Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 505 - PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS COMMISSION › Chapter 505-3 - EDUCATOR PREPARATION RULES › Rule 505-3-.02 - Educator Preparation Provider Annual Reporting and Evaluation

Current through Rules and Regulations filed through
			 June 27, 2024
(1)
Purpose
. This rule states requirements for the annual evaluation
			 of educator preparation programs and educator preparation providers, and
			 requirements for annual reporting of program effectiveness by educator
			 preparation providers that prepare individuals for certification as education
			 personnel in Georgia.
(2)
Definitions
.
(a)
Advanced Preparation/Degree-Only Program
: An educator
			 preparation program at the post-baccalaureate level for the continuing
			 education of educators who have previously completed initial preparation and
			 are certified in the program's subject area or field of certification. Advanced
			 preparation/degree-only programs commonly award graduate credit and include
			 masters, specialist, and doctoral degree programs.
(b)
Approval
: A
			 process for assessing and enhancing academic and education quality through peer
			 review, to assure the public that an educator preparation provider (EPP) and/or
			 educator preparation program has met institutional, state, and national
			 standards of educational quality; also, a Georgia Professional Standards
			 Commission (GaPSC) decision rendered when an EPP or educator preparation
			 program meets GaPSC standards and required annual reporting
			 requirements.
(c)
Approval Review
: Examination of evidence and
			 interviews of stakeholders conducted by GaPSC Site Visitors either on-site at
			 an institution/agency, or electronically using web and telephone conferencing
			 systems as part of a Developmental, First Continuing, Focused, or Probationary
			 Review.
(d)
Candidates/Teacher Candidates
: Individuals enrolled in
			 programs for the initial or advanced preparation of educators, programs for the
			 continuing professional development of educators, or programs for the
			 preparation of other professional school personnel. Candidates are
			 distinguished from students in B/P-12 schools. Candidates in programs leading
			 to Teaching (T) certification may also be referred to as Pre-service Teacher
			 Candidates. (The term enrolled is used in the GaPSC approval process to mean
			 the candidate is admitted and taking classes.)
(e)
Certified/Classified
			 Personnel Information (CPI)
: A tri-annual data collection
			 performed by the Georgia Department of Education of active certified and
			 classified employees at each school/district location. The data includes job
			 assignment, subject matter, percentage of time assigned, local years of
			 service, years of experience for payroll purposes, employment basis, and
			 contract salary including all supplements for each certified
			 employee.
(f)
Clinical
			 Practice
: Culminating residency (formerly referred to as
student teaching)
or internship experiences with candidates
			 placed in classrooms for at least one (1) full semester where they experience
			 intensive and extensive practices in which they are fully immersed in the
			 learning community and provided opportunities to develop and demonstrate
			 competence in the professional roles for which they are preparing. In initial
			 preparation programs in Leadership (L) or Service (S) fields, candidates will
			 complete such culminating residency or internship experiences in placements
			 that allow the knowledge, skills, and dispositions included in the programs to
			 be practiced and applied. In non-traditional preparation programs, such as
			 GaTAPP, clinical practice is job-embedded as candidates must be hired as a
			 classroom teacher to be admitted to the program.
(g)
Council for the Accreditation
			 of Educator Preparation (CAEP)
: The national accreditation
			 organization formed as a result of the unification of the National Council for
			 the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Teacher Education
			 Accreditation Council (TEAC). CAEP advances excellence in educator preparation
			 through evidence-based accreditation that assures quality and supports
			 continuous improvement to strengthen B/P-12 student learning.
(h)
Educator Preparation
			 Program
: A planned sequence of courses and experiences for
			 preparing B/P-12 teachers and other professional school personnel that leads to
			 a state certification. See the definitions for the three (3) types of educator
			 preparation programs: Initial, Endorsement, and Advanced/Degree-Only.
(i)
Educator Preparation Provider
			 (EPP)
: The institution of higher education (IHE), college, school,
			 department, agency, or other administrative body responsible for managing or
			 coordinating all programs offered for the initial and continuing preparation of
			 teachers and other school personnel, regardless of where these programs are
			 administratively housed.
(j)
Endorsement Program
: A planned sequence of courses and
			 experiences, typically three (3) to four (4) courses in length, designed to
			 provide educators with an additional, specific set of knowledge and skills, or
			 to expand and enhance existing knowledge and skills. Successful completion of
			 an endorsement program results in the addition of the endorsement field to the
			 Georgia educator certificate designating expertise in the field. Endorsement
			 programs may be offered as non-credit bearing programs, or they may lead to
			 college credit; they must be approved by the GaPSC and administered by a
			 GaPSC-approved EPP, and may be offered as either a stand-alone program or,
			 unless otherwise specified in GaPSC Educator Preparation Rules
			 505-3-.82 through
			 505-3-.115, embedded in an initial
			 preparation or advanced/degree-only program. Depending on the needs of the
			 individual educator, endorsement programs may also be included as a part of an
			 educator's professional learning plan/goals. See GaPSC Rule
			 505-2-.14 ENDORSEMENTS.
(k)
Field
			 Experiences
: Activities that include organized and sequenced
			 engagement of candidates in settings providing opportunities to observe,
			 practice, and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions delineated in
			 institutional, state, and national standards. The experiences must be
			 systematically designed and sequenced to increase the complexity and levels of
			 engagement with which candidates apply, reflect upon, and expand their
			 knowledge and skills. Since observation is a less rigorous method of learning,
			 emphasis should be on field experience sequences requiring active professional
			 practice or demonstration, and that include substantive work with B/P-12
			 students and B/P-12 personnel as appropriate. In non-traditional preparation
			 programs (e.g., GaTAPP), field experiences occur outside candidates' classrooms
			 with students with different learning needs and varied backgrounds in at least
			 two (2) settings during the clinical practice.
(l)
Induction
:
(1) The formal act or process of placing an
			 individual into a new job or position and providing appropriate support during
			 the first three (3) years of employment. The Georgia Department of Education
			 defines The Induction Phase Teacher as any teacher who has been hired into a
			 new permanent position in any Georgia school.
(2) A Georgia level of professional educator
			 certification; for additional information see GaPSC Rule
			 505-2-.04 INDUCTION
			 CERTIFICATE.
(m)
Initial Preparation Program
: A program designed to
			 prepare candidates for their initial, or first, professional certificate in a
			 Teaching (T), Leadership (L), or Service (S) field. Examples include degree
			 programs at the baccalaureate, masters, or higher levels; or post-baccalaureate
			 programs, non-degree certification-only programs, and non-traditional programs,
			 such as the Georgia Teacher Academy for Preparation and Pedagogy (GaTAPP) or
			 Alternative Preparation for Educational Leadership program. Programs leading to
			 an educator's first certificate in a particular field are considered initial
			 preparation even if the educator is certified in one or more other
			 fields.
(n)
Non-traditional Teacher Preparation Program (GaTAPP)
:
			 A program designed to prepare individuals who at admission hold an appropriate
			 degree with verified content knowledge through a major or its equivalent in the
			 content field or a passing score on the state-approved content assessment in
			 the content field. If the state-approved content knowledge was not required at
			 admission, it must be passed for program completion. Non-traditional teacher
			 preparation programs lead only to a certificate, not to a degree or college
			 credit and:
1. Feature a flexible timeframe
			 for completion;
2. Are job-embedded
			 allowing candidates to complete requirements while employed by a regionally
			 accredited local unit of administration (school district or private school), a
			 charter school approved by the Georgia State Charter School Commission, or a
			 charter school approved by the Georgia Department of Education as a classroom
			 teacher full-time or part-time for at least a half day;
3. Require that candidates are supported by a
			 Candidate Support Team;
4. Require
			 an induction component that includes coaching and supervision;
5. Provide curriculum, performance-based
			 instruction, and assessment focused on the pedagogical knowledge, and
			 dispositions necessary for the candidate to teach his/her validated academic
			 content knowledge; and
6. Are
			 individualized based on the needs of each candidate with respect to content
			 knowledge, pedagogical skills, learning modalities, learning styles, interests,
			 and readiness to teach. See GaPSC Rule
			 505-3-.05 GEORGIA TEACHER ACADEMY FOR
			 PREPARATION AND PEDAGOGY (GaTAPP).
(o)
Preparation Program
			 Effectiveness Measures (PPEMs)
: A collection of common measures
			 applied to all teacher preparation programs leading to initial certification in
			 a field. Teacher Preparation Program Effectiveness Measures (TPPEMs) are
			 further defined in this rule.
(p)
Out-of-State Institution
: An institution of higher
			 education that is administratively based in a state within the United States
			 other than Georgia.
(q)
Program Completer
: A person who has met all the
			 requirements of a GaPSC-approved or state- approved out-of-state educator
			 preparation program, to include all GaPSC requirements such as attempting all
			 assessments required for state certification.
(r)
State-approved Content
			 Assessment
: A content-specific, standardized test aligned with
			 preparation program standards (state and national) and Georgia's P-12
			 curriculum, and developed to ensure that educators have the content knowledge
			 necessary for successful performance as an educator. A passing score on the
			 appropriate assessment is required for state certification.
(s)
Teacher Preparation Program
			 Effectiveness Measures (TPPEMs)
: A collection of common measures
			 applied to all GaPSC-approved teacher preparation programs leading to initial
			 certification in a Teaching field.
(t)
Traditional Preparation
			 Program
: A credit-bearing program designed for the preparation of
			 educators offered by an institution of higher education.