HB 178 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO YEAR-LONG TEACHER RESIDENCY PROGRAMS.

Williams HOUSE& OFRep. REPRESENTATIVES 151st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE AMENDMENT NO.

1Bolden TO& HOUSERep. BILL NO.

178Bush AMEND& HouseRep. Bill No.

178Chukwuocha by& strikingRep. lines 53 through 55 and substituting in lieu thereof the following:

“(f)Hensley The& DepartmentRep. shall convene, in an open forum, stakeholders representing school districts, charter schools, teacher preparation programs, teachers, and non-profit organizations to provide input on methods to increase retention and diversity of quality educators in Delaware public schools and the development of a fair, robust rubric for evaluation of residency grant applications.

TheLynn Department& ofRep. Education shall finalize the rubric and implement it as part of the application process.” SYNOPSIS This amendment revises the process for developing the evaluation rubric by allowing stakeholders to participate in an open forum with Department of Education about the programs and application evaluation, and then allowing the Department of Education to finalize the rubric.

Matthews & Rep.

S.

Moore & Rep.

Morrison & Rep.

Osienski & Rep.

Ramone & Rep.

Shupe & Rep.

Michael Smith & Sen.

Sturgeon & Sen.

Lockman & Sen.

Townsend Reps.

Baumbach, Brady, Briggs King;

Sens.

Ennis, Hansen, S.

McBride, Sokola, Walsh HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 151st GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE BILL NO.

178 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO YEAR-LONG TEACHER RESIDENCY PROGRAMS.

WHEREAS, teacher residencies have been successful in Delaware since 2013 through partnership of school districts and charter schools with educator preparation programs;

and WHEREAS, the Department of Education administers a program to support these partnerships, awarding funding appropriated in the state budget through a competitive process;

and WHEREAS, teacher residencies provide teaching experience to pre-service teachers who work in a classroom with an expert teacher while engaging in coursework at a college or university;

and WHEREAS, year-long teacher residencies are seen as the “gold-standard” for teacher preparation because of the in-depth, immersive experience they provide candidates;

and WHEREAS, research shows residencies can improve teacher recruitment, retention, and diversity of the teaching profession nationally and in Delaware because they provide stronger preparation, support, mentoring, and financial stipends;

and WHEREAS, teacher residencies provide a consistent pipeline of better-prepared new teachers, reduce turnover, fill chronic shortage areas, and prepare teachers who are more likely to teach in high-need schools.

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1.

Amend Subchapter VIII, Chapter 12 of Title 14 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 1281.

Year-Long Residency Programs (a) There is established a year-long residency program, the purpose of which is to increase retention and diversity of quality educators in Delaware public schools.

(b) For purposes of this section:

MAW Page 1 of 13 Released:

05/20/202105/07/2021 11:4011:38 AM 2141510295(1) “Resident” means a student enrolled in an education preparation program who is selected for participation in a year-long residency program authorized under this section.

(2) “Year-long residency program” means a partnership between a district or charter school and an educator preparation program to provide residents a year-long, practice-based learning experience working directly with students, in a manner that mirrors the experience of teachers in that school.

(c)(1) Subject to appropriations, the Department shall develop a competitive grant process to support districts and charters in developing and supporting year-long residency programs.

(2) Annual appropriations for the year-long residency programs do not revert to the General Fund at the end of the fiscal year, but shall remain available to the Department for disbursement pursuant to this section.