Relating to qualifications for community college career and technical education instructors

This bill provides more options by which an instructor may qualify to teach at a community college in the subject area of career and technical education (CTE). The bill permits an instructor to teach CTE classes at a community college if the instructor possesses a baccalaureate degree in any area if at least of the credit hours completed were in the CTE field in which the instructor teaches; or possesses an associate degree in the CTE field of instruction in which the person is teaching, if such degree is considered terminal for that field of instruction, and the instructor has at least 3,000 hours of recent and relevant work experience in the area in which the instructor teaches classes. Currently, an instructor must have a baccalaureate or graduate degree relating to the area in which the instructor is teaching classes or, if the instructor possesses less than a baccalaureate degree, must have special training and at least 6,000 hours of recent and relevant work experience in the area in which the instructor teaches classes. In the latter case, if the instructor is a licensed practitioner who holds a career and technical endorsement under Code chapter 272, classroom instruction can be used to meet the requirement relating to relevant work experience, and the bill applies this language to the new option as well.