Vertern Teachers

State of Ohio S. B. No. 361 Verterns Certification For Teaching

A bill to expand eligibility for veterans of the U.S. 2 Armed Forces to be employed as teachers without 3 licenses.

Section 1. That section 3319.283 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 3319.283. (A) The As used in this section, "school governing authority" means any of the following:

(1) The board of education of any a school district may;

(2) The governing authority of a community school established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code;

(3) The governing body of a STEM school established under Chapter 3326. of the Revised Code.

(B) A school governing authority may employ an individual who is not certificated or licensed as required by Chapter 3319. of the Revised Code, but who meets the following qualifications, 16 as a teacher in the schools of the district a school operated by the school governing authority:

(1) The individual is a veteran of the armed forces of the United States and was honorably discharged within three years of June 30, 1997; to whom all of the following apply:

(a) The individual completed at least forty-eight months of active duty military service.

(b) The individual received an honorable discharge or a medical separation from the armed forces.

(c) The individual satisfies at least one of the following conditions:

(i) The individual has a letter from a former commanding officer that states that the individual is qualified to teach.

(ii) The individual earned a master training specialist certification from the United States navy.

(iii) The individual served as a training officer or a lead instructor while in the armed forces.

(iv) The individual served as a noncommissioned officer, awarrant officer, or a senior enlisted person.

(2) While in the armed forces the individual had meaningful teaching or other instructional experience Subject to division (E) of this section, the individual has demonstrated mastery of the subject area to be taught, as determined by the school governing authority;.

(3) The individual holds completed at least a baccalaureate degreesixty college credits with a grade point average of at least 2.5 out of 4.0 from one or more accredited institutions of higher education.

(C) An individual employed under this section shall be deemed to hold a teaching certificate or educator license for the purposes of state and federal law and rules and regulations and the school district governing authority's policies, rules, and regulations. However, an individual employed under this section is not a properly certified or licensed teacher for purposes of the a school district's or STEM school's compliance with section 3319.074 of the Revised Code. Each individual employed under this section shall meet the requirement to successfully complete fifteen hours, or the equivalent, of coursework every five years that is approved by the local professional development committee as is required of other teachers licensed in accordance with Chapter 3319. of the Revised Code.

(D) As a condition of employment, each individual employed under division (B) of this section shall be subject to a criminal records check as prescribed by section 3319.391 of the Revised Code. In the manner prescribed by the department of education, the individual shall submit the criminal records check to the department and shall register with the department during the period in which the individual is employed by the school governing authority. The department shall use the information submitted to enroll the individual in the retained applicant fingerprint database, established under section 109.5721 of the Revised Code, in the same manner as any teacher licensed under sections 3319.22 to 3319.31 of the Revised Code.

If the department receives notification of the arrest or conviction of an individual registered under this division, the department shall promptly notify the school governing authority and may take any action authorized under sections 3319.31 and 3319.311 of the Revised Code that the department considers appropriate. The department shall not accept the application of any individual under this division if the department learns that the individual has pleaded guilty to, has been found guilty by a jury or court of, or has been convicted of any of the offenses listed in division (C) of section 3319.31 of the Revised Code.

(E) The superintendent of public instruction may revoke the right of an individual employed under division (A) (B) of this section to teach if, after an investigation and an adjudication conducted pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, the superintendent finds that the person is not competent to teach the subject the person has been employed to teach or did not fulfill the requirements of division (A) (B) of this section. No individual whose right to teach has been revoked under this division shall teach in a public school, and no board of education school governing authority may engage such an individual to teach in the schools of its district a school it operates.

Notwithstanding division (C) of this section, a board of education is not required to comply with the provisions of sections 3311.81, 3311.82, 3319.11, and 3319.16 of the Revised Code with regard to termination of employment if the superintendent, after an investigation and an adjudication, has revoked the individual's right to teach.

(F) The employing school governing authority shall assign a mentor to an individual employed under division (B) of this section for at least the first two years of employment. The assigned mentor shall be a teacher to whom all of the following apply:

(1) The teacher holds a valid educator license issued under section 3319.22 of the Revised Code.

(2) The teacher has at least three years of teaching experience in any of grades pre-kindergarten through twelve.

(3) If the school governing authority is a board of education, the teacher received a rating of skilled or higher on the teacher's most recent evaluation under section 3319.111 of the Revised Code.

(G) Any individual employed as a teacher under this section as it existed prior to the effective date of this amendment may continue such employment on and after that date, subject to divisions (C) to (E) of this section.

Section 2. That existing section 3319.283 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.