Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 28 - EDUCATION
Part XLV - Bulletin 996-Standards for Approval of Teacher and/or Educational Leader Preparation Programs
Chapter 7 - Louisiana State Standards for Educator Preparation Programs
Subchapter C - Teacher Preparation Programs
Section XLV-743 - Minimum Requirements for Traditional Teacher Preparation Programs

Universal Citation: LA Admin Code XLV-743

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

A. A traditional teacher preparation program is a baccalaureate degree program that includes a minimum of 120 credit hours of coursework and required practice experiences. Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, an approved teacher education program shall be no more than 120 credit hours unless designated by the Board of Regents as dual degrees or dual certifications Beginning September 1, 2024, a portion of the total required credit or contact hours must include the minimum number of hours in the teaching of reading and literacy as follows:

1. for certification in Birth-K, PK-3 and 1-5-9 credit hours;

a. The instruction must:

i. - iii. ...

2. for certification in middle grades 4-8-6 credit hours;

3. for certification in secondary 6-12 or all-level K-12-3 credit hours; and

4. for special education areas (early interventionist, hearing impaired, significant disabilities, visually impaired, or mild/moderate special education 1-5, 4-8, or 6-12)-9 credit hours.

5. - 5.c. ...

6. Beginning January 1, 2024, an applicant for initial certification in kindergarten through third grade shall pass the BESE-approved Teaching of Reading Elementary or Teaching of Reading: Elementary Subtest exam in accordance with LAC 28:CXXXI303. (Bulletin 746). Candidates already enrolled in the year-long residency and holding the R credential prior to January 1, 2025, are not subject to this provision

B. The program shall sequentially develop and assess teacher candidates mastery of applicable Louisiana teacher preparation competencies codified in Bulletin 746 through a combination of general education, content area, and teaching coursework, assessments, and related practice experiences.

1. Traditional teacher preparation programs offered by public universities shall meet general education requirements established by the Board of Regents.

2. For the purposes of program approval, an academic major in the certification content area may serve as the basis for alignment to content knowledge competencies.

C. Programs shall include the following practice experiences, which directly align with and sequentially develop the competencies identified in Bulletin 746:

1. actual practice experiences shall be provided in classroom settings prior to the residency year; and

2. a one-year residency shall take place in a public school classroom, approved non-public school classroom, or classroom at a Type III Early Learning Center that has maintained consecutive years of LDE-issued academic approval in the certification area with a teacher of record who holds a valid level 1, 2, 3, type A, or type B teaching certificate in the area for which the candidate is pursuing certification in accordance with LAC 28:CXXXI (Bulletin 746). Beginning September 1, 2020, the teacher of record shall be required to hold a provisional mentor teacher ancillary certificate or a mentor teacher ancillary certificate in accordance with LAC 28:CXXXI (Bulletin 746). The residency may include practice with other teachers in a public or approved non-public school setting. Residents placed in charter schools must be placed with a teacher of record who has demonstrated effectiveness in accordance with LAC 28:CXLVII (Bulletin 130):

a. beginning July 1, 2018, candidates must hold a valid resident teacher certificate in order to be placed in a one-year residency;

b. for certification in B-K, PK-3, 1-5, or 1-5 integrated to merged, candidates must spend a minimum of 80 percent of the residency school sites instructional time each week engaged in residency activities;

c. for certification in K-12, 4-8, 6-12, 4-8 integrated to merged or 6-12 integrated to merged, candidates must spend a minimum of 60 percent of the residency school sites instructional time each week in the first semester and 80 percent of the residency school sites instructional time each week in the second semester engaged in residency activities;

d. teacher preparation providers may seek approval to offer an innovative residency model that does not meet the minimum instructional time requirements but meets a specific workforce need and includes high-quality clinical experiences throughout the program and intensive clinical experiences throughout the residency year; and

e. A candidate holding a valid associate teacher permit in accordance with LAC 28:CXV.525. (Bulletin 741) shall be deemed as appropriately meeting the undergraduate residency requirements and shall be considered a resident teacher by BESE during the final two semesters of the approved undergraduate preparation program.

3. A one-year out-of-state residency placement in a school in a classroom with a teacher of record who holds a valid certificate in the area for which the candidate is pursuing certification may be permitted when the teacher preparation program is approved to operate in the state in which the residency will take place. An out-of-state residency placement must be indicated by the teacher preparation program with the application for the resident teacher certificate.

a. Beginning July 1, 2018, candidates must hold a valid resident teacher certificate in order to be placed in a one-year residency.

b. For certification in B-K, PK-3, 1-5, or 1-5 integrated to merged, candidates must spend a minimum of 80 percent of the residency school sites instructional time each week engaged in residency activities.

c. For certification in K-12, 4-8, 6-12, 4-8 integrated to merged or 6-12 integrated to merged, candidates must spend a minimum of 60 percent of the residency school sites instructional time each week in the first semester and 80 percent of the residency school sites instructional time each week in the second semester engaged in residency activities.

d. Teacher preparation providers may seek approval to offer an innovative residency model that does not meet the minimum instructional time requirements but meets a specific workforce need and includes high-quality clinical experiences throughout the program and intensive clinical experiences throughout the residency year.

4. The residency shall include a combination of the following experiences:

a. instructional goal-setting and planning, including individual education plan (IEP) and individual accommodations plan (IAP) review and implementation;

b. classroom teaching;

c. analysis of student assessment results, including formative and summative assessment data, student work samples, and observations of student class discussions;

d. parent-teacher conferences and communication; and

e. interactions and collaboration with other teachers.

5. The teacher candidate shall be supervised in all residency experiences by a team comprised of a school-based mentor teacher, the residency school site principal or designee, and program faculty member. The supervision shall include, at minimum, two formal observations of teaching practice per semester, which shall include feedback on performance and analysis of formative and summative student achievement results and candidate performance data. Observations may be conducted by any member of the supervision team.

6. Candidates may complete clinical experiences through general education or content courses that integrate content, pedagogy, and practice.

D. The preparation provider shall assess and document evidence of candidates teaching competency for all candidates completing one-year residencies.

1. Assessments of teaching competency shall be jointly administered by the preparation provider and the residency school site principal or designee.

2. Assessments of teaching competency shall include, but not are not limited to, the following:

a. observations that occur during the residency year; and

b. measures of teacher candidates impact on all students learning, which may include student learning targets.

3. Upon completion of the program, a holistic evaluation of the teacher candidates eligibility for initial licensure shall be made collaboratively by preparation provider faculty, the residency school site principal or designee, and mentor teacher.

E. To be admitted into a traditional teacher preparation program, candidates must meet minimum GPA requirements of 2.20 or higher grade point average (GPA) on a 4.00 scale.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 17:6(A)(10), (11), and (15), 17:7(6), 17:10, 17:22(6), 17:391.1-391.10, and 17:411, and 17:7.2.

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