SPONSOR:

Rep. K. Williams & Sen. Sokola

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

149th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 51

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FEES FOR EDUCATOR LICENSURE.

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

Section 1. Amend § 122, Title 14 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strikethrough and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 122. Rules and regulations.

(b) The Department shall prescribe rules and regulations:

(27) Implementing a 1-time fee of no more than $100 for all applicants for an educator's first license in Delaware; provided, however, that the fee shall be reimbursed for any applicant who becomes employed as a n educator teacher in a Delaware public school. All moneys collected pursuant to this paragraph shall be deposited in the General Fund, with the exception of $90,000, which shall be retained annually by the Department in a special fund to be established for the sole purpose of reimbursing educators. Rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this paragraph shall be subject to approval by the State Board of Education; and

SYNOPSIS

In 2016, the Legislature provided a reimbursement for teachers employed in Delaware who had to pay the 1-time licensure fee. By using "teacher", we inadvertently excluded specialists including school media specialists, school counselors, school nurses, et cetera. This Bill changes "teacher" to "educator" to include specialists and other educators.