California Code of Regulations › Title 5 - Education › Division 8 - Commission on Teacher Credentialing › Chapter 1 - Credentials Issued Under the Teacher Preparation and Licensing Law of 1970 › Article 2 - Credential Types, Authorizations, and Requirements › Section 80067.2 - PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential Program Standards

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
Pursuant to Education Code sections
					 44225(h)
					 and
					 44370, the
					 commission will assess for approval any regionally accredited institution of
					 higher education, or local education agency seeking to offer an intern program,
					 that designs and implements a teacher preparation program that meets the
					 standards and criteria set forth in this section and in sections
					 80067.1.
(a) Standard 1: Program Design and
				  Curriculum. The program is designed to address the range of candidate
				  performance expectations so that early childhood teachers will develop the
				  knowledge, skills, and abilities to work effectively with all children from
				  preschool through grade 3 and their families. Coursework and fieldwork/clinical
				  practice experiences provide candidates with opportunities to learn and
				  practice competencies relating to the care and education of young children
				  preschool to grade 3. Candidate preparation is grounded in a clearly
				  articulated evidence-based theoretical framework of developmentally,
				  linguistically, and culturally responsive teaching and learning practices for
				  the care and education of young children. The program also includes preparation
				  for collaborating effectively with families to support their children's
				  development and learning. These research and evidence-based theoretical
				  foundations are reflected in the organization, scope, and sequence of the
				  curriculum provided to candidates.
In order to prepare candidates to effectively teach all
					 PK-3 California public school students, the program's curriculum includes child
					 and adolescent growth and development, including the implications of
					 neurodiversity, human learning theory; social, cultural, philosophical, and
					 historical foundations of education; developmentally, linguistically, and
					 culturally responsive pedagogy for young children in the content areas
					 identified in California's most current K-3 Content Standards and Frameworks
					 and the Preschool Learning Foundations and Curriculum Framework adopted by the
					 state board of education under Education Code sections
					 51002,
					 51226, and
					 60605. The
					 program design also includes a coherent candidate assessment system to provide
					 formative information to candidates regarding their progress towards the
					 credential.
(b) Standard 2:
				  Preparing Candidates Toward Mastery of the PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction
				  Teaching Performance Expectations. The PK-3 ECE Teaching Performance
				  Expectations describe the set of professional knowledge, skills, and abilities
				  expected of a beginning level PK-3 ECE practitioner in order to effectively
				  support the growth, development, and learning of all PK-3 students in meeting
				  the state-adopted standards and to work collaboratively with families to
				  support children's learning.
The program's organized coursework and clinical practice
					 experiences provide multiple opportunities for candidates to learn, apply, and
					 reflect on each PK-3 ECE Teaching Performance Expectation. As candidates
					 progress through the program, pedagogical assignments are increasingly complex
					 and challenging. The scope of the pedagogical assignments (a) addresses the
					 PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Teaching Performance Expectations as they apply
					 to the authorization of the PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential, and (b)
					 prepares the candidate for the teaching performance assessment and other
					 program-based assessments.
(c) Standard 3: Clinical Practice:
				  Opportunities to Learn and to Practice
(1)
				  Organization of Clinical Practice Experiences. The program's clinical practice
				  experiences are designed to provide the candidate with a developmental and
				  sequential set of activities that are integrated with the program's coursework
				  and extend the candidate's learning through application of theory to practice
				  with PK-3 students in California early learning settings. Some of these
				  experiences may take place within the candidate's California Early Childhood
				  Education employment setting, including (California State Preschool, Head
				  Start) as well as wthin TK-3 public school settings, provided the candidate
				  meets the 600 hours of clinical practice as described below.
Clinical Practice is a developmental and sequential set of
					 activities integrated with theoretical and pedagogical coursework and must
					 consist of a minimum of 600 hours of clinical practice. The range of Clinical
					 Practice experiences provided by the program includes supervised early field
					 experiences, initial student teaching (co-planning and co-teaching with both
					 general educators and Education specialists, as appropriate, or guided
					 teaching), and final student teaching. Clinical practice experiences must
					 include two different grade levels within the PK-3 grade range including at
					 least 200 hours in a preschool (PK) and/or transitional Kindergarten (TK)
					 setting and a minimum of 200 hours in a Kindergarten through third grade (K-3)
					 setting. Student teaching includes a minimum of four weeks of solo or
					 co-teaching or its equivalent. For interns, early field experience would take
					 place in an experienced mentor's classroom. Candidates in a Teacher Residency
					 program pathway must have experiences in a different grade level than which
					 they are doing their residency placement.
Clinical Practice, including field experiences, provides
					 opportunities for all candidates to observe classrooms and settings that
					 exemplify developmentally-, culturally- and linguistically appropriate and
					 effective practices.
Candidates are provided with opportunities to gain
					 knowledge of important concepts in early learning appropriate to the
					 developmental range of young children PK-grade 3. For young children in PK,
					 these concepts are consistent with California's adopted Preschool Learning
					 Foundations and Curriculum Frameworks. For children in grades TK-3, these would
					 be consistent with both the Preschool Learning Foundations and the K-3 Student
					 Content Standards and Frameworks for these grade levels, as appropriate to the
					 age/grade levels of the children. The program provides candidates with
					 opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of a range of early childhood
					 assessments of learning as well as of social, emotional growth and development.
					 The program provides candidates with opportunities to understand how ECE
					 personnel organize and supervise the work of other adults in the early learning
					 setting (e.g., paraprofessionals, other support personnel).
As candidates progress through the curriculum, faculty and
					 other qualified supervisors with appropriate background and expertise in early
					 childhood education as identified and selected by the program and/or by the
					 program in collaboration with employers, assess candidates' pedagogical
					 performance in relation to the PK-3 ECE Teaching Performance Expectations and
					 provide formative and timely performance feedback regarding candidates'
					 progress toward mastering the PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Teaching
					 Performance Expectations.
The program provides initial orientation for preparation
					 program supervisors and employer-based supervisors of clinical practice
					 experiences to ensure all supervisors understand their role and expectations.
					 The minimum amount of program supervision involving formal evaluation of each
					 candidate must be 4 times per quarter or 6 times per semester. The minimum
					 amount of district-employed supervisors' support and guidance must be 5 hours
					 per week.
Clinical supervision may include an in-person site visit,
					 video capture or synchronous video observation, but the activities must be
					 archived either by annotated video or scripted observations and evaluated based
					 on the Teaching Performance Expectations, in order to produce data that can be
					 aggregated and disaggregated.
(2) Criteria for Clinical Practice
				  Placements. Clinical sites should be selected that demonstrate commitment to
				  developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate practices as well
				  as to collaborative relationships with families/guardians. In addition,
				  clinical sites should demonstrate evidence-based practices and continuous
				  program improvement, have partnerships with appropriate other educational,
				  social, and community entities that support teaching and learning, place
				  students with disabilities in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), provide
				  robust programs and support for English learners, reflect to the extent
				  possible socioeconomic and cultural diversity, and permit video capture for
				  candidate reflection and teaching performance assessment completion. Clinical
				  sites should also have a fully qualified site administrator.
(3) Criteria for the Selection of Program
				  Supervisors. The program selects individuals who are credentialed, or who hold
				  a Master Teacher or higher-level Child Development Permit as appropriate to the
				  field placement of the candidate being supervised, or who have equivalent
				  expertise such as an advanced degree or other evidence of professional
				  competence and expertise in the field of early childhood education. Supervisors
				  should have recent professional experiences in early childhood settings where
				  the curriculum aligns with California's Preschool Learning Foundations and
				  state-adopted Content Standards and Frameworks adopted by the state board of
				  education under Education Code sections
				  51002,
				  51226, and
				  60605 that
				  reflect the diversity of California's student population, as appropriate to the
				  instructional setting. The program provides supervisors with orientation to the
				  program's expectations and assures that supervisors are knowledgeable about the
				  program curriculum and assessments, including the Teaching Performance
				  Expectations and the Commission-approved teaching performance assessment
				  model(s) chosen by the program. In addition, program supervisors maintain
				  current knowledge of effective supervision approaches such as cognitive
				  coaching, adult learning theory, current content-specific pedagogy and
				  instructional practices.
(4)
				  Criteria for the Selection of LEA/ECE Employed Supervisors. The program selects
				  LEA/ECE site supervisors who hold a PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential
				  or a Multiple Subject Credential, or who hold a Master Teacher level or higher
				  Child Development Permit and have a minimum of three years of appropriate
				  teaching experience (e.g., Preschool, TK-3). The LEA/ECE supervisor must have
				  demonstrated exemplary teaching practices as determined by the employer and the
				  preparation program. The matching of candidate and LEA-employed supervisor must
				  be a collaborative process between the employer and the program.
The program provides LEA-employed supervisors a minimum of
					 10 hours of initial orientation to the program curriculum, effective
					 supervision approaches such as cognitive coaching, adult learning theory, and
					 current content-specific pedagogy and instructional practices. The program
					 ensures that LEA-employed supervisors remain current in the knowledge and
					 skills needed to provide effective candidate supervision and address program
					 expectations for Clinical Practice experiences.