Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 005 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION › Division 28 - Division of Elementary and Secondary Education › Rule 005.28.22-023 - For Emergency Promulgation: DESE Rules governing educator licensure, sections 1-2.0,4-5.0,4-6.0 and 4-8.0

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
The proposed amendments would serve a limited, but critical,
				purpose. They will allow the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education to
				issue a provisional license for up to three years to an applicant enrolled in
				an alternative educator preparation program who has not yet passed the
				state-mandated assessment for the content area in which the applicant seeks to
				teach. In lieu of having passed the assessment, however, the applicant must
				either hold a bachelor's degree in the content area in which the applicant
				seeks to teach, have earned 18 hours of college credits in the content area in
				which the applicant seeks to teach, or have documented successful, relevant
				work experience in the content area in which the applicant seeks to teach. This
				would enable qualified applicants to teach for up to three years while working
				toward meeting all requirements of obtaining a standard license. This framework
				is permitted by Ark. Code Ann. §
								6-17-409(d),
				which provides that the State Board
may
require passage of the
				content-area assessment for a provisional license but does not make it
				mandatory.
The State of Arkansas currently is suffering from a severe
				teacher shortage, which creates an imminent peril to the welfare of the State
				and its public school students. Consequently, the Division seeks to promulgate
				these amendments as emergency rules pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
								25-15-204(c).
				The Division also will simultaneously promulgate the amendments through the
				permanent rulemaking process.
DIVISION OF ELEMNTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION RULES
				GOVERNING EDUCATOR LICENSURE
1-2.0
DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of these Rules:
1-2.01
"Accredited College or
			 University"
means an institution of higher education that is regionally
			 or nationally accredited by an accrediting organization recognized by the U.S.
			 Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education
			 Accreditation.
1-2.02
"Accredited School Psychology program"
means a program of study
			 for school psychology that is offered by an accredited college or university,
			 and the program is:
1-2.02.1 Nationally
			 accredited in school psychology by the Commission on Accreditation of the
			 American Psychological Association; or
1-2.02.2 Approved by the National Association
			 of School Psychologists (NASP) or
1-2.02.3 Nationally accredited by an
			 accrediting organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the
			 Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
1-2.03
"Accredited Speech-Language
			 Pathology Program"
means a speech-language pathology program that is
			 offered by an accredited college or university, and the program is:
1-2.03.1 Nationally accredited by the Council
			 on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the
			 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association; or
1-2.03.2 Nationally accredited by an
			 accrediting organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the
			 Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
1-2.04
"Accredited Approved Educator
			 Preparation Program"
means an educator preparation program that is:
1-2.04.1 Accredited by an accrediting
			 organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the Council for
			 Higher Education Accreditation; and
1-2.04.2 Approved by the licensing authority
			 of a state government.
1-2.05
"Additional Licensure Plan
			 (ALP)"
means a plan approved by the Office of Educator Licensure that
			 allows an individual holding a Standard License or Provisional License (by
			 reciprocity only) to accept employment or assignment in an out-of-area
			 position, prior to completion of the requirements for the required endorsement,
			 licensure content area, or level of licensure, for no more than six (6)
			 consecutive semesters.
1-2.06
"Administrator License"
means an endorsement to a standard five
			 (5)-year renewable license, issued by the State Board, which allows the license
			 holder to serve as an administrator in an educational entity.
1-2.07 "
Administrator Licensure
			 Completion Plan (ALCP)"
means a plan approved by the Office of Educator
			 Licensure that allows an individual holding a Standard License to accept
			 employment as an administrator, prior to completion of the requirements for an
			 Administrator License, for no more than six (6) consecutive
			 semesters.
1.2.08
"Alternate
			 Assessment Plan (AAP)"
means a plan submitted by a building or district
			 level administrator approved by the Office of Educator Licensure on behalf of
			 an applicant for a standard license in a first time licensure area (See
			 Appendix A) who has not demonstrated competency in their subject matter content
			 with a passing score on a State Board approved content area
			 assessment.
1-2.09
"Alternative Educator Preparation Program"
means a program of
			 study approved by the Division for candidates who have a bachelor's degree and
			 are preparing for licensure as teachers and leaders in public schools in this
			 state.
1-2.10
"Ancillary
			 License"
means a five (5)-year renewable license, issued by the State
			 Board, that does not require prior classroom teaching experience, and which
			 allows the license holder to practice in Arkansas public schools in a licensure
			 area identified on Appendix A, excluding an administrator's
			 endorsement.
1-2.11
"Approved
			 Professional Development"
means the continuing learning experiences for
			 educators that meet the standards and focus areas under the Division's Rules
			 Governing Professional Development.
1-2.12
"Approved Program for Educator
			 Preparation"
means an educator preparation program that is approved by
			 the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education to prepare candidates for a
			 license issued by the State Board of Education.
1-2.13 "
Arkansas IDEAS"
means
			 Internet Delivered Education for Arkansas Schools, a partnership between the
			 Division and the Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN) to provide
			 through the AETN access to high-quality, online professional development for
			 Arkansas licensed educators.
1-2.14
			 "
Arkansas Professional Educator Preparation Program (ArPEP)"
means
			 the alternative educator preparation program administered by the Division,
			 whose participants hold a minimum of a baccalaureate degree and are allowed to
			 teach with a Provisional License. The program requirements consist of two (2)
			 years of teaching and instructional modules, which must be completed within
			 three (3) years.
1-2.15
"Building-Level Administrator"
means a principal, assistant
			 principal, or vice principal in an educational entity.
1-2.16
"Candidate"
means an
			 individual who has been admitted into an educator licensure program.
1-2.17
"Charter School"
includes
			 an open-enrollment public charter school, conversion public charter school, or
			 other type of public charter school authorized under Arkansas law.
1-2.18
Clinical experiences"
means the activities for candidates in educator preparation programs that allow
			 early and ongoing practice opportunities to apply content and pedagogical
			 knowledge, such as observations, tutoring, assisting teachers and
			 administrators, and practicums.
1-2.19
"Clinical Internship"
means a culminating clinical practice experience that can be of varying
			 duration but no less than 15 weeks. The clinical internship takes place in an
			 authentic educational setting where teacher candidates engage in the
			 pedagogical work of the profession of teaching, closely integrated with
			 educator preparation instruction and supported by a formal school-educator
			 preparation partnership. Placements must reflect the subject area and grade
			 level of the license being sought.
1-2.20
"Core Academic Subject
			 Areas"
means the following areas approved by the State Board:
Elementary Education (K-6);
English Language Arts;
Mathematics;
Science;
Social Studies;
Art;
Music; and
Foreign Language
1-2.21
"District-Level
			 Administrator"
means a superintendent, assistant/associate
			 superintendent, or deputy superintendent.
1-2.22
"Division"
means the
			 Arkansas Department of Education Division of Elementary and Secondary
			 Education.
1.2.23 "
Division
			 recognized external micro-credential
" means a single or a stacked
			 micro-credential that meets the following criteria:
1-2.23.1 Is developed by a state, regional,
			 or national educational organization;
1-2.23.2 Is based on peer-reviewed education
			 research;
1-2.23.3 Utilizes
			 national standards or competencies;
1-2.23.4 Contains rigorous requirements for
			 research, performance (including submission of artifacts), and self-reflection.
1-2.24
"Educational
			 Entity"
means a public school district, a charter school, an education
			 service cooperative, or other public entity that is assigned a local education
			 agency number by the Division.
1-2.25
"Educator"
means any
			 individual holding a license issued by the State Board, specifically including,
			 without limitation, teachers, administrators, library media specialists, and
			 counselors.
1-2.25.1 "Educator" also includes
			 a nonlicensed person employed under the educational entity's waiver of
			 licensure.
1-2.26
"Educator preparation program"
means a planned sequence of
			 academic courses and experiences leading to a recommendation for licensure by
			 the State Board.
1-2.27
"Educator Preparation Program Completer"
means a person who has
			 completed all coursework/modules and program requirements of a state approved
			 program of study.
1-2.28
"Effective Leader"
has the meaning given that term in the state's
			 plan adopted under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Pub. L.
			 No. 89-10, as reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act,
			 Pub. L. No.
			 114-95.
1-2.29
"Effective Teacher"
has
			 the meaning given that term in the state's plan adopted under the Elementary
			 and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Pub. L. No. 89-10, as reauthorized by the
			 Every Student Succeeds Act,
			 Pub. L. No.
			 114-95.
1-2.30
"Endorsement"
means any
			 licensure area or licensure level that may be added only to an existing
			 Standard License.
1-2.31
"Exception area endorsement"
means an endorsement that is not
			 available by testing out.
1-2.32
"Good Standing"
means, for the purpose of reciprocity, that:
1-2.32.1 There are no ethics proceedings or
			 proceedings on criminal offenses for which the license would be subject to
			 sanctions in Arkansas pending against a licensee;
1-2.32.2 The licensee has not been sanctioned
			 for an ethics violation or criminal offense for which the license would be
			 subject to sanction in Arkansas during the three (3) most recent years of
			 teaching experience, if any; and
1-2.32.3 The license has not been revoked by
			 or is not currently under suspension in the licensing state or country based on
			 an offense for which the license would be subject to sanction in
			 Arkansas.
1-2.33
"Level of Licensure"
or
"Licensure Level"
means the
			 grade/age level parameter of the educator license as identified in Appendix A,
			 Areas and Levels of Licensure.
1-2.34
"Licensure Content Area"
means a particular content field as recognized by the State Board. Licensure
			 content areas are listed in Appendix A, Areas and Levels of
			 Licensure.
1-2.35
"Licensed
			 teaching experience
" means teaching in a K-12 public or private school
			 while holding a standard or provisional teaching license, or the equivalent if
			 the applicant is seeking licensure reciprocity. Teaching experience under a
			 licensure exception does not count as licensed teaching experience;
1-2.36 "
Licensure exception"
is
			 an exception (formerly a 'waiver') from the legal requirement that a position
			 at an educational entity must be filled by a person holding the appropriate
			 license issued by the State Board. Licensure exceptions approved by the State
			 Board are identified in Chapter 7 of these rules.
1-2.37
"Micro-credential"
means
			 a form of certification earned through demonstrating competency/mastery in a
			 specific skill or set of skills.
1-2.38 "
Out-of-Area Position"
means a licensed position requiring a particular license, endorsement,
			 licensure content area, or level of licensure that the employee filling the
			 position does not currently hold.
1-2.39 "
Passing Score"
for a
			 state-mandated assessment for licensure means the cut score on the assessment
			 approved by the State Board.
1-2.39.1 A
			 passing score on a licensure assessment approved by the State Board before the
			 currently approved version of an assessment will be accepted for five (5) years
			 after the date the State Board discontinued or replaced the assessment provided
			 the passing score was achieved before the date the assessment was discontinued
			 or replaced.
1-2.40
"Preservice Teacher"
means an unlicensed person who is enrolled as
			 a student in an educator preparation program approved by the
			 Division.
1-2.41 "
Primary
			 partnership"
means a partnership that meets all the requirements of a
			 state-recognized partnership while also requiring established and explicit
			 processes for identifying and responding to educational entities areas of need
			 (e.g., ESL or Special Education teachers); collaborative development of
			 candidate selection criteria; collaborative design of high-quality, need-based
			 clinical experiences; and collaborative implementation of high-quality clinical
			 experiences with engagement of both partners throughout the
			 partnership.
1-2.42
"Private
			 Credential Evaluation Agency"
means an independent agency approved by
			 the Division that:
1-2.42.1 Is located in the
			 United States; and
1-2.42.2
			 Provides an educational background assessment that:
1-2.42.2.1 Contains a course-by-course
			 evaluation of the applicant's transcript;
1-2.42.2.2 Indicates the applicant's major
			 area of study and documents the candidate's cumulative grade point
			 average;
1-2.42.2.3 Documents
			 whether the applicant's out-of-country degree is equivalent to one that would
			 have been completed at an accredited college or university in the United
			 States;
1-2.42.2.4 Documents
			 whether the out-of-country professional preparation program is equivalent to
			 one that would have been completed at an approved educator preparation program
			 or accredited speech-language pathology or school psychology program;
1-2.42.2.5 Indicates the areas of licensure
			 represented by the out-of-country license; and
1-2.42.2.6 Documents which areas of licensure
			 on the out-of-country license are equivalent to the areas of licensure approved
			 by the State Board.
1-2.43
"Professional
			 Development"
means a coordinated set of planned, learning development
			 activities for teachers that are based on research, are standards-based and
			 that meet the focus areas for professional development required by the
			 Division.
1.2.44
"Program
			 Administrator"
means a school leader who is responsible for program
			 development and administration, and who may be responsible for employment
			 evaluation decisions, in content areas approved by the State Board
1-2.45
"Program of Study"
means
			 a curriculum that requires a candidate to demonstrate and document competency
			 in the specific knowledge, skills, and dispositions for a particular
			 endorsement to an educator's license, a licensure content area, or level of
			 licensure, and is:
1-2.45.1 Provided by one
			 (1) or more accredited colleges or universities, or an alternative educator
			 preparation program;
1-2.45.2
			 Aligned with Arkansas Teaching Standards and the appropriate content knowledge
			 and pedagogical competencies for the respective licensure areas; and
1-2.45.3 Approved by the
			 Division.
1-2.46
"Provisional License"
means a temporary license issued by the
			 State Board that allows the license holder to teach or work in Arkansas
			 schools.
1-2.47
"Reciprocity"
means the recognition of a teaching license from
			 another state or country based on these Rules or the terms of the National
			 Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC)
			 Interstate Agreement for Educator Licensure.
1-2.48
"Secondary Partnership"
means a partnership that meets all the requirements of a state-recognized
			 partnership with educational entities or accredited private schools with which
			 they do not have a primary partnership, but where enrolled candidates are
			 placed for clinical experiences.
1-2.49 "
Semester"
means the fall
			 or spring of an academic year. If an educational entity uses a different method
			 of academic year scheduling (such as a twelvemonth academic year), the Division
			 and the educational entity will identify a semester equivalent.
1-2.50
"SPED 101 Academy"
means
			 a three (3) credit hour course developed by institutions of higher education
			 based on competencies developed in collaboration with the Division Educator
			 Preparation Unit, Special Education Unit, and public school districts, public
			 charter schools, and education service cooperatives.
1-2.51
"Stacked
			 micro-credential"
means a series of micro-credentials, each of which
			 builds upon a previous micro-credential in the series;
1-2.52
"Standard License"
means
			 a five-year renewable license, issued by the State Board, where a recipient has
			 demonstrated content knowledge and understanding of pedagogical practice
			 required to perform professional education services for the licensure content
			 area and licensure level specified on the license.
1-2.53
"Standard License
			 Equivalent"
means a current, unrestricted, non-probationary,
			 non-provisional teaching license that allows an individual to work as a
			 teacher, administrator, counselor, or library media specialist in another
			 state's public schools and is in good standing with the licensing
			 state.
1-2.54
"State
			 Board"
means the Division of Elementary and Secondary State Board of
			 Education.
1-2.55
			 "
State-Recognized Partnership
" means a partnership that
			 establishes the roles and responsibilities of educator preparation faculty
			 educational entities or accredited private schools, including clinical
			 educators and supervisors, and establishes clear expectations regarding the
			 delivery of candidate support and evaluation.
1-2.56
"Successful completion of
			 background checks"
means that the individual cleared both the state and
			 federal criminal history checks and cleared the Child Maltreatment Central
			 Registry check as provided under the DESE Rules Governing Background
			 Checks.
1-2.57
"Teacher of
			 Record"
means an individual (or individuals in co-teaching assignments)
			 who has been assigned the lead responsibility for a student's learning in a
			 subject/course with aligned performance measures.