National teaching certification.

2018
STATE OF WYOMING
18LSO-0441
Numbered
1.2

SENATE FILE

NO.
SF0102

National teaching certification.

Sponsored by:
Senator(s) Hastert, Coe, Landen, Rothfuss and Wasserburger and Representative(s) Connolly, Freeman, Northrup, Schwartz and Sommers

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to educators; authorizing the department of education to enter into an agreement with a nonprofit entity to establish a program relating to national teaching certifications; imposing limitations; repealing obsolete provisions; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section
1
.

W.S. 21
‑
7
‑
501
(a),
(c
)
and
(f
)
(intro)
is amended to read:

21
‑
7
‑
501
.

National certification
program
;
program limits and requirements
;
appropriations
requirements
; certified teacher pay incentive reimbursement.

(a)

The
professional teaching standards board shall by rule
department of education may enter into an agreement with
a
nonprofit entity to
establish a program under which

school districts shall reimburse no more
than f
ifty (50)

the
department or the
nonprofit entity
will

administer a program
to assist educators
in earning
a

n
ational teaching certification
.
The agreement
shall provide for biennial reporting requirements by the nonprofit entity to the department.

The program may
provide professional development and mentoring specific to national certification
, along with
other activities
related to national certification
.
Additionally, the
program
may make payments directly to an organization that provides national teacher certifications on behalf of
teachers and certified or licensed service providers employed by Wyoming school districts

for

up to
fifty percent (50%) of
the actual cost of receiving national certification
.
,

Certification f
ee
payments by the program
shall

not
to
exceed

fifty percent (50%) of
the

applicable
national certification fee established by the national board for professional teaching standards
.

for the applicable year certification was received, provided

Payments by the program
shall only be made if
:

(
i
)

The teacher

or service provider
has completed at least three (3) years of teaching
;
in the state of Wyoming;

(ii)

The teacher or service provider, as applicable,
was successful in receiving his national certification

timely pays the teacher's or service provider's portion of the certification fees and
timely
completes progress
toward certification as
required by the program
; and

(iii)

The teacher

or service provider
agrees to
mentor at least one (1) other teacher

employed in the state of Wyoming through the national certification process

reimburse the program for any certification fee
payments made
by the program
on behalf of the teacher or service provide
r

in the event the teacher
or service provider
fails to formally withdraw from the process or to
submit an entry that can be scored
, as determined by the program
.

(c)

A school district

The legislature
may
apply for an innovative program grant under W.S. 21
‑
22
‑
106(a)(iii)

to
recover amounts reimbursed to teachers and service providers under subsection (b) of this section

appropriate funds to
implement
subsection (a) of this section so long as the nonprofit entity equally matches appropriated state funds and makes those
matching
funds available for purpose
s
of
implementing
subsection (a) of this section
.

The program shall ensure state funds and
funds
provided to the program by the nonprofit entity shall not be comingled and shall be accounted for separately.

(f)

In addition to
reimbursement of the cost of national board certification

the program established
under subsection
(b)
(a)

of this section, and to promote employment of national board certified teachers by school districts, each district employing a national board certified teacher shall be reimbursed for payments to these teachers subject to the following:

Section 2
.

W.S. 21
‑
7
‑
501(b)
and (d)
is repealed.

Section 3
.

This act is effective July 1, 201
8
.

(END)

1
SF0102