North Dakota's superintendent of public instruction must have a teaching license and do at least 40 hours of classroom instruction each year, a proposed new constitutional amendment says.

Paul Wilkins II, a Bismarck businessman, said he intends to circulate petitions to put the issue to a statewide vote next year. He submitted the paperwork to Secretary of State Al Jaeger on Wednesday.

Wilkins said he was motivated by the Legislature's recent decision to abolish a requirement in state law that the superintendent be a certified teacher. Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem has concluded the requirement is unconstitutional.

The qualifications for state superintendent and other state offices are restricted to what is in the constitution, Stenehjem said in a legal opinion. The constitution says only that the superintendent must be at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen and a North Dakota resident for five years before the election.

Wilkins said the solution is to make the teacher-certification rule part of the constitution.

"We believe that the person holding the office … should be prepared to take all of the facets of the position seriously," Wilkins said. "We believe that a trained and experienced teacher is best able to do this job."

The proposed amendment says the superintendent must hold "a valid North Dakota professional teaching license" when elected, and during his or her term of office.

It also includes this sentence: "Upon taking the office of superintendent of public instruction, the elected individual will spend no less than forty hours per calendar year in actual classroom instruction for the duration of his or her term."

The superintendent runs North Dakota's Department of Public Instruction, which distributes state aid to local school districts and oversees state and federal programs affecting schools. It has 93 employees and a two-year budget of $932.3 million.

The incumbent, Democrat Wayne Sanstead, is a certified teacher and makes regular appearances in the classroom. Sanstead was first elected as state school superintendent in 1984.

Legislation to repeal the teacher requirement was approved by party-line votes in the GOP-controlled state Legislature. Stenehjem and Gov. John Hoeven, who signed the measure into law, are Republicans.

Wilkins was a Democratic candidate for the North Dakota House in Bismarck's District 47 last year. He and his running mate, Kameran Ali, lost to incumbent Republicans George Keiser and Lawrence Klemin.