Issuance of international teacher permit

(a) The State Board of Education shall, upon the request of a local or regional board of education, issue an international teacher permit in a subject shortage area pursuant to section 10-8b, provided the conditions for issuance of such permit pursuant to the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of this section are met. Such permits shall be issued for one year and may be renewed for a period of up to one year, upon the request of the local or regional board of education, provided the teacher whose permit is to be renewed maintains, at the time of such renewal, a valid J-1 Visa issued by the United States Department of State at the time such permit is renewed. (b) The local or regional board of education requesting the issuance of an international teacher permit shall attest to the existence of a plan for the supervision of the teacher. (c) The teacher shall: (1) Hold a J-1 visa issued by the United States Department of State; (2) Be in the United States to teach (A) in accordance with a memorandum of understanding between Connecticut and the country from which the teacher is entering, or (B) as part of the Exchange Visitor Program administered by the United States Department of State Teacher Exchange Branch; (3) (A) Hold the equivalent of a bachelor's degree, from a regionally accredited institution of higher education, as determined by a foreign credentialing agency recognized by the Commissioner of Education, with a major in or closely related to the certification endorsement area in which the teacher is to teach, (B) hold such a degree without such a major and have successfully completed the teacher assessment for the appropriate subject area, as approved by the State Board of Education, or (C) have completed coursework or training prescribed by the State Board of Education to achieve proficiency deemed equivalent to a bachelor's degree, if such person will be providing instruction as part of a program of bilingual instruction, as defined in section 10-17e; (4) Have completed, in the country from which the teacher is entering, the equivalent of a regionally accredited teacher preparation program; and (5) Have achieved the level of oral proficiency in English as determined by an examination approved by the Commissioner of Education.