Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 13, September 23, 2024
Subpart
1.
Definitions.
A.
For the purposes of parts
8710.0310 to
8710.0330, the terms in this
subpart have the meanings given them.
B. "Assignment" means the course or courses
taught in a school for which students are granted credit.
C. "Board" means the Professional Educator
Licensing and Standards Board.
D.
"Cultural competency training" means a training program that promotes
self-reflection and discussion including but not limited to all of the
following topics: racial, cultural, and socioeconomic groups; American Indian
and Alaskan native students; religion; systemic racism; gender identity,
including transgender students; sexual orientation; language diversity; and
individuals with disabilities and mental health concerns. Training programs
must be designed to deepen teachers" understanding of their own frames of
reference, the potential bias in these frames, and their impact on expectations
for and relationships with students, students" families, and the school
communities, consistent with part
8710.2000 and Minnesota Statutes,
section 120B.30, subdivision 1,
paragraph (q).
E. "Day" means a
calendar day, unless otherwise noted.
F. "District" means a school district or a
charter school.
G. "Field-specific
methods" means differentiated instructional strategies targeting content and
pedagogy for a singular licensure area to enable student learning.
H. "Good cause" means:
(1) the applicant is unable to meet the
requirements of a higher licensure tier due to a lack of a board-approved
teacher preparation program in the licensure area;
(2) the assignment is a full-time equivalency
of 0.25 or less;
(3) the applicant
is enrolled in and making meaningful progress, as defined by the provider, in a
teacher preparation program aligned to the assignment; or
(4) the applicant demonstrates to the board
barriers to reaching a higher licensure tier Barriers may include but are not
limited to financial burdens to obtaining a higher tiered license, inability to
pass licensure exams, or lack of geographic proximity to teacher
preparation.
I.
"Licensure area" or "licensure field" means the content taught for which
standards have been adopted in Minnesota Rules.
J. "Mentorship program" means a program that
meets the following criteria:
(1) a yearlong
collaborative relationship with an experienced Tier 3 or 4 mentor teacher who
is not currently on an improvement plan and voluntarily agrees to mentor the
mentee teacher;
(2) the mentor has
access to resources or training, develops common expectations for the
mentorship experience, and encourages the mentee to select areas for growth
over the course of the year;
(3)
consists of sessions no less than once per month that focus on building a
collaborative relationship with a focus on the exchange of knowledge, skills,
and experiences, including the needs and questions of the mentee; and
(4) the sessions include discussion of:
(a) effective strategies to engage
students;
(b) classroom management
strategies that reflect an understanding of the stages of child
development;
(c) the educational
rights of students and their diverse needs and experiences;
(d) school policies and practices, including
appropriate boundaries and data privacy; and
(e) how student learning data can be used to
improve classroom planning and instruction.
K. "Professional license from another state"
means a professional teaching license issued by the responsible state agency of
another state and required by the law of that state for an individual to teach
in a public school, but does not include an emergency, temporary, or substitute
teaching license.
L. "Related
services professional" means a teacher who holds a license issued by the board
consistent with Minnesota Statutes, section
122A.06, subdivision 2, and who
meets the requirements for a license issued pursuant to parts
8710.6000 to
8710.6400.
M. 'student teaching" means a minimum of 12
weeks full time, or the equivalent, when an individual enrolled in a teacher
preparation program assumes teacher responsibilities while working with a
cooperating teacher who holds a Tier 3 or 4 license or a professional license
from another state in the subject area and a provider supervisor to practice
and demonstrate the necessary development of the individual's knowledge,
skills, and dispositions to become a teacher. A student teaching experience
includes observation, feedback, and evaluation from the cooperating teacher and
provider supervisor.
N. 'substitute
teacher" means an individual who replaces a teacher of record during an
approved leave of absence or fills an unfilled vacancy pursuant to part
8710.0327.
O. "Teacher of record" means an individual
who is responsible for the planning, instruction, and assessment of students in
a classroom and, when applicable, authorized to grant students credit for
meeting standards attributed to the content taught, or is part of a co-teaching
assignment and has shared responsibility for planning, instruction, and
assessment of students in a classroom. Serving in one of the following
assignments or roles does not meet the definition of teacher of record:
paraprofessional, short-term substitute, teacher aide, teacher in a home-school
setting, teacher in a private early childhood program, or as an instructor of
post-secondary students outside the E-12 setting.
P. "Teacher preparation program" means a
program approved by the board or the state where the program resides that
trains candidates in educational pedagogy and content-specific pedagogy for any
subset of the scope of licensure for students from birth to 21 years of
age.
Q. "Teaching license" or
"teacher license" means a license that permits an individual to be a teacher of
record. This includes Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, and Tier 4 licenses issued under
parts 8710.0311 to
8710.0314.
Subp. 2.
Teaching licenses, in
general.
A. Teaching licenses must be
granted by the board to applicants who meet all requirements of applicable
statutes and rules.
B. An applicant
must qualify separately for each licensure area for which an application is
made.
C. A license becomes valid on
the date issued by the board and expires on June 30 of the expiration year. A
Tier 1 or Tier 2 license, out-of-field permission, or cross-curricular delivery
permission can be used until September 1 after the date of expiration if the
placement is in a summer school program at the district aligned to the license
or is part of a year-round school at the district aligned to the licensure
area.
D. The board must request a
criminal history background check consistent with Minnesota Statutes, section
122A.18, subdivision 8, upon an
individual applying for a teaching license or substitute license for the first
time.
E. All applicants for
licensure and license renewals are subject to a conduct review performed by the
board. The board may refuse to issue a license or deny a license renewal based
on the results of the conduct review. An applicant who is denied a license or
license renewal as a result of the conduct review may appeal the board's
decision pursuant to subpart
6.
F. At the time of application and renewal,
each applicant must provide the board with a current street address, telephone
number, and e-mail address.
G. Each
applicant and licensed teacher must notify the board in writing of any change
in address, telephone number, or e-mail address within 30 days of the
change.
Subp. 4.
Movement
between tiers.
Teachers may apply to obtain a license in a higher licensure
tier at any time after the requirements for the higher tier have been met. The
teacher must be granted the license under a higher tier upon review and
approval by the board pursuant to the rules established for the license
sought.
Subp. 5.
Multiple expiration dates.
If a license holder has completed and verified the renewal
requirements for a currently held Tier 3 or 4 license issued under parts
8710.0313 and
8710.0314, the license holder may
renew a currently held Tier 3 or 4 license up to one year before the expiration
date for the purpose of consolidating multiple expiration dates of any Tier 3
or 4 licenses held into one expiration date. The consolidation of multiple
expiration dates must be consolidated within a single tier.
Subp. 6.
Appeal.
An applicant who is denied a teaching license by the board or
who is issued a license under a different licensure tier than what was sought
may appeal the board's decision under part
8710.0900 and Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 14, and section
122A.188.
Subp. 7.
Licenses issued in
error.
A license issued in error to a person who does not qualify
for the license must be corrected without charge to the license holder, and the
corrections must be made without a hearing under part
8710.0900 and Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 14. A license issued in error is not valid.
Subp. 8.
Report.
The board must issue an annual report by September 1 that
summarizes the previous fiscal year's Tier 1, 2, 3, and 4 licenses and
out-of-field and innovative program permissions, organized by licensure field,
race and ethnicity, and district.
