The Florida Senate

231.1725  Employment of substitute teachers, teachers of adult education, and nondegreed teachers of career education; students performing clinical field experience.--

(1)  Notwithstanding the provisions of ss. 231.02, 231.15, and 231.17, or any other provision of law or rule to the contrary, each school board shall establish the minimal qualifications for:

(a)  Substitute teachers to be employed pursuant to s. 231.47. The qualifications shall require the filing of a complete set of fingerprints in the same manner as required by s. 231.02.

(b)  Part-time and full-time teachers in adult education programs. The qualifications shall require the filing of a complete set of fingerprints in the same manner as required by s. 231.02. Faculty employed solely to conduct postsecondary instruction may be exempted from this requirement.

(c)  Part-time and full-time nondegreed teachers of vocational programs. Qualifications shall be established for agriculture, business, health occupations, family and consumer sciences, industrial, marketing, and public service education teachers, based primarily on successful occupational experience rather than academic training. The qualifications for such teachers shall require:

1.  The filing of a complete set of fingerprints in the same manner as required by s. 231.02. Faculty employed solely to conduct postsecondary instruction may be exempted from this requirement.

2.  Documentation of education and successful occupational experience including documentation of:

a.  A high school diploma or the equivalent.

b.  Completion of 6 years of full-time successful occupational experience or the equivalent of part-time experience in the teaching specialization area. Alternate means of determining successful occupational experience may be established by the school board.

c.  Completion of career education training conducted through the local school district inservice master plan.

d.  For full-time teachers, completion of professional education training in teaching methods, course construction, lesson planning and evaluation, and teaching special needs students. This training may be completed through coursework from a standard institution or an approved district teacher education program.

e.  Demonstration of successful teaching performance.

(2)  Substitute, adult education, and nondegreed career education teachers who are employed pursuant to this section shall have the same rights and protection of laws as certified teachers.

(3)  A student who is enrolled in a state-approved teacher preparation program in an institution of higher education which is approved by rules of the State Board of Education and who is jointly assigned by the institution of higher education and a school board to perform a clinical field experience under the direction of a regularly employed and certified educator shall, while serving such supervised clinical field experience, be accorded the same protection of law as that accorded to the certified educator except for the right to bargain collectively as an employee of the school board.

History.--s. 3, ch. 90-285; ss. 10, 11, ch. 90-288; s. 23, ch. 91-105; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 39, ch. 92-136; s. 31, ch. 94-232; s. 55, ch. 97-190; s. 20, ch. 97-246; s. 5, ch. 98-281; s. 55, ch. 99-398.