Alabama § 16-46B-6 - Duties of Department.

§ 16-46B-6. Duties of Department.

Before June 30, 2020, the department shall create all of the following:

(1) A secondary computer science certification pathway for preservice teachers.

(2) An endorsement in computer science for all teachers who hold a valid Professional Educator Certificate and demonstrate sufficient content knowledge in the course material as determined by the department. Upon passing the Praxis, this certification does not have a two-year time and service requirement to begin teaching.

(3) A course-specific permit for teachers without a secondary computer science certification or endorsement, who hold a valid Professional Educator Certificate. The course-specific permit shall be issued upon the completion of a nationally recognized professional learning course that is linked to a recognized high quality middle school or high school computer science course or an approved preservice computer science pathway offered at an institution of higher education for a specific permitted course. The state computer science specialist shall maintain a vetted list of supported professional learning opportunities aligned to K-12 Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) standards and advanced placement computer science course and exam descriptions in computer science that are linked to recognized high quality computer science courses offered at the middle school and high school levels. The course-specific permits shall only be issued to teach a course on the vetted list by a teacher who has completed professional learning courses linked to the vetted list, as determined by the state computer science specialist.

(4) Career and technical education certificate options shall remain in place to provide business, industry, and other postsecondary noneducation certified graduates with the opportunity to teach computer science courses.