Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, March 1, 2024
RELATES TO:
KRS
156.095,
158.070,
158.816,
160.380,
161.020,
161.028,
161.030
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
161.020(3),
161.028(1)(a),
and
161.030
require the Education Professional Standards Board to promulgate administrative
regulations establishing standards and requirements for obtaining and
maintaining a teaching certificate. This administrative regulation establishes
the qualifications for certification of teachers of occupation-based career and
technical education and implements the testing and internship requirements of
KRS
161.030.
Section
1.
(1) The Education
Professional Standards Board (EPSB) shall issue and reissue certificates for
occupation-based career and technical teachers employed by the public schools,
the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, or the Kentucky Department
of Education Office of Career and Technical Education (KDE).
(2) The EPSB may issue certificates for any
information technology, industrial education, public service, health science,
or human services occupation area for which programs may be offered under the
required Kentucky Academic Standards established in
704 KAR
3:303.
(3)
The EPSB shall issue certificates for occupation-based career and technical
teacher candidates who are employed based upon required occupational experience
in the occupation area to be taught.
(4) The EPSB shall not require a college
degree for initial issuance.
Section
2. Issuance and Renewal of One (1) Year Provisional Certificates.
(1) Initial issuance. The EPSB shall issue a
provisional certificate to occupation-based career and technical teacher
candidates for a duration period of one (1) year. The EPSB shall only issue the
provisional certificate after the KDE and, if applicable, an accredited
provider of an approved occupation-based educator preparation degree program
recommends the teacher candidate for certification and the teacher candidate
completes the requirements set forth in this Section.
(a) For those teacher candidates who do not
hold at least an associate degree in the occupation area in which the teacher
candidate is seeking certification, the teacher candidate shall:
1. Demonstrate that he or she has at least a
high school diploma or its equivalent;
2. Demonstrate that he or she has four (4)
years of successful and appropriate occupational experience in the occupation
area in which certification is sought along with:
a. At least two (2) years of the occupational
experience completed within the last five (5) years. A maximum of one (1) year
of the required work experience may be satisfied by completion of an approved
occupation-based educator preparation program for the occupation to be taught;
and
b. Proof that KDE confirmed the
occupational experience;
3. Demonstrate that he or she meets the
assessment requirements set forth in
16
KAR 6:020;
4. The teacher candidate shall answer "no" to
all of the EPSB's background disclosure questions set forth in Section
4(1)(a)-(f) this administrative regulation. If the teacher candidate answers
"yes" to any of the questions set forth in Section 4(1)(a)-(f), the EPSB may
still issue a statement of eligibility for those teacher candidates, but the
board shall retain final authority to deny a request for certification pursuant
to the board's authority established in
KRS
161.120; and
5. Demonstrate that a local school district,
the KDE, or the Kentucky Community and Technical College System has made an
offer of employment.
(b)
For those teacher candidates who hold either an occupation-based degree in the
occupation area in which certification is sought or a degree from an approved
occupation-based educator preparation degree program, the teacher candidates
shall provide proof of that degree to the EPSB.
(c) The teacher candidate shall answer "no"
to all of the EPSB's background disclosure questions set forth in Section
4(1)(a)-(f) this administrative regulation. If the teacher candidate answers
"yes" to any of the questions set forth in Section 4(1)(a)-(f), the EPSB may
still issue a statement of eligibility for those teacher candidates, but the
board shall retain final authority to deny a request for certification pursuant
to the board's authority established in
KRS
161.120.
(2) First renewal of one (1) year provisional
certificates. The EPSB shall issue the first renewal of the one (1) year
provisional certificate to a requesting teacher candidate only after the KDE
and, if applicable, an accredited provider of an occupation-based educator
preparation degree program recommends the renewal of the provisional
certificate and the teacher candidate meets the requirements set forth in
subsection (2)(b).
(a) The KDE or the
accredited provider of an occupation-based educator preparation degree program
shall only recommend renewal of the first provisional certificate for a teacher
candidate after that teacher candidate:
1.
Completes six (6) semester hours of academic credit or its equivalent in
professional learning from NTI in areas such as classroom management, lesson
planning and curriculum, assessment, academic integration of numeracy and
literacy, and instruction for students with special learning needs;
2. Completes the first year of professional
learning through the NTI;
3.
Receives a recommendation by the KDE or an accredited provider of an
occupation-based educator preparation program for enrollment in the Kentucky
Teacher Internship Program (KTIP); and
(b) Answers "no" to all of the EPSB's
background disclosure questions set forth in Section 4(1)(a)-(f) of this
administrative regulation. If the teacher candidate answers "yes" to any of the
questions set forth in Section 4(1)(a)-(f), the EPSB may still issue a
statement of eligibility for those teacher candidates, but the board shall
retain final authority to deny a request for certification pursuant to the
board's authority established in
KRS
161.120.
(3) Subsequent renewal of one (1) year
provisional certificate. The EPSB shall issue any subsequent renewal of the one
(1) year provisional certificate to a requesting teacher candidate only after
the KDE or the provider of an approved occupation-based educator preparation
degree program recommends to the EPSB that the EPSB renew the one (1) year
provisional certificate. The KDE or an approved occupation-based educator
preparation degree program shall ensure that the teacher candidate meets the
following requirements before recommending renewal:
(a) The completion of a minimum of six (6)
semester hours of college credit for each renewal selected from the degree
program;
(b) Documentation of
completion of four (4) days of professional development as required by
KRS
156.095 and
158.070;
and
(c) Answering "no" to all of
the EPSB's background disclosure questions set forth in Section 4(1)(a)-(f)
this administrative regulation. If the teacher candidate answers "yes" to any
of the questions set forth in Section 4(1)(a)-(f), the EPSB may still issue a
statement of eligibility for those teacher candidates, but the board shall
retain final authority to deny a request for certification pursuant to the
board's authority established in
KRS
161.120.
(4) The one (1) year provisional certificate
shall be limited to five (5), one (1) year renewals for a total validity period
of six (6) years. These renewals may be consecutive or
nonconsecu-tive.
Section
3. Issuance and Renewal of the Professional Certificate.
(1) Issuance. The EPSB shall issue a
professional certificate pursuant to this administrative regulation for a
duration period of five (5) years to a requesting teacher candidate only after
the KDE and, if applicable, a provider of an approved occupation-based educator
preparation degree program recommends that the EPSB issue the professional
certificate. Neither the KDE nor the provider of the approved occupation-based
educator preparation degree program shall recommend issuance of the
professional certificate until the teacher candidate has met the following
requirements:
(a) The teacher candidate
receives an occupation-based degree or an approved occupation-based educator
preparation degree;
(b) The teacher
candidate completes the two (2) years professional learning through NTI
sponsored by KDE; and
(c) The
teacher candidate successfully completes KTIP.
(2) Renewal. The EPSB shall renew the
professional certificate in accordance with
16
KAR 4:060.
Section 4. Disclosure of Background
Information.
(1) Teachers and teacher
candidates shall disclose certain background information to the EPSB whenever
those teachers and teacher candidates apply for the issuance and renewal of the
provisional certificate and the professional certificate by answering the
following questions:
(a) "Have you ever had a
professional certificate, license, credential, or any document issued for
practice denied, suspended, revoked, or voluntarily surrendered? If you have
had a professional certificate, license, credential, or any other document
issued for practice initially denied by a licensing body, but later issued, you
must answer "yes."";
(b) "Have you
ever been suspended or discharged from any employment or military service
because of allegations of misconduct?"
(c) "Have you ever resigned, entered into a
settlement agreement, or otherwise left employment as a result of allegations
of misconduct?"
(d) "Is any action
now pending against you for alleged misconduct in any school district, court,
or before any educator licensing agency?"
(e) "Have you ever been convicted of or
entered a guilty plea, an "Alford" plea, or a plea of nolo contendere (no
contest) to a felony or misdemeanor, even if adjudication of the sentence was
withheld in Kentucky or any other state? Minor traffic violations should not be
reported. Convictions for driving while intoxicated (DWI) or driving under the
influence of alcohol or other drugs (DUI) must be reported."
(f) "Do you have any criminal charges pending
against you?" and
(g) "If you
answered affirmatively to any of the questions in this Section, has the EPSB
previously reviewed the information?"
(2) The EPSB shall provide teachers and
teacher candidates with the opportunity to submit a narrative to the board to
consider before the board approves the request for issuance or renewal of a
provisional certificate or a professional certificate. The teacher or teacher
candidate may include in their narrative any dates, locations, school systems,
court records, or any other information the teacher or teacher candidate would
like the board to consider.
Section
5.
(1) Effective July 1, 2018,
the EPSB shall not issue a professional certificate to a teacher candidate who
does not have at least an associate degree in the area in which the teacher
candidate is seeking certification, and who has not completed the two (2) year
professional learning through NTI sponsored by KDE unless that teacher
candidate holds a valid, unexpired provisional certificate and was admitted
into an approved occupation-based educator preparation program prior to July 1,
2018.
(2) For a teacher candidate
who holds a provisional certificate and was admitted into an approved
occupation-based educator preparation program prior to July 1, 2018, the EPSB
shall renew that teacher candidate's provisional certificate in accordance with
the laws and administrative regulations in effect at the time the first
provisional certificate was issued as required by
KRS
161.020.
(3) For a teacher candidate who was admitted
into an approved occupation-based educator preparation program prior to July 1,
2018, the EPSB shall issue and renew that teacher candidate's professional
certificate in accordance with the laws and administrative regulations in
effect at the time the teacher candidate's first provisional certificate was
issued.
Section 6.
Information Technology and Computer Science Teachers.
(1) A teacher shall possess one (1) of the
following credentials to instruct in the field of information technology or
computer science:
(a) Provisional certificate
established in Section 2 of this administrative regulation;
(b) Professional certificate established in
Section 3 of this administrative regulation;
(c) Computer information systems certificate
established in
16
KAR 2:010;
(d) Computer science endorsement established
in
16
KAR 2:010; or
(e) Instructional computer technology
endorsement established in
16
KAR 2:010.
(2) If a qualified teacher is not available
for the position of information technology teacher, as attested to by the local
school superintendent or the Associate Commissioner of the Kentucky Department
of Education Office of Career and Technical Education, a one (1) year
probationary certificate may be issued under the requirements established in
16
KAR 2:190.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
KRS
161.020(3),
161.028(1)(a),
161.030