Alabama § 16-23-3.1 - Issuance of Professional Educator Certificate to Qualified Individuals Who Complete an Approved Alternative Teacher Preparation Program.

§ 16-23-3.1. Issuance of Professional Educator Certificate to Qualified Individuals Who Complete an Approved Alternative Teacher Preparation Program.

(a) The State of Alabama shall modify its policies relative to the certification of teachers to permit the issuance of a professional educator certificate to those qualified individuals who successfully complete an approved alternative teacher preparation program. In addition to any provisional certificates and professional certificates issued pursuant to this chapter to individuals graduating from approved teacher education programs, the State Board of Education shall authorize the issuance of a professional educator certificate by the State Superintendent of Education to a qualified individual who completes an approved alternative teacher preparation program.

(b) The State Superintendent of Education shall maintain a database of alternative teacher education preparation organizations, approved by the State Board of Education, as a means for screening, recruiting, and recommending for certification qualified individuals to teach in the public K-12 schools. An approved alternative teacher education preparation organization, at a minimum, shall require each applicant whom the approved organization recommends for initial licensure to satisfy all of the following:

(1) Hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education which offers, at a minimum, junior and senior level courses of instruction.

(2) Successfully pass a criminal history background information check.

(3) Successfully complete an alternative teacher preparation program offered by the approved organization.

(c)(1) Any law to the contrary notwithstanding, in determining which alternative teacher education preparation organizations to approve, the State Board of Education shall consider only the following prerequisites:

a. Successful operation in at least five states and is not on probation in any of those states. This requirement does not apply to two-year or four-year institutions of higher education operating in the state with state-approved programs.

b. Successful operation of an alternative teacher education preparation program for at least 10 years.

c. Requirement that an applicant pass an examination that is substantively aligned with Alabama standards in subject area, pedagogy, or both.

d. Evidence of successfully certifying at least 10,000 teachers in the United States. This requirement does not apply to two-year or four-year institutions of higher education operating in the state with state-approved programs.

(2) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, if an alternative teacher education preparation organization does not satisfy the prerequisites provided in subdivision (1), the alternative teacher education preparation organization may be approved if the organization is certified by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation or the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation. In order to qualify for approval under this section, an alternative teacher certification program organization certified by the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation must have begun an application with the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation by April 1, 2024. Beginning October 1, 2026, certification by the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation shall no longer qualify an alternative teacher education preparation organization for approval under this section.

(d) An individual who is granted a professional educator certificate pursuant to this section may teach in the subject areas and at the educational levels he or she has successfully completed through the alternative teacher preparation program offered by the approved alternative teacher education preparation organization.

(e) An individual who holds a professional educator certificate pursuant to this section may apply for a professional renewal license and shall in all other respects be treated in the same manner as an individual who holds a professional educator certificate granted upon successful completion of traditional, in-state teaching certification programs.

(f) An approved alternative teacher education preparation organization shall submit a detailed report to the State Board of Education annually detailing the number of individuals who completed the program during that year.

(g) Upon receiving an alternative certificate to teach pursuant to this section, the teacher shall participate in the Alabama Teacher Mentorship Program if hired by a local board of education that participates in the program.