the State
Board of Education for the issuance of emergency certificates.
2. The State Board of Education may renew the emergency or
provisional certificate of an individual who has been employed by a
school district board of education for at least two (2) years if the
following criteria are met:
a. the individual has been granted an emergency or
provisional certificate pursuant to paragraph 1 of
this subsection for two (2) years,
b. the individual has not successfully completed the
competency examinations required by this section,
c. the individual submits a portfolio of his or her work
to the State Board of Education, which shall include
evidence of progress toward standard certification,
d. the employing school district board of education
agrees to renew the individual's contract to teach for
the ensuing fiscal year, and
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e. the superintendent of the employing school district
submits to the State Board of Education the reason the
emergency or provisional certificate should be renewed
and provides evidence of the district's inability to
hire a teacher who holds a standard certificate.
3. Individuals employed by a school district under an emergency
or provisional certificate shall not be considered career teachers
and therefore not entitled to the protections of the Teacher Due
Process Act of 1990.
H. The State Board of Education may grant an exception to the
requirements for all certification examinations for teacher
candidates who are "deaf", which for the purposes of this section
shall mean having a hearing loss so severe that the person cannot
process auditory linguistic information with or without
accommodation and whose primary language and teaching environment is
American Sign Language. The Board may grant an exception upon:
1. Verification by a licensed audiologist of a hearing loss so
severe that the teacher candidate cannot process auditory linguistic
information with or without accommodation;
2. Demonstration of fluency in American Sign Language;
3. Demonstration of competency in the subject area of
specialization as approved by the Board in lieu of certification
examinations; and
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4. Sponsorship by a certified deaf education teacher for a
mentorship program.
The Board may promulgate rules and other requirements as
necessary to grant the exceptions described in this subsection.
Applicable teaching environments may include American Sign Language
immersion programs, the Oklahoma School for the Deaf, programs for
the deaf or other classroom settings in which American Sign Language
is the language of instruction.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective July 1, 2025.
SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health or 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.
60-1-11251 AQH 12/28/24