DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Professional Standards Board

14 DE Admin. Code1507

final

REGULATORY IMPLEMENTING ORDER

1507 Alternative Routes to Teacher Licensure and Certification Program

I. Summary of the Evidence and Information Submitted

The Professional Standards Board, acting in cooperation and collaboration with the Department of Education, seeks the consent of the State Board of Education to amend regulation 14 DE Admin. Code 1507 Alternative Routes to Teacher Licensure and Certification Program. With changes by the General Assembly in 14 Del.C. §1260 during the spring of 2009, it was imperative to amend the regulation to reflect current language in Code.

Notice of the proposed amendment of the regulation was published in the News Journal on Friday September 4, 2009 and in the Delaware State News on Tuesday September 1, 2009 in the form hereto attached as Exhibit “A”. The notice invited written comments. Comments were received from both the Governor’s Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens and the State Council for Persons with Disabilities. The comments were taken under consideration and non-substantive changes were made in the amended regulation.

II. Findings of Facts

The Professional Standards Board and the State Board of Education find that it is appropriate to amend this regulation to comply with changes in statute.

III. Decision to Amend the Regulation

For the foregoing reasons, the Professional Standards Board and the State Board of Education conclude that it is appropriate to amend the regulation. Therefore, pursuant to 14 Del.C. §1205(b), the regulation attached hereto as Exhibit “B” is hereby amended. Pursuant to the provision of 14 Del.C. §122(e), the regulation hereby amended shall be in effect for a period of five years from the effective date of this order as set forth in Section V. below.

IV. Text and Citation

The text of the regulation amended shall be in the form attached hereto as Exhibit “B”, and said regulation shall be cited as 14 DE Admin. Code 1507 of the Administrative Code of Regulations of the Department of Education.

V. Effective Date of Order

The effective date of this Order shall be ten (10) days from the date this Order is published in the Delaware Register of Regulations.

APPROVED BY THE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS BOARD

THE 1st DAY OF OCTOBER, 2009

FOR IMPLEMENTATION BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION:

Lillian Lowery Ed.D., Secretary of Education

IT IS SO ORDERED THIS 20th DAY OF OCTOBER, 2009

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

1507 Alternative Routes to Teacher Licensure and Certification Program

This regulation shall apply to the Alternative Routes for Teacher Licensure and Certification Program, pursuant to 14 Del.C. §§1260 through 1264.

The following words and terms, when used in this regulation, shall have the following meaning unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

“Coherent Major” means a major in an area appropriate to the instructional field.

“Department” means the Delaware Department of Education.

"Educator" means a person licensed and certified by the State under Chapter 12 of 14 Del.C. to engage in the practice of instruction, administration or other related professional support services in Delaware public schools, including charter schools, pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the Standards Board and approved by the State Board., but For purposes of 14 Del.C. Chapter 12, the, term 'educator' does not include substitute teachers.

"Emergency Certificate" means a certificate issued to an educator who holds a valid Delaware Initial, Continuing, or Advanced License, but lacks necessary skills and knowledge to meet certification requirements in a specific content area a temporary credential issued pursuant to 14 DE Admin. Code 1506 Emergency Certificate.

“Examination of Content Knowledge” means a standardized State test of subject matter knowledge which measures knowledge in a specific content area, such as PRAXIS™ II.

“Examination of General Knowledge” means a standardized test which measures general knowledge and essential skills in mathematics or quantitative and verbal skills, including reading and writing, such as PRAXIS™ I, which for the purposes of this regulation, means the State Basic Skills Test.

“Initial License” means the first license issued to an educator that allows an educator to work in a position requiring a license in a Delaware public school.

“Major or Its Equivalent” means no fewer than thirty (30) credit hours in a content area.

“Secretary” means the Secretary of the Delaware Department of Education.

“Standard Certificate” means a credential issued to verify that an educator has the prescribed knowledge, skill or education to practice in a particular area, teach a particular subject, or teach a category of students.

“Standards Board” means the Professional Standards Board established pursuant to 14 Del.C. §1201.

“State Board” means the State Board of Education of the State pursuant to 14 Del.C. §104.

"Teach For America" means the nationally established program consisting of recent college graduates and professionals of all academic majors and career interests who commit to a minimum of two (2) consecutive years of classroom teaching in either a low-income urban or rural public school.

"Teacher Residency Program" means a teacher preparation program meeting the minimum criteria of this regulation and approved pursuant to this regulation and any Department regulation. Such a program is typically sponsored by a regionally accredited college or university in partnership with one or more State Education Agencies and/or an established Organization/Foundation, where the participant is paired with a mentor and veteran teacher in a classroom for their initial school year experience.

3.1 Qualified Candidates meeting all conditions and seeking participation in the an Alternative Routes to Teacher Licensure and Certification program shall be issued an Initial License of no more than three (3) years duration conditioned on continued enrollment in the an Alternative Routes for Teacher Licensure and Certification Program and an Emergency Certificate or certificates of no more than three years duration.

3.2 Candidates must shall meet the following minimum qualifications:

3.2.1 Successfully completed one of the following education requirements:

3.2.1.1 Hold a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university in a coherent major, or its equivalent, [which shall be no less than thirty (30) credit hours] in appropriate to the instructional field they desire to will teach; or

3.2.1.2 Hold a Bachelor's Degree from a regionally accredited college or university in any content area and are enrolled in the Teach For America program and have completed all pre-service requirements for such program; or

3.2.1.3 Hold a Bachelor's Degree from a regionally accredited college or university in any content area and are enrolled in an approved teacher residency program and have completed all pre-service requirements for such program; and

3.3 Pass an examination of general knowledge, such as PRAXIS™ I, or provide an acceptable alternative to the PRAXIS™ I test scores, as set forth in 14 DE Admin. 1510, within the period of time from the date of hire to the end of the next consecutive fiscal year; and

3.4 Obtain acceptance into an approved alternative routes to licensure and certification program.

3.4.1 Notwithstanding any other provisions to the contrary, candidates enrolled in the Teach For America program shall not be limited to teaching in areas identified as critical curricular areas.

3.4.2 Notwithstanding any other provisions to the contrary, candidates enrolled in an approved teacher residency program shall not be limited to teaching in areas identified as critical curricular areas; and

3.5 Demonstrate the prescribed knowledge and skills for a particular content area by completing the following:

3.5.1 Pass an examination of content knowledge, such as PRAXIS™ II, in the instructional field they desire to teach, if applicable and available, within the period of time from the date of hire to the end of the next fiscal year.

3.5.2 Notwithstanding any other provisions to the contrary, candidates enrolled in the Teach For America program shall, where applicable and available, have achieved a passing score on an examination of content knowledge, such as Praxis II, for the area in which such candidate will be teaching, prior to taking full responsibility for teaching a classroom; or

3.5.3 Notwithstanding any other provisions to the contrary, candidates enrolled in a teacher residency program shall, where applicable and available, have achieved a passing score on an examination of content knowledge, such as Praxis II, for the area in which such candidate will be teaching, prior to taking full responsibility for teaching a classroom; and

3.6 Obtain an acceptable health clearance and an acceptable criminal background check clearance; and

3.7 Obtain a teaching position by one of the following:

3.7.1 Obtain and accept an offer of employment in a position that requires licensure and certification.; or

3.7.2 In the case of a teacher residency program, obtain and accept an offer for a position that if paid would require licensure and certification.

4.1 The An Alternative Routes for Teacher Licensure and Certification Program shall consist of be approved by the Secretary of Education and meet the following minimum criteria:

4.2 Incorporate one of the following prerequisite options:

4.2.1 A summer institute of [approximately no less than one hundred and twenty (120)] instructional (clock) hours completed by the candidate prior to the beginning of his/her teaching assignment. This includes an orientation to the policies, organization and curriculum of the employing school district or charter school, instructional strategies and classroom management and child or adolescent development.

4.2.1.1 Candidates employed too late to participate in the summer institute will complete the practicum experience and seminars on teaching during the first school year and will participate in the summer institute following their first year of teaching.; or

4.2.2 A teacher entering a Delaware public school through the Teach For America program shall complete the two hundred (200) hours of pre-service training provided by Teach for America; or

4.2.3 A teacher entering a Delaware public school through a teacher residency program shall complete a minimum of one hundred and twenty (120) hours of pre-service training provided by the approved teacher residency program; and

4.3 A Require a one year, full time practicum experience which includes a period of intensive on-the-job mentoring and supervision beginning the first day in which the candidate assumes full responsibility for a classroom and continuing for a period of thirty (30) weeks.

4.4 Require Sseminars on teaching that provide Alternative Routes to Licensure and Certification teachers with approximately 200 instructional (clock) hours or equivalent professional development during the first year of their teaching assignment and during an intensive seminar the following summer. Content shall include curriculum, student development and learning, and the classroom and the school, as required in 14 Del.C. §1261.

4.5 Receive any required approvals under the Department's regulation 14 DE Admin. Code 290 Approval of Educator Preparation Programs.

Mentoring support shall be carried out in accordance with 14 DE Admin. Code 1503. No mentor shall participate in any way in decisions which might have a bearing on the licensure, certification or employment of teachers participating in the an Alternative Routes for Teacher Licensure and Certification Program.

Teachers enrolled in the an Alternative Routes for Teacher Licensure and Certification Program shall be observed and formally evaluated by a certified evaluator using the state approved evaluation system at least once during the first ten (10) weeks in the classroom, and a minimum of two (2) additional times within the next twenty (20) weeks. Evaluations shall be no more than two (2) months apart.

Upon completion of the an Alternative Routes for Teacher Licensure and Certification Program, the certified evaluator shall prepare a summative evaluation report for the teacher participating in the Program. The evaluation report shall include a recommendation as to whether or not a license shall be issued. The evaluation report and license recommendation shall be submitted to the Department. A copy of the evaluation report and license recommendation should be issued to the candidate twenty (20) days before submission to the Department.

If the evaluation report recommends approval of the candidate for licensure, provided the candidate is otherwise qualified, the Department shall issue an Initial License valid for the balance of the three (3) year term, if the participant has completed the Program in less than three (3) years, or a Continuing License, if the three (3) year term of the Initial License has expired, and shall issue the appropriate Standard Certificate or Certificates.

Candidates who receive a recommendation of ‘disapproved’ shall not be issued an Initial

License and Standard Certificate by the Department, and may not continue in the an Alternative Routes for Licensure and Certification Program.

Candidates who receive a recommendation of “disapproved” may petition the Department for approval of additional opportunities to participate in the an Alternative Routes for Teacher Licensure and Certification Program. Within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the evaluation report and the certification recommendation, a candidate disagreeing with the recommendation may submit to the evaluator written materials documenting the reasons that the candidate believes a license should be awarded. The evaluator shall forward all documentation submitted by the candidate, along with the evaluation report and recommendation concerning licensure and certification to the Secretary of Education. The Secretary or his or her designee shall review the evaluation report, the licensure and certification recommendation, and any documentation supplied by the candidate and make a determination with respect to licensure and certification.

A teacher participating in the an Alternative Routes for Teacher Licensure and Certification Program who is denied a license and certificate may appeal the decision, and is entitled to a full and fair hearing before the Standards Board. Hearings shall be conducted in accordance with the Standard Board’s Hearing Procedures and Rules.

Those responsible for Alternative Routes to Certification Programs approved by the Standards Board and the State Board shall develop a program evaluation process. The focus of the program evaluation must shall be to demonstrate the degree to which teachers who complete the program are effective in the classroom.

The Secretary may approve for implementation other Alternative Routes to Teacher Licensure and Certification Programs, provided the programs meet the minimum criteria set forth in this regulation and in any applicable laws.