Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 2024
The proposed amendments would serve a limited, but critical,
purpose. They will allow the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education to
issue a provisional license for up to three years to an applicant enrolled in
an alternative educator preparation program who has not yet passed the
state-mandated assessment for the content area in which the applicant seeks to
teach. In lieu of having passed the assessment, however, the applicant must
either hold a bachelor's degree in the content area in which the applicant
seeks to teach, have earned 18 hours of college credits in the content area in
which the applicant seeks to teach, or have documented successful, relevant
work experience in the content area in which the applicant seeks to teach. This
would enable qualified applicants to teach for up to three years while working
toward meeting all requirements of obtaining a standard license. This framework
is permitted by Ark. Code Ann. §
6-17-409(d), which
provides that the State Board may require passage of the
content-area assessment for a provisional license but does not make it
mandatory.
The State of Arkansas currently is suffering from a severe
teacher shortage, which creates an imminent peril to the welfare of the State
and its public school students. Consequently, the Division seeks to promulgate
these amendments as emergency rules pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
25-15-204(c). The
Division also will simultaneously promulgate the amendments through the
permanent rulemaking process.
1-2.0
DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of these Rules:
1-2.01
"Accredited College or
University" means an institution of higher education that is regionally
or nationally accredited by an accrediting organization recognized by the U.S.
Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education
Accreditation.
1-2.02
"Accredited School Psychology program" means a program of study
for school psychology that is offered by an accredited college or university,
and the program is:
1-2.02.1 Nationally
accredited in school psychology by the Commission on Accreditation of the
American Psychological Association; or
1-2.02.2 Approved by the National Association
of School Psychologists (NASP) or
1-2.02.3 Nationally accredited by an
accrediting organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the
Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
1-2.03
"Accredited Speech-Language
Pathology Program" means a speech-language pathology program that is
offered by an accredited college or university, and the program is:
1-2.03.1 Nationally accredited by the Council
on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association; or
1-2.03.2 Nationally accredited by an
accrediting organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the
Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
1-2.04
"Accredited Approved Educator
Preparation Program" means an educator preparation program that is:
1-2.04.1 Accredited by an accrediting
organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the Council for
Higher Education Accreditation; and
1-2.04.2 Approved by the licensing authority
of a state government.
1-2.05
"Additional Licensure Plan
(ALP)" means a plan approved by the Office of Educator Licensure that
allows an individual holding a Standard License or Provisional License (by
reciprocity only) to accept employment or assignment in an out-of-area
position, prior to completion of the requirements for the required endorsement,
licensure content area, or level of licensure, for no more than six (6)
consecutive semesters.
1-2.06
"Administrator License" means an endorsement to a standard five
(5)-year renewable license, issued by the State Board, which allows the license
holder to serve as an administrator in an educational entity.
1-2.07 "Administrator Licensure
Completion Plan (ALCP)" means a plan approved by the Office of Educator
Licensure that allows an individual holding a Standard License to accept
employment as an administrator, prior to completion of the requirements for an
Administrator License, for no more than six (6) consecutive
semesters.
1.2.08
"Alternate
Assessment Plan (AAP)" means a plan submitted by a building or district
level administrator approved by the Office of Educator Licensure on behalf of
an applicant for a standard license in a first time licensure area (See
Appendix A) who has not demonstrated competency in their subject matter content
with a passing score on a State Board approved content area
assessment.
1-2.09
"Alternative Educator Preparation Program" means a program of
study approved by the Division for candidates who have a bachelor's degree and
are preparing for licensure as teachers and leaders in public schools in this
state.
1-2.10
"Ancillary
License" means a five (5)-year renewable license, issued by the State
Board, that does not require prior classroom teaching experience, and which
allows the license holder to practice in Arkansas public schools in a licensure
area identified on Appendix A, excluding an administrator's
endorsement.
1-2.11
"Approved
Professional Development" means the continuing learning experiences for
educators that meet the standards and focus areas under the Division's Rules
Governing Professional Development.
1-2.12
"Approved Program for Educator
Preparation" means an educator preparation program that is approved by
the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education to prepare candidates for a
license issued by the State Board of Education.
1-2.13 "Arkansas IDEAS" means
Internet Delivered Education for Arkansas Schools, a partnership between the
Division and the Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN) to provide
through the AETN access to high-quality, online professional development for
Arkansas licensed educators.
1-2.14
"Arkansas Professional Educator Preparation Program (ArPEP)" means
the alternative educator preparation program administered by the Division,
whose participants hold a minimum of a baccalaureate degree and are allowed to
teach with a Provisional License. The program requirements consist of two (2)
years of teaching and instructional modules, which must be completed within
three (3) years.
1-2.15
"Building-Level Administrator" means a principal, assistant
principal, or vice principal in an educational entity.
1-2.16
"Candidate" means an
individual who has been admitted into an educator licensure program.
1-2.17
"Charter School" includes
an open-enrollment public charter school, conversion public charter school, or
other type of public charter school authorized under Arkansas law.
1-2.18
Clinical experiences"
means the activities for candidates in educator preparation programs that allow
early and ongoing practice opportunities to apply content and pedagogical
knowledge, such as observations, tutoring, assisting teachers and
administrators, and practicums.
1-2.19
"Clinical Internship"
means a culminating clinical practice experience that can be of varying
duration but no less than 15 weeks. The clinical internship takes place in an
authentic educational setting where teacher candidates engage in the
pedagogical work of the profession of teaching, closely integrated with
educator preparation instruction and supported by a formal school-educator
preparation partnership. Placements must reflect the subject area and grade
level of the license being sought.
1-2.20
"Core Academic Subject
Areas" means the following areas approved by the State Board:
Elementary Education (K-6);
English Language Arts;
Mathematics;
Science;
Social Studies;
Art;
Music; and
Foreign Language
1-2.21
"District-Level
Administrator" means a superintendent, assistant/associate
superintendent, or deputy superintendent.
1-2.22
"Division" means the
Arkansas Department of Education Division of Elementary and Secondary
Education.
1.2.23 "
Division
recognized external micro-credential" means a single or a stacked
micro-credential that meets the following criteria:
1-2.23.1 Is developed by a state, regional,
or national educational organization;
1-2.23.2 Is based on peer-reviewed education
research;
1-2.23.3 Utilizes
national standards or competencies;
1-2.23.4 Contains rigorous requirements for
research, performance (including submission of artifacts), and self-reflection.
1-2.24
"Educational
Entity" means a public school district, a charter school, an education
service cooperative, or other public entity that is assigned a local education
agency number by the Division.
1-2.25
"Educator" means any
individual holding a license issued by the State Board, specifically including,
without limitation, teachers, administrators, library media specialists, and
counselors.
1-2.25.1 "Educator" also includes
a nonlicensed person employed under the educational entity's waiver of
licensure.
1-2.26
"Educator preparation program" means a planned sequence of
academic courses and experiences leading to a recommendation for licensure by
the State Board.
1-2.27
"Educator Preparation Program Completer" means a person who has
completed all coursework/modules and program requirements of a state approved
program of study.
1-2.28
"Effective Leader" has the meaning given that term in the state's
plan adopted under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Pub. L.
No. 89-10, as reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act,
Pub. L. No.
114-95.
1-2.29
"Effective Teacher" has
the meaning given that term in the state's plan adopted under the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Pub. L. No. 89-10, as reauthorized by the
Every Student Succeeds Act,
Pub. L. No.
114-95.
1-2.30
"Endorsement" means any
licensure area or licensure level that may be added only to an existing
Standard License.
1-2.31
"Exception area endorsement" means an endorsement that is not
available by testing out.
1-2.32
"Good Standing" means, for the purpose of reciprocity, that:
1-2.32.1 There are no ethics proceedings or
proceedings on criminal offenses for which the license would be subject to
sanctions in Arkansas pending against a licensee;
1-2.32.2 The licensee has not been sanctioned
for an ethics violation or criminal offense for which the license would be
subject to sanction in Arkansas during the three (3) most recent years of
teaching experience, if any; and
1-2.32.3 The license has not been revoked by
or is not currently under suspension in the licensing state or country based on
an offense for which the license would be subject to sanction in
Arkansas.
1-2.33
"Level of Licensure" or "Licensure Level" means the
grade/age level parameter of the educator license as identified in Appendix A,
Areas and Levels of Licensure.
1-2.34
"Licensure Content Area"
means a particular content field as recognized by the State Board. Licensure
content areas are listed in Appendix A, Areas and Levels of
Licensure.
1-2.35
"Licensed
teaching experience" means teaching in a K-12 public or private school
while holding a standard or provisional teaching license, or the equivalent if
the applicant is seeking licensure reciprocity. Teaching experience under a
licensure exception does not count as licensed teaching experience;
1-2.36 "Licensure exception" is
an exception (formerly a 'waiver') from the legal requirement that a position
at an educational entity must be filled by a person holding the appropriate
license issued by the State Board. Licensure exceptions approved by the State
Board are identified in Chapter 7 of these rules.
1-2.37
"Micro-credential" means
a form of certification earned through demonstrating competency/mastery in a
specific skill or set of skills.
1-2.38 "Out-of-Area Position"
means a licensed position requiring a particular license, endorsement,
licensure content area, or level of licensure that the employee filling the
position does not currently hold.
1-2.39 "
Passing Score" for a
state-mandated assessment for licensure means the cut score on the assessment
approved by the State Board.
1-2.39.1 A
passing score on a licensure assessment approved by the State Board before the
currently approved version of an assessment will be accepted for five (5) years
after the date the State Board discontinued or replaced the assessment provided
the passing score was achieved before the date the assessment was discontinued
or replaced.
1-2.40
"Preservice Teacher" means an unlicensed person who is enrolled as
a student in an educator preparation program approved by the
Division.
1-2.41 "Primary
partnership" means a partnership that meets all the requirements of a
state-recognized partnership while also requiring established and explicit
processes for identifying and responding to educational entities areas of need
(e.g., ESL or Special Education teachers); collaborative development of
candidate selection criteria; collaborative design of high-quality, need-based
clinical experiences; and collaborative implementation of high-quality clinical
experiences with engagement of both partners throughout the
partnership.
1-2.42
"Private
Credential Evaluation Agency" means an independent agency approved by
the Division that:
1-2.42.1 Is located in the
United States; and
1-2.42.2
Provides an educational background assessment that:
1-2.42.2.1 Contains a course-by-course
evaluation of the applicant's transcript;
1-2.42.2.2 Indicates the applicant's major
area of study and documents the candidate's cumulative grade point
average;
1-2.42.2.3 Documents
whether the applicant's out-of-country degree is equivalent to one that would
have been completed at an accredited college or university in the United
States;
1-2.42.2.4 Documents
whether the out-of-country professional preparation program is equivalent to
one that would have been completed at an approved educator preparation program
or accredited speech-language pathology or school psychology program;
1-2.42.2.5 Indicates the areas of licensure
represented by the out-of-country license; and
1-2.42.2.6 Documents which areas of licensure
on the out-of-country license are equivalent to the areas of licensure approved
by the State Board.
1-2.43
"Professional
Development" means a coordinated set of planned, learning development
activities for teachers that are based on research, are standards-based and
that meet the focus areas for professional development required by the
Division.
1.2.44
"Program
Administrator" means a school leader who is responsible for program
development and administration, and who may be responsible for employment
evaluation decisions, in content areas approved by the State Board
1-2.45
"Program of Study" means
a curriculum that requires a candidate to demonstrate and document competency
in the specific knowledge, skills, and dispositions for a particular
endorsement to an educator's license, a licensure content area, or level of
licensure, and is:
1-2.45.1 Provided by one
(1) or more accredited colleges or universities, or an alternative educator
preparation program;
1-2.45.2
Aligned with Arkansas Teaching Standards and the appropriate content knowledge
and pedagogical competencies for the respective licensure areas; and
1-2.45.3 Approved by the
Division.
1-2.46
"Provisional License" means a temporary license issued by the
State Board that allows the license holder to teach or work in Arkansas
schools.
1-2.47
"Reciprocity" means the recognition of a teaching license from
another state or country based on these Rules or the terms of the National
Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC)
Interstate Agreement for Educator Licensure.
1-2.48
"Secondary Partnership"
means a partnership that meets all the requirements of a state-recognized
partnership with educational entities or accredited private schools with which
they do not have a primary partnership, but where enrolled candidates are
placed for clinical experiences.
1-2.49 "Semester" means the fall
or spring of an academic year. If an educational entity uses a different method
of academic year scheduling (such as a twelvemonth academic year), the Division
and the educational entity will identify a semester equivalent.
1-2.50
"SPED 101 Academy" means
a three (3) credit hour course developed by institutions of higher education
based on competencies developed in collaboration with the Division Educator
Preparation Unit, Special Education Unit, and public school districts, public
charter schools, and education service cooperatives.
1-2.51
"Stacked
micro-credential" means a series of micro-credentials, each of which
builds upon a previous micro-credential in the series;
1-2.52
"Standard License" means
a five-year renewable license, issued by the State Board, where a recipient has
demonstrated content knowledge and understanding of pedagogical practice
required to perform professional education services for the licensure content
area and licensure level specified on the license.
1-2.53
"Standard License
Equivalent" means a current, unrestricted, non-probationary,
non-provisional teaching license that allows an individual to work as a
teacher, administrator, counselor, or library media specialist in another
state's public schools and is in good standing with the licensing
state.
1-2.54
"State
Board" means the Division of Elementary and Secondary State Board of
Education.
1-2.55
"State-Recognized Partnership" means a partnership that
establishes the roles and responsibilities of educator preparation faculty
educational entities or accredited private schools, including clinical
educators and supervisors, and establishes clear expectations regarding the
delivery of candidate support and evaluation.
1-2.56
"Successful completion of
background checks" means that the individual cleared both the state and
federal criminal history checks and cleared the Child Maltreatment Central
Registry check as provided under the DESE Rules Governing Background
Checks.
1-2.57
"Teacher of
Record" means an individual (or individuals in co-teaching assignments)
who has been assigned the lead responsibility for a student's learning in a
subject/course with aligned performance measures.