Florida Administrative Code › 6 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION › 6A - State Board of Education › Chapter 6A-5 - EDUCATOR STANDARDS, PREPARATION AND PERFORMANCE › Section 6A-5.066 - Approval of Teacher Preparation Programs

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
This rule sets forth the requirements and implementation of
				  the approval process for each type of teacher preparation program offered by a
				  Florida provider as set forth in Sections
				  1004.04,
				  1004.85, and
				  1012.56(8),
				  F.S.
(1) Definitions. For the purposes
				of this rule, the following definitions apply.
(a) "Academic year" means the period of year
				during which program candidates attend or complete a state-approved teacher
				preparation program. This includes summer term, fall term, and spring
				term.
(b) "Annual demonstration of
				experience in a relevant prekindergarten through Grade 12 (P-12) school
				setting" means P-12 school-based experiences occurring yearly that are related
				to and in a subject matter and grade level setting that are covered by the
				certification necessary for the field experience course(s) or internships that
				the program faculty is assigned to teach or supervise. Examples include, but
				are not limited to, co-teaching with a P-12 educator or providing P-12
				instruction directly to P-12 students.
(c) "Annual Program Performance Report" or
				"APPR" means the yearly public report card issued by the Florida Department of
				Education (Department) for a state-approved teacher preparation program that
				includes results of outcome-based performance metrics specified in subsection
				(6) of this rule.
(d) "At-Risk of
				Low-Performing" means an institution identified as At-Risk of Low-Performing by
				having an average summative annual APPR rating between 1.80 to 1.94. This
				rating is based upon an average of all APPR scores within the continued
				approval period and across the provider's state approved teacher preparation
				programs which is weighted by the total number of completers used in the annual
				calculation of the APPR and excludes years where the APPR was calculated per
				paragraph (6)(e) of this rule.
(e)
				"Candidate Readiness based on passage rates on educator certification
				examinations under Section
				1012.56, F.S., as applicable"
				means the score that is based on the performance of completers on required
				assessments for program completion, as measured by first and second attempt
				pass rates.
(f) "Cohort" means a
				group of program completers who successfully satisfied all teacher preparation
				program requirements at any point during the academic year.
(g) "Content major" means the academic
				discipline to which a postsecondary student formally commits, e.g.,
				mathematics, biology, history.
(h)
				"Continued approval" means that subsequent to an initial approval, a teacher
				preparation program has been granted the authority to operate for a seven-year
				period.
(i) "eIPEP" or "electronic
				Institutional Program Evaluation Plan" means a Department-maintained web-based
				tool for collection and reporting of candidate and completer performance data
				on state-approved teacher preparation programs.
(j) "Educator preparation institutes" or
				"EPIs" mean all Florida postsecondary or qualified private providers that
				provide instruction for non-education baccalaureate or higher degree holders
				under Section 1004.85, F.S., and result in
				qualification for an initial Florida Professional Educator's
				Certificate.
(k) "Equivalent
				program" means a teacher preparation program that is offered by more than one
				provider that prepares candidates in the same specific educator certification
				subject area(s).
(l) "Field
				experiences" mean activities associated with an instructional personnel's role
				that are conducted in prekindergarten through Grade 12 classroom settings as
				directed by a state-approved teacher preparation program.
(m) "Florida Educator Accomplished Practices"
				mean those practices described in subsection (2) of Rule
				6A-5.065, F.A.C., which is
				incorporated herein by reference (
http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-04963
).
(n) "High Demand Teacher Needs areas" mean
				the specific certification areas in high-need content areas and high-priority
				location areas that are identified annually by the State Board of Education
				pursuant to Rule 6A-20.0131, F.A.C., in
				accordance with Section
				1012.07, F.S.
(o) "High-performing schools" mean schools
				with a school grade of A or B.
(p)
				"Improving schools" mean schools that have improved a letter grade from the
				previous year.
(q) "In-field
				teacher" means an instructional employee assigned duties in a classroom
				teaching subject matter or providing direct support in the learning process of
				students in the area in which the instructional personnel is trained and
				certified.
(r) "Initial approval"
				means that a new teacher preparation program has been granted the authority to
				operate for a seven-year period.
(s) "Initial teacher preparation programs" or
				"ITPs" mean all programs offered by Florida postsecondary institutions that
				prepare instructional personnel under Section
				1004.04, F.S., and result in
				qualification for an initial Florida Professional Educator's
				Certificate.
(t) "Instructional
				position" means any full-time or part-time position held by a K-12 staff member
				whose function includes the provision of direct instructional services to
				students or provides direct support in the learning process of students as
				prescribed in Section
				1012.01(2)(a)-(d),
				F.S., but not including substitute teachers.
(u) "Low-Performing Institutions" means an
				institution who is identified as low-performing by having an average summative
				annual APPR rating that is at or below a 1.79. This rating is based upon an
				average of all APPR scores within the continued approval period and across the
				provider's state approved teacher preparation programs and excludes years where
				the APPR was calculated per paragraph (6)(e) of this rule.
(v) "Professional education competency
				program" or "PEC program" means a program under Section
				1012.56(9),
				F.S., in which instructional personnel with a valid temporary certificate
				employed by a school district, or private school, or state-supported public
				school with a state-approved program, may demonstrate mastery of professional
				preparation and education competence through classroom application of the
				Florida Educator Accomplished Practices and instructional
				performance.
(w) Performance of
				Prekindergarten-12 students on statewide assessments using results of student
				learning growth formula per Section
				1012.34, F.S., or "Impact on
				Student Learning" means that the score is based on the performance of P-12
				students assigned to in-field program completers from the previous one-year
				period who received a student learning growth score from the most recent
				academic year for which results are available.
(x) "Professional learning certification
				program" or "PLCP" means a program in which a school district, charter school
				or charter management organization may provide instruction for members of its
				instructional staff who are non-education baccalaureate or higher degree
				holders under Section
				1012.56(8),
				F.S., and results in qualification for an initial Florida Professional
				Educator's Certificate.
(y)
				"Program candidate" means an individual who has been admitted into and is
				currently enrolled in, but has not yet completed a teacher preparation program
				that prepares instructional personnel to meet the qualifications for a Florida
				Professional Educator's Certificate.
(z) "Program completer" means an individual
				who has satisfied all teacher preparation program requirements and who meets
				the qualifications for the Florida Professional Educator's Certificate.
(aa) "Program completer in need of
				remediation" means an individual who is employed in an instructional position
				in a Florida public school during the first two (2) years immediately following
				completion of the program or following initial certification, whichever occurs
				first, and who earns an evaluation result of developing or unsatisfactory on
				the school district's evaluation system implemented under Section
				1012.34, F.S.
(bb) "Provider" means a Florida postsecondary
				institution, private provider, school district, charter school, or charter
				management organization.
(cc)
				"Reading endorsement competencies" mean those standards described in Rule
				6A-4.0163, F.A.C., which is
				incorporated herein by reference (
http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-04962
).
(dd) "Results of program completers' annual
				evaluations as specified in Section
				1012.34, F.S., " mean that
				scores are based on program completers from the previous one-year period who
				received an annual evaluation rating from the most recent academic year in
				accordance with Section 1012.31(3)(a)2., F.S.
(ee) "Teacher preparation program" means a
				state-approved course of study, the completion of which signifies that the
				candidate has met all training and assessment requirements for initial
				certification to provide direct instructional services to P-12
				students.
(ff) "Two-year guarantee"
				means that an initial teacher preparation program (ITP) must provide assurance
				of the high quality of its program completers during the first two (2) years
				immediately following completion of the program or following the initial
				certification of the program completer, whichever occurs first, as specified in
				Section 1004.04(4)(d),
				F.S.
(gg) "Uniform Core Curricula"
				means all state-approved teacher preparation programs, programs must provide
				evidence of candidates completing training noted in corresponding Sections
				1004.04(2),
				1004.85(3), and
				1012.56(8),
				F.S., in addition to:
1. Scientifically
				researched and evidence-based reading instructional strategies that is grounded
				in the science of reading. The primary instructional strategy for teaching word
				reading is phonics instruction for decoding and encoding. Instructional
				strategies for foundational skills may not employ the three-cueing system model
				of reading or visual memory as a basis for teaching word reading. These
				strategies appropriate to the candidate's teacher preparation program area are
				as follows:
a. Candidates in
				prekindergarten-primary (age 3-Grade 3), elementary (K-6), and exceptional
				student education (K-12) certification programs shall be prepared in reading
				endorsement competencies one (1) through four (4). Candidates entering a
				teacher preparation program in the 2022-2023 academic year in a coverage area
				specified in Section 1012.585(3)(f),
				F.S., and identified in State Board subsection
				6A-4.0051(7),
				F.A.C., shall be prepared in reading endorsement competencies one (1) through
				five (5).
b. Candidates in middle
				grades (5-9), secondary (6-12), elementary and secondary coverage (K-12), and
				professional service areas (PK-12) certification programs shall be prepared in
				reading endorsement competencies one (1) and two (2). Candidates entering a
				teacher preparation program in the 2022-2023 academic year in a coverage area
				specified in Section 1012.585(3)(f),
				F.S., and identified in State Board subsection
				6A-4.0051(7),
				F.A.C., shall be prepared in reading endorsement competencies one (1) through
				five (5).
c. ITP candidates in
				reading (K-12) certification programs shall be prepared in reading endorsement
				competencies one (1) through five (5).
2. Strategies appropriate for the instruction
				of English language learners so that candidates are prepared to provide
				instruction in the English language to limited English proficient students to
				develop the student's mastery of the four (4) language skills of listening,
				speaking, reading, and writing.
a. ITP
				candidates in prekindergarten-primary (age 3-Grade 3), elementary (K-6), middle
				grades English (5-9), English (6-12) and exceptional student education (K-12)
				certification programs shall have completed the requirements for teaching
				limited English proficient students in Florida public schools by meeting the
				requirements specified in Rule
				6A-4.0244, F.A.C.,
				Specialization Requirements for the Endorsement in English for Speakers of
				Other Languages.
b. ITP candidates
				in teacher preparation programs not included in sub-subparagraph (1)(gg)2 of
				this rule, shall have completed a college or university level 3-credit hour
				overview or survey course which addresses at an awareness level the areas
				specified in Rule 6A-4.02451, F.A.C., Performance
				Standards, Skills, and Competencies for the Endorsement in English for Speakers
				of Other Languages.
(hh) "Workforce Contribution rate" means the
				number of program completers placed in Florida public and private schools and
				out-of-state P-12 schools in the first academic year subsequent to program
				completion with additional weight given to production of program completers in
				statewide High Demand Teacher Needs areas.