HCEA Negotiated Agreement - Harford County Public Schools

achieve this end.
20.4 Any teacher threatened with physical abuse in connection with his or her
employment should immediately report the incident to his or her principal or
designee. Serious incidents involving verbal abuse or outright disrespect shall be
reported in a similar manner.
20.5 The Association and the Board of Education agree that consistent enforcement of
clear and specific rules are vital to maintaining a safe, secure, effective school
environment for learning. The parties encourage schools to incorporate conflict
management strategies and student participation in the implementation of discipline
policies.
ARTICLE XXI
Certification
21.1 Advanced Professional Certificate. The Code of Maryland Regulations
(COMAR) requires that all educators in Maryland public schools obtain an
Advanced Professional Certificate (APC), the highest level professional certificate in
Maryland. The APC must be achieved no later than the expiration of the Standard
Professional Certificate II (SPC II), usually at the end of the tenth year of teaching in
Maryland unless there has been an interruption in service in which case the Standard
Professional Certificate I (SPC I) may be renewed and the Extended SPC II may be
issued if all requirements in COMAR have been met.
The requirements for an APC are stipulated in COMAR 13A.12.01.06E. At the
issuance of the SPC II, the Human Resources Office will provide to the teacher an
official evaluation of all requirements needed for the APC. It is the teacher’s
responsibility to make a written request to the Human Resources Office when all
requirements for the APC are complete.
21.2 Planned Program of Study Beyond the Master’s Degree. The Board has
approved increments for teachers who complete approved programs of study beyond
the Master’s degree. The purpose of the increments is to encourage teachers to
continue in their studies in order that their work with children and youth may
continue to increase in effectiveness.
21.3 The completion of college or university supervised programs which yield a second
Master’s degree or advanced certificates will be accepted as meeting the requirement
of thirty (30) semester hours of approved work beyond the Master’s degree provided
that no duplication of courses in involved. Teachers who are involved in a doctoral
program but do not complete an organized unit of work which yields a certificate from
a college or university may submit their college-directed program for approval. It will
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