2011 Connecticut Code
Title 10 Education and Culture
Chapter 166 Teachers and Superintendents
Sec. 10-144o. Definitions.

      Sec. 10-144o. Definitions. As used in sections 10-145 to 10-158a, inclusive:

      (1) "Equivalent" means qualifications reasonably comparable to those specifically listed as required for certification;

      (2) "Initial educator certificate" means a license to teach issued on or after July 1, 1989, to a person who has successfully met the preparation and eligibility requirements specified by the State Board of Education for entrance into a beginning educator program;

      (3) "Beginning educator program" means the support and standards program established by the State Board of Education for holders of initial educator certificates. The program shall be designed to improve the quality of the first school years of teaching and to determine whether holders of initial educator certificates have achieved the level of competency, as defined by said board, to entitle them to provisional educator certificates;

      (4) "Provisional teaching certificate" or "provisional certificate" means a license to teach during the provisional certification period, issued prior to July 1, 1989, to a person who meets in full the preparation requirements of the State Board of Education;

      (5) "Provisional educator certificate" means a license to teach, issued on or after July 1, 1989, to a person who (A) has successfully completed a beginning educator program, if there is such a program for such person's certification endorsement area, and not less than one school year of successful teaching in a public school, (B) has completed at least three years of successful teaching in a public or nonpublic school approved by the State Board of Education or appropriate governing body in another state within ten years prior to application for such provisional educator certificate or (C) has successfully taught with a provisional teaching certificate for the year immediately preceding application for such provisional educator certificate as an employee of a local or regional board of education or facility approved for special education by the State Board of Education;

      (6) "Standard teaching certificate" or "standard certificate" means a license to teach issued prior to July 1, 1989, to one who has successfully completed no less than three school years of satisfactory teaching experience and fulfilled other requirements while holding a provisional certificate or its equivalent;

      (7) "Professional educator certificate" means a license to teach issued on or after July 1, 1989, initially to a person who has successfully completed not less than three school years of teaching in a public school or nonpublic school approved by the State Board of Education while holding a provisional educator or provisional teaching certificate and has successfully completed not fewer than thirty semester hours of credit beyond a bachelor's degree. Said certificate shall be continued every five years after issuance upon the successful completion of continuing education, in accordance with subsection (i) of section 10-145b, during each successive five-year period. The successful completion of continuing education units shall only be required for certified employees of local and regional boards of education;

      (8) "Temporary ninety-day certificate" means a license to teach issued on or after July 1, 1988, to a person upon the request of a local or regional board of education pursuant to subsection (c) of section 10-145b. Each such certificate may be reissued once upon the request of a local or regional board of education during the 1988-1989 school year and upon reissuance shall be effective until July 1, 1989. Any provision for the reissuance of such certificate after said school year shall be pursuant to regulations adopted by the State Board of Education;

      (9) "One year" means one school year.

      (P.A. 78-218, S. 96; P.A. 85-613, S. 96, 154; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 86-1, S. 20, 58; P.A. 87-499, S. 3, 4, 34; P.A. 88-273, S. 1, 9; P.A. 90-325, S. 11, 32; P.A. 91-288, S. 2; P.A. 93-353, S. 14, 52; June 19 Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-1, S. 9; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-6, S. 39.)

      History: P.A. 85-613 made technical change, substituting reference to Sec. 10-158a for reference to Sec. 10-159a; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 86-1 deleted the definition of "provisional certification period", added definitions for "initial educator certificate", "beginning education program", "provisional educator certificate", "professional educator certificate", and "temporary ninety-day certificate", and redefined "provisional teaching certificate" and "standard teaching certificate" to state that they be issued prior to July 1, 1988, and added that the years of teaching experience for a standard teaching certificate be school years; P.A. 87-499 redefined "professional educator certificate" in Subdiv. (7) to provide that a person may have taught in an approved nonpublic school and to eliminate the requirement that the 30 semester hours be "teaching-related" and redefined "temporary ninety-day certificate" in Subdiv. (8) by adding "on or after July 1, 1988" and by referring to Sec. 10-145b rather than listing the requirements for the certificate; P.A. 88-273 substituted July 1, 1989, for July 1, 1988, as the date before which provisional and standard teaching certificates are issued and after which initial, provisional and professional educator certificates are issued, added provisions re the reissuance of temporary ninety-day certificates and made a technical change; P.A. 90-325 in Subdiv. (5) added Subpara. (c) re issuance of a provisional educator certificate to persons who have taught with a provisional teaching certificate for the year immediately preceding application for a provisional educator certificate; P.A. 91-288 in Subdiv. (7) substituted 90 hours of continuing education for nine continuing education units; P.A. 93-353 amended Subdiv. (5) defining "provisional educator certificate" to clarify that the requirement for passage of the beginning educator program only applies if such a program is available for the person's certification endorsement area, effective July 1, 1993; June 19 Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-1 amended Subdiv. (7) by deleting requirement that continuing education be "not less than ninety hours" and making a technical change, effective July 1, 2009; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-6 amended Subdiv. (3) by replacing "assessment" with "standards", effective October 5, 2009.

      Cited. 210 C. 286.