(1)
Summary: Educator
certificate level upgrade requirements will lead educators to complete advanced
degree programs closely aligned with their fields of certification, with
institutions and programs meeting specified levels of accreditation, state
approval, or quality assurances. A legacy_timeline is included to maintain the
certificate level of currently certified educators and to protect the interests
of certified educators currently enrolled in advanced degree programs. This
rule applies only to the process of upgrading an existing certificate for a
Georgia Educator. See GaPSC Rule
505-2-.01 GEORGIA EDUCATOR
CERTIFICATION for the definition of Georgia Educator. For the purposes of
issuing an initial Georgia certificate or permit the criteria specified in
GaPSC Rule
505-2-.02 CLASSIFICATION
applies.
(2)
Requirements. Valid level four (4) or higher Georgia teaching,
service or leadership certificates with the following titles may be upgraded:
Standard Professional, Performance-Based Professional, Advanced Professional,
Lead Professional, Life or Induction. See GaPSC Rule
505-2-.02 CLASSIFICATION for
information related to upgrades of certificate levels one (1) and two (2). A
certificate level upgrade may be earned by successfully completing an eligible
advanced degree program from an eligible institution of higher education. There
are two types of eligible advanced degree programs: In-Field programs and New
Field programs. Higher education institution eligibility requirements follow
each option.
(a) In-Field Degree Programs: A
certificate level upgrade may be earned through successful completion of an
advanced degree program in a GaPSC certification field that is currently
offered (See
All
Certification Fields Chart) and is held by the educator. Educators may
earn upgrades through the completion of education degree programs (examples
include but are not limited to M.Ed., Ed.S. and Ed.D.) or through the
completion of content degree programs at the Master's degree level or higher
(examples include but are not limited to M.A., M.S. and Ph.D.).
1. In-Field programs eligible for certificate
level upgrades may be completed with Georgia institutions or with out-of-state
institutions meeting the criteria described below:
(i) Georgia institutions must meet at least
one of the following criteria:
(I) The
institution's educator preparation provider (EPP) is approved by the GaPSC at
the time the individual is admitted to the program.
(II) The institution holds a Carnegie
Classification of Research University-Very High Research Activity (RU/VH) or
Research University-High Research Activity (RU/H) at the time the individual is
admitted to the program. For more information on the Carnegie Classification
system,
click
here.
(ii)
Out-of-state institutions must meet at least one of the following criteria:
(I) The EPP is accredited by the National
Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (
NCATE),or the Council for the Accreditation of
Educator Preparation (
CAEP) at the
time the individual is admitted to the program.
(II) The EPP has at least one program
currently accredited by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) at
the time the individual is admitted to the program.
(III) The institution holds a Carnegie
Classification of Research University-Very High Research Activity (RU/VH) or
Research University-High Research Activity (RU/H) at the time the individual is
admitted to the program.
2. An educator who completes an advanced
degree in a field in which he or she is not certified, and which does not meet
the requirements outlined below for New Field degree programs, may become
eligible for an In-Field upgrade by qualifying to add the field to his or her
certificate, as outlined in GaPSC Rule
505-2-.34 ADD A FIELD. If an educator
in this situation applies to upgrade his or her certificate prior to adding the
field in which the advanced degree was earned, the request will be put on hold
pending addition of the field.
3.
An upgrade that is earned by completion of an advanced degree that is in-field
with any certificate field other than an Educational Leadership field will be
applied to the general level of the certificate. An upgrade that is earned by
completion of an advanced degree that is in-field with an Educational
Leadership certificate field will be applied to the leader level of the
educator's certificate unless the certificate has not previously been assigned
a leader level. If there is no previously assigned leader level, the upgrade
will be applied to the general level. For more information on general and
leader levels, see GaPSC Rule
505-2-.02
CLASSIFICATION.
(b) New
Field Degree Programs: A certificate level upgrade may be earned through
successful completion of a state-approved advanced degree program that leads to
initial certification in a GaPSC certification field in which the educator had
not previously completed a state-approved program. In order to qualify for a
certificate level upgrade, educators must successfully complete the degree
program, pass all appropriate Georgia content assessments, meet all
certification requirements and add the new field to their certificate.
1. Program approval requirements:
(i) Programs offered by Georgia institutions
leading to a new field of certification must be approved by the
GaPSC.
(ii) Programs offered by
out-of-state institutions and leading to a new field of certification must be
approved by the home state agency equivalent to the GaPSC.
(iii) Programs offered by
out-of-state-institutions must also meet at least one of the criteria listed
below:
(I) The EPP of an out-of-state
institution must hold accreditation by
NCATE,
TEAC or
CAEP at the time the educator is admitted to
the program.
(II) The out-of-state
institution must hold a Carnegie Classification of RU/VH or RU/H at the time
the educator is admitted to the program.
(III) If the educator is completing a program
to add the field of School Counseling, the out-of-state institution must be
accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related
Educational Programs (CACREP) at the time the educator is admitted to the
program.
2.
Georgia-certified educators who complete in-state or out-of-state programs
leading to certification in a new field must pass the GACE content assessment
or other GaPSC-approved content assessment for that field with the following
exceptions:
(i) This requirement does not
apply to fields in which there is no GaPSC-approved content
assessment.
(ii) Georgia-certified
educators who completed out-of-state programs leading to certification in a new
field prior to October 15, 2011, may exempt the content assessment requirement
if they were required to pass an acceptable out-of-state content assessment in
order to become certified in that field in another state.
3. An upgrade that is earned by completion of
a degree that leads to certification in any field other than Educational
Leadership fields will be applied to the general level of the certificate. As
outlined in O.C.G.A.
20-2-212, an upgrade that is
earned by completion of a degree that leads to certification in an Educational
Leadership field will result in the assignment of a leader level to the
certificate, and will not change the general level, unless the leadership
degree earned meets one of the following exemption criteria:
(i) The leadership degree was awarded prior
to July 1, 2010.
(ii) The educator
enrolled in the leadership preparation program on or before April 1, 2009, and
was awarded one of the following leadership degrees by the dates indicated:
(I) A master's level [level five (5)]
leadership degree prior to July 1, 2012.
(II) An education specialist level [level six
(6)] leadership degree prior to July 1, 2013.
(III) A doctoral level [level seven (7)]
leadership degree prior to July 1, 2014.
(3)
Exceptions.
(a) Pre-existing
Georgia certificate levels: All certificate levels in place on December 15,
2010 will remain intact.
(b) A
legacy period is provided to protect the interests of educators actively
pursuing an advanced degree at or near the original effective date of this rule
(December 15, 2010). In order to upgrade a certificate under previous upgrade
requirements, educators must meet two conditions: they must have been enrolled
in an advanced degree program at a GaPSC-accepted accredited institution (See
GaPSC Rule
505-2-.31 GaPSC-ACCEPTED ACCREDITATION
FOR CERTIFICATION PURPOSES) by July 15, 2011; and they must complete the same
program - with the same degree objective and major and at the same institution
- by the date specified in item 1, 2 or 3 below. Note: the term "enrolled" is
defined as admitted to a program and actively participating in course work.
1. Master's degree programs started on or
before July 15, 2011, must have been completed by December 15, 2014.
2. Specialist degree programs started on or
before July 15, 2011, must have been completed by December 15, 2014.
3. Doctoral degree programs started on or
before July 15, 2011, must have been completed by December 15, 2016.
(c) Educators enrolled in advanced
degree programs in the certification fields of Teacher Leadership,
Instructional Technology and Curriculum and Instruction at GaPSC-accepted
accredited institutions (See GaPSC Rule
505-2-.31 GaPSC-ACCEPTED ACCREDITATION
FOR CERTIFICATION PURPOSES) may upgrade their certificate under previous
upgrade requirements if they were enrolled in the program by January 15, 2013,
and if they completed the same program - with the same degree objective and
major and at the same institution - by the date specified in item 1 or 2 below.
Note: "enrolled" is defined as admitted to a program and actively participating
in course work.
1. Master's or specialist
degree programs in the fields of Teacher Leadership, Instructional Technology
and Curriculum and Instruction started on or before January 15, 2013, must have
been completed by September 1, 2015.
2. Doctoral degree programs in the fields of
Teacher Leadership, Instructional Technology and Curriculum and Instruction
started on or before January 15, 2013, must be completed by September 1,
2017.
(d) An educator who
earned initial Georgia certification through interstate reciprocity and was
enrolled in an advanced degree program at the time the initial Georgia
certificate was issued may upgrade his or her certificate without meeting all
the requirements outlined in Section (2) above, subject to the following
conditions:
1. The educator must complete the
same advanced degree program - with the same degree objective and major and at
the same institution - in which he or she was enrolled at the time the initial
Georgia certificate was issued. Note: "enrolled" is defined as admitted to a
program and actively participating in course work.
2. The degree must be completed within the
following timeframes:
(i) A master's or
educational specialist degree must be completed within three (3) years of the
date on which the initial Georgia certificate was issued.
(ii) A doctoral degree must be completed
within five (5) years of the date on which the initial Georgia certificate was
issued.
3. The degree
must be completed at an institution that held a GaPSC-accepted accreditation at
the time the educator was admitted to the program (See GaPSC Rule
505-2-.31 GaPSC-ACCEPTED ACCREDITATION
FOR CERTIFICATION PURPOSES).
4. The
provisions outlined in this section apply only to certificate level upgrades,
not to the addition of a new field based on completion of a program. In order
to add a field to an existing certificate, all Georgia educators must meet the
requirements outlined in Rule
505-2-.34 ADD A FIELD and other rules
specific to the field to be added.
(4)
Eligibility Requirements.
Educators holding a Georgia level four (4) or higher Non-Renewable
Professional, Permit or Provisional certificate are not eligible to upgrade
until conversion to the renewable Professional certificate (or for the
Provisional certificate, conversion to a five (5) year Induction certificate).
Initial issuance of the Non-Renewable Professional, Induction, Provisional, and
Permit certificates will be as specified in GaPSC Rule
505-2-.02 CLASSIFICATION.
(a) Educators holding one of the following
discontinued certificates that are valid on the effective date of this rule are
not eligible to upgrade until conversion to the Professional certificate:
Clinical Practice, Core-Academic, Intern, Non-Renewable Non-Professional,
Induction Pathway 4, and One Year Supervised Practicum.