SB 604

With certain exceptions, this bill requires that, beginning on July 1, 2027, teachers and administrators at private schools participating in a parental choice program or in the Special Needs Scholarship Program must hold a license or permit issued by the Department of Public Instruction. Under current law, teachers and administrators at choice schools must have at least a bachelor’s degree from a nationally or regionally accredited institution of higher education, but they are not required to be licensed by DPI. There are no current law requirements regarding who may teach or be employed as an administrator at SNSP schools.

The bill provides an exception for a teacher who teaches only courses in rabbinical studies and for an administrator at a private school that prepares and trains pupils attending the private school in rabbinical studies. In addition, the bill provides a grace period for a teacher or administrator who has been teaching or employed as an administrator for at least the five consecutive years immediately preceding July 1, 2027, which allows the teacher or administrator to apply for a temporary, nonrenewable waiver of the licensure requirement. An applicant for a waiver must submit a plan for becoming licensed as required under the bill.