Teacher Apprenticeship Program.

(1) The Teacher Apprenticeship Program is established to create an alternative pathway for individuals to enter the teaching profession. The Department of Education shall administer the program in accordance with s. 446.011.

(2)(a) An individual must meet the following minimum eligibility requirements to participate in the apprenticeship program:

1. Have received an associate degree from an accredited postsecondary institution.

2. Have earned a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 in that degree program.

3. Have successfully passed a background screening as provided in s. 1012.32.

4. Have received a temporary apprenticeship certificate as provided in s. 1012.56(7)(d).

(b) As a condition of participating in the program, an apprentice teacher must commit to spending at least the first 2 years in the classroom of a mentor teacher using team teaching strategies identified in s. 1003.03(5)(b) and fulfilling the on-the-job training component of the registered apprenticeship and its associated standards.

(c) An apprentice teacher must do both of the following:

1. Complete at least 2 years in an apprenticeship before being eligible to apply for a professional certificate established in s. 1012.56(7)(a). Completion of the Teacher Apprenticeship Program does not exempt an apprentice teacher from the requirements of s. 1012.56(2)(c).

2. Receive related instruction as provided in s. 446.051.

(d) An apprentice teacher must be appointed by the district school board as an education paraprofessional and must be paid in accordance with s. 446.032 and rules adopted by the State Board of Education.

(e) An apprentice teacher may change schools or districts after the first year of his or her apprenticeship if the hiring school or district has agreed to fund the remaining year of the apprenticeship.

(3) A teacher who serves as a mentor in the apprenticeship program shall mentor his or her apprentice teacher using team teaching strategies and must, at a minimum, meet the requirements of s. 1012.56(7).

(4) Subject to legislative appropriation, a teacher who serves as a mentor in the apprenticeship program may receive a bonus, as specified in this subsection. If such funding is available:

(a) The district school board must pay a teacher who serves as a mentor 50 percent of the bonus amount upon completion of the first year of the apprenticeship.

(b) The district school board must pay a teacher who serves as a mentor the remainder of the bonus at the conclusion of the apprenticeship if:

1. The teacher successfully guides his or her apprentice to completion of the apprenticeship program;

2. Upon completion of the apprenticeship program, his or her apprentice is hired by a school district or charter school in this state; and

3. The teacher meets any additional requirements imposed by state board rule.

(5) A class in which an apprenticeship is conducted may exceed the class size limitation imposed in s. 1003.03(1) up to 1.5 times the allowable number of students under that subsection.

(6) The State Board of Education may adopt rules to implement this section.