Share:
House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 13, 2015 03:12 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative David S. Hickernell |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Public School Code Amendment - Theology Courses - (Former HB 570 - 2013-2014 Legislative Session) |
I plan to reintroduce legislation that amends the Public School Code of 1949 to require that the Department of Education accept college credits earned in the subject of theology for the purposes of meeting continuing education requirements, obtaining master’s degree (or equivalency status), or for teachers who currently hold a Level I certificate to advance to a Level II certificate. Recently it came to my attention that the Department of Education has denied teachers who have taken “theology” classes the opportunity to have these credits count towards certain statuses. This is particularly troubling, given that individuals who hold a teaching certificate in social studies are required under the current state education standards to teach about world religions. As such, my legislation would allow an individual who holds a teaching certificate in social studies and who takes a theology course at an accredited institution to have these course credits count toward continuing education requirements, obtaining master’s degree (or equivalency status), or for advancing from Level I to Level II certification status. I do not believe that theology courses should be automatically discounted by the Department of Education, particularly for social studies teachers who may take these courses for the purposes of enriching their curriculum and meet the state standards. Previous Cosponsors: HICKERNELL , BAKER , BENNINGHOFF , BLOOM, CALTAGIRONE , CUTLER , GILLEN, GROVE, HENNESSEY , KAUFFMAN , KNOWLES, KORTZ , MALONEY, MOUL , MURT , PICKETT , RAPP , TALLMAN, WATSON , and QUINN |
Introduced as HB335