(a) No person shall be employed to teach in any public elementary or high school or receive pay for teaching out of the public funds of any school system until the person has received a license from the commissioner or state board of education.

(b) As used in parts 2, 4 and 7 of this chapter, “employ,” and all derivatives of “employ,” means to put to work in a position compensated from public funds, and shall not be construed to preclude election by the local board of education of a teacher prior to that teacher's having received a license, in accordance with the rules and regulations of the state board of education.

(c) This section does not apply to a student teacher. As used in this section, “student teacher” means a student enrolled in an institution of higher learning approved by the state board of education for teacher training, who is jointly assigned by the institution of higher learning and the local board of education to perform practice teaching under the direction of a regularly employed and licensed teacher. A student teacher, while serving a nonsalaried internship under the supervision of a licensed teacher, shall be accorded the same protection of the laws as that accorded a licensed teacher, and shall, while acting as a student teacher, comply with all rules and regulations of the state and applicable local board of education and observe all duties of teachers as set forth in § 49-5-201. A student teacher who has been jointly assigned to a before-and-after school care program and who performs in a nonsalaried internship under the direction of a regularly employed teacher shall, while serving in this position, be accorded the same protection of the laws as is accorded a licensed teacher, specifically including protections under title 29, chapter 20.

(d) Since preschool and early childhood special education require very specialized curriculum and practicum experience, the state board of education shall establish licensing requirements and procedures for preschool and early childhood special education teachers. Such licensing requirements and procedures shall be submitted to the education committee of the senate and the education committee of the house of representatives for review prior to their implementation.