Minnesota Administrative Rules
Agency 188 - Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board
Chapter 8705 - TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAMS
Part 8705.2100 - REQUEST FOR INITIAL PROGRAM APPROVAL (RIPA)
Universal Citation: MN Rules 8705.2100
Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 39, March 25, 2024
Subpart 1. Application required.
An application for initial approval of a program must be submitted in accordance with the timelines and procedures established and published by the Board of Teaching.
Subp. 2. Request for initial program approval (RIPA).
The request for initial program approval (RIPA) must be submitted according to the procedures in this subpart.
A. The unit leader or designee shall submit
to the board an application for each new teacher preparation program for which
approval is requested through the online educator preparation provider
application system (EPPAS).
B.
Programs that have submitted applications may not begin enrolling candidates
prior to approval by the board.
C.
The unit must verify that sufficient financial, physical, human resources, and
qualified teacher educators, have been dedicated to the program to sustain it
if approved.
D. Program
applications must include all requirements in subitems (1) to (6).
(1) The application must provide evidence of
the following program development standards:
(a) a summary of the program development
process, including name and contact information for individuals engaged in
program development, including a school partner, teacher educators, content
instructors, and practicing teachers in the licensure field; and
(b) the name and contact information for the
designated program leader, who is responsible for delivery of this program and
is qualified as a teacher educator pursuant to part 8705.1010, subpart 5, item
B, (Standard 23).
(2)
For initial licensure programs, the application must provide evidence of
teaching and assessing the standards of effective practice (SEP) under part
8710.2000, including:
(a) the program provides candidates with a
professional sequence of learning opportunities based on the standards under
part 8710.2000; and
(b) evidence of how the program will provide
opportunities for candidate learning and assessment specific to each standard.
(3) For initial and
additional licensure programs, the application must provide evidence of
teaching and assessing content standards for one or more licensure programs
under parts 8710.3000 to
8710.8080, including:
(a) the program provides candidates with a
sequence of learning opportunities based on the specific content standards of
one or more licensure program under parts
8710.3000 to
8710.8080, including field
specific methods instruction and reading methods; and
(b) evidence of how the program will provide
opportunities for candidate learning and assessment specific to each standard
of the identified licensure program.
(4) The application must provide evidence
that the program provides and requires clinical experiences aligned to the
scope and content of the licensure field sought , as required in part
8705.1010, subpart 3;
(5) The
application must provide evidence of its program type. A program can have more
than one program type. Program types include:
(a) "Baccalaureate," defined as a licensure
program that grants credit and is designed for candidates who are seeking their
undergraduate degree at the same time as completing a teacher preparation
program.
(b) "Classroom-based,"
defined as a licensure program designed for on-site learning where more than 80
percent of the instructional content is provided in a shared physical
space.
(c) "Hybrid," defined as a
licensure program designed for a combination of classroom-based and online
learning, where 20 to 80 percent of the instructional content is provided in a
shared physical space and the remaining is provided in a virtual
format.
(d) "Online," defined as a
licensure program designed for distant learning where more than 80 percent of
the instructional content is provided through a virtual format. Candidates must
complete field experiences and student teaching in a face-to-face
format.
(e) "Other," a provider can
request recognition of additional licensure program types. The board must
approve or deny the request.
(f)
"Post-baccalaureate," defined as a licensure program that grants credit and is
designed for candidates who have already completed an undergraduate degree. The
program may or may not lead to an advanced degree.
(g) "Residency," defined as a program offered
in partnership with a designated school partner that provides a year-long
clinical experience integrating learning opportunities and student teaching. A
residency program uses a cohort-based model that pairs candidates, often
referred to as residents, with cooperating teachers. The residency program must
ensure each candidate is placed for a full academic year to co-teach and
participate in professional development for at least 80 percent of the
contracted school week. The residency program must ensure that each cooperating
teacher serves as the teacher of record and receives ongoing professional
development in co-teaching, mentoring, and coaching skills. Candidates may
receive a stipend, salary, or other form of commensurate financial support
during the residency program.
(h)
"Transfer," defined as a licensure program that meets only a subset of
licensure standards and does not recommend candidates for licensure. This
program type is only available to units approved as restricted units.
(6) The application must
identify a process for continuous improvement that includes:
(a) identification of three key assessments
used to assess all candidates and identify areas to track for program efficacy,
including at least one assessment monitoring applicable content standards in
parts 8710.3000 to
8710.8080. Each assessment must
monitor no more than ten specific substandards in part
8710.2000 or content
standards;
(b) attestation that all
candidates must attempt board-approved content and pedagogy exams prior to
recommendation, and such data will be remitted to the board to demonstrate
program efficacy;
(c) attestation
that all candidates must submit a complete board-adopted performance assessment
prior to recommendation, and such data will be remitted to the board to
demonstrate program efficacy; and
(d) attestation that the implementation of
the battery of board-adopted surveys must be provided for candidates, program
completers at completion and one year after completion, and the program
completers' current supervisors one year after completion.
Subp. 3. Initial review procedures.
A. RIPAs must be initially reviewed by
trained content experts and board staff according to timelines and consistent
with standards adopted by the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards
Board. During the initial review, the content experts must identify each
applicable standard in this chapter and parts
8710.2000 to
8710.8000 that align to the
licensure area as:
(1) "Met:" when the
substance of the standard is evidenced through a learning opportunity and an
assessment;
(2) "Met with Concern:"
when the substance of the standard is evidenced through a learning opportunity
and an assessment but the reviewer is concerned with how the standard was
identified or evidenced in its submission; or
(3) "Not Met:" when the substance of all or
part of a standard is not evidenced through a learning opportunity and an
assessment or when there is evidence of false or conflicting information tied
to a particular standard.
If the applicable standards are found to be "Met" and there are no requests for a discretionary variance from standards in this chapter or chapter 8710, the program will be recommended to the board for approval.
B. If during the initial
review applicable standards are identified as "Met with Concern" or "Not Met,"
the provider may choose to make changes to learning opportunities and
assessments for a second review. During the second review, the content experts
must review changes to learning opportunities and assessments for standards
identified as "Met with Concern" or "Not Met" during the initial review and
determine whether the standards are "Met," "Met with Concern," or "Not
Met."
C. The program review panel
(PRP) must review all RIPAs with standards identified as "Met with Concern" or
"Not Met" and all RIPAs seeking a discretionary variance from board rule. The
PRP must make a recommendation to the board regarding whether the program
should be approved.
Subp. 4. Board determinations.
The board must take one of the following actions based upon the PRP's recommendation.
A. The board
may grant initial approval for up to three years to launch the program and to
begin to collect candidate and program efficacy data needed for continuing
approval.
A program with initial approval must seek continuing approval by submitting a program effectiveness report for continuing approval (PERCA) on the same reporting cycle as the unit.
(1) Continuing approval is granted when :
(a) data from a minimum of ten program
completers shows that candidates meet board-adopted thresholds on
state-required examinations and performance assessments; and
(b) the program continues to demonstrate
compliance with the standards and requirements of this chapter.
(2) If, after three
years, the program has fewer than ten program completers, another three years
of "initial approval" shall be granted. If, after six years of "initial
approval," there are fewer than ten program completers, the program will be
forwarded to the PRP.
(3) If data
from at least ten program completers shows that candidates do not meet
board-adopted thresholds on state-required examinations and performance
assessments, the program must be forwarded to the PRP.
B. The board may deny the request for initial
approval. The program may not enroll candidates. The provider may not submit a
request for initial program approval until after one year has passed since the
date of the denial action.
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