§ 18A:26-2a — Definitions relative to employment of novice teachers; registration with DOE.

1. a. As used in this section: "Certificate of eligibility" means a certificate with lifetime validity issued by the State Board of Examiners to candidates who meet degree, academic, and applicable test requirements for teacher certification; "Certificate of eligibility with advanced standing" means a certificate with lifetime validity issued by the State Board of Examiners to candidates who meet degree, academic and test requirements for teacher certification and complete a State-approved college professional education preparation program; "Novice teacher" means any teacher working under a valid certificate of eligibility, certificate of eligibility with advanced standing, or provisional certificate who has not yet been issued a standard instructional certificate; "Provisional certificate" means a certificate issued by the State Board of Examiners to candidates who hold either a certificate of eligibility or a certificate of eligibility with advanced standing and are employed as part of a State-approved district training program or residency leading to standard certification; "Provisional teacher program" means the school-based training and evaluation program provided to all novice teachers during the first year of teaching in the State; "Standard instructional certificate" means a permanent certificate issued to a person who has met all teacher certification requirements. b. A board of education may employ a person who holds a valid certificate of eligibility or certificate of eligibility with advanced standing to teach as a novice teacher in the public schools of the district. Upon the employment of a novice teacher, the board of education shall immediately register the employment with the Department of Education and request issuance of a provisional certificate. When the provisional certificate is issued by the department, its effective date for all purposes shall be the date on which the novice teacher began employment with the board of education. The board of education shall also enroll the novice teacher in the provisional teacher program and comply with all responsibilities assigned to the district by the department. L.2005,c.144,s.1.