PA 07-30—sSB 1287

Education Committee

AN ACT CONCERNING VISITING INTERNATIONAL TEACHER PERMITS

SUMMARY: This act requires the State Board of Education (SBE), in response to a request from a local or regional school board, to issue a temporary international teacher permit in a subject shortage area identified by the education commissioner. The permit allows a foreign teacher with certain qualifications to teach in a public school under the school board's jurisdiction. The permit is valid for one year with a maximum of two one-year renewals in the two years after issuance. The school board must request the renewals.

The local or regional school board requesting the permit must attest that it has a plan for supervising the foreign teacher.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2007

TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS

To qualify for the international teacher permit, a teacher must:

1. hold a J-1 visa from the U. S. State Department;

2. teach in the U. S. either under a memorandum of understanding between Connecticut and the teacher's home country or as part of the Exchange Visitor Program run by the State Department's Teacher Exchange Branch;

3. have the equivalent of a bachelor's degree from a higher education institution regionally accredited by a foreign accrediting agency recognized by the education commissioner;

4. have the degree with either (a) a major in, or closely related to, the subject he or she is to teach or (b) an unrelated major plus successful completion of an SBE-approved teacher test in that subject;

5. have completed, in his or her home country, the equivalent of a regionally accredited teacher preparation program; and

6. successfully complete an English oral proficiency exam approved by the education commissioner.

BACKGROUND

J-1 Visa and Exchange Visitor Program

A J-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa provided to foreign visitors who fall under the “Exchange Visitor” designation and are allowed to come to the United States to promote mutual educational and cultural exchanges. The visitor's sponsor must be accredited through the State Department's Exchange Visitor Program. Among those who qualify for J-1 status through the program are high school, college, and graduate students; business and flight aviation trainees; primary and secondary school teachers; college professors; research scholars; and medical residents and interns receiving U. S. medical training.

Subject Shortage Areas

By December 1 each year, the education commissioner must identify subjects where teacher shortages exist in the state. For the 2006-07 school year, the subject shortage areas, depending on the grade level, are bilingual education, comprehensive special education, English, intermediate administrator, math, music, remedial reading, science, speech and language pathology, and world languages.

OLR Tracking: JSL: KS: PF: dw