Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 31 - Public Safety › Part 601 - BOARD OF EMERGENCY TELECOMMUNICATIONS STANDARDS AND TRAINING PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION POLICY AND PROCEDURES MANUAL › Chapter 11 - Instructor Certification › Rule 31-601-11.3 - Procedures

Current through June 25, 2024
1. Minimum requirements for certification of
				training instructors for Basic, EMD or Recertification courses.
A. Application: Individuals desiring to
				instruct in BETST- approved courses must thoroughly complete a formal
				application. Applications from currently employed telecommunicators must be
				submitted to their agency director (i.e., police chief, sheriff, etc.). That
				director will review and forward the endorsed application to the Board for
				consideration. Applicants who are former telecommunicators (self- sponsored)
				will forward their endorsed application to the Board for consideration. Each
				nominee for certification must meet the following requirements:
B. Education and Experience: All instructor
				applicants must show educational and public safety experience equal to one (1)
				of the following:
1. A high school graduate
				and five (5) or more years of experience as an Emergency
				Telecommunicator,
2. Two (2) years
				of college and four (4) or more years of experience as an Emergency
				Telecommunicator,
3. A bachelor's
				degree and three (3) or more years of experience as an Emergency
				Telecommunicator.
C.
				Basic Training: All applicants must have completed a 40-Hour Board-approved
				Basic Telecommunicator Course. All applicants desiring to instruct EMD must
				have completed the Emergency Medical Dispatch course.
D. Sufficient Knowledge of Subject Matter:
				The applicant must demonstrate an adequate history as determined by the Board
				based on training, education, experience, professional credentials and/or
				proficiency skills suitable to the topic of instruction of which certification
				is being sought. Applicants must have been employed as a telecommunicator or
				must have instructed telecommunicator courses within the past (5)
				years.
E. Knowledge of Instruction:
				The applicant shall be cognizant of the methods of instruction and the aids
				available. Instructors must be able to clearly present the course material and
				meet the objectives outlined by the Board. New applicants must have attended
				and completed a BETST approved Instructor Development Course.
F. Instructor Training Attendance Approval:
				Prior to any individual attending a Board-approved instructor training course
				for emergency telecommunications, that individual shall obtain written approval
				from the Office of Standards and Training. Instructors will be approved only on
				a need basis.
1. Once an instructor
				application is submitted and approved, then an individual may attend a
				Board-approved instructor course.
2. After completing the instructor course,
				the instructor applicant must assist in one formal Basic and/or EMD
				Certification classroom course under the observation of a certified instructor.
				The certified instructor must provide the Board with an evaluation of the
				instructor applicant's performance. After successfully completing the
				instructor course and receiving a favorable evaluation the instructor applicant
				will be eligible for certification by the Board.
3. An instructor may conduct training only in
				the vendor course in which he/she has been certified to instruct. The medical
				portion of an Emergency Medical Dispatch course must be taught by an individual
				possessing EMT, Paramedic, or higher level critical-care medical
				training.
G. Expiration:
				All instructor certifications expire three (3) years from the date of
				issue.
H. Activity: All instructors
				shall remain active during their period of certification. Each instructor shall
				conduct three (3) Board-approved telecommunications courses (Basic, EMD) within
				each 36-month period of their certification. Modular courses (commonly referred
				to as "self-paced" courses) which do not require formal classroom instruction
				on the part of the instructor does not count towards this requirement. Failure
				to meet this requirement will result in a non-renewal of instructor credentials
				at the expiration of certification period. Instructors that fail to meet the
				requirement are not eligible to reapply for certification until twelve (12)
				months after the expiration date of their certificate.
1. Agencies which elect to send an employee
				to an instructor training course and do not agree to allow that person to
				instruct individuals from outside agencies, will not be reimbursed by the Board
				for that employee's attendance.
2.
				The Board will provide reimbursement for attendance to instructor certification
				training when the following two conditions are met:
a. The employee's agency head, through the
				signature on the back of the instructor application, agrees to allow said
				individual to instruct employees of other agencies, and
b. The employee conducts one formal
				classroom-type course in which that person is a primary or secondary instructor
				in the course.
I. Compliance: Instructors shall maintain a
				current status and remain in compliance with the provisions set forth by their
				respective course originators as well as the Board of Emergency
				Telecommunications Standards and Training.
1.
				Instructors shall adhere to the minimum training requirements of the course
				originators when conducting a course including the number of hours and the
				materials covered.
2. Instructors
				shall sign a Memorandum of Understanding from the Board which clarifies what is
				expected of them when conducting a Basic, EMD, or Elective course on behalf of
				the Board and the requirement to evaluate and assist instructor applicants.
J. Evaluation: The
				instructor shall be evaluated periodically by the BETST staff or other
				qualified individuals on dimensions determined by the Board. Evaluations shall
				remain on file at the Standards and Training Office.
K. Renewal: Individuals applying for renewal
				of instructor certification must complete a formal application for renewal. The
				issuance of a renewal certificate will depend on meeting the following
				requirements:
1. The renewal application
				shall be thoroughly completed and signed by the applicant and his/her agency
				director.
2. The instructor must
				provide documentation that he/she has conducted a minimum of three
				Board-approved curriculum courses in a formal classroom setting during the
				certification period expiring.
3.
				The instructor must provide documentation of his/her continuing knowledge and
				experience in the requested area of re-certification.
L. Property of certificates: As with the
				professional certificate, the instructor certificate remains the property of
				the Board. The possession and stewardship of the certificate is the
				responsibility of the sponsoring agency. Instructors are representatives of the
				Board. The Board may reprimand, suspend (upon conditions imposed by the Board),
				or cancel and recall any instructor certificate upon a showing of just cause,
				which includes, but is not limited to:
1.
				Administrative error in issuance,
2. Falsification of any information on the
				application,
3. Failure to complete
				the prescribed internship,
4.
				Conviction or entering a plea of either guilty or nolo contendere, being fined,
				ordered into probation or pre-trial diversion in relation to a crime that is
				directly related to the duties and responsibilities of an instructor, or engage
				in any condition, conduct, or action that would greatly diminish the public
				trust in the competence and reliability of the instructor,
5. Mistreatment, abuse, or improper behavior
				involving a student,
6. Consistent
				failure to follow Board-approved training guidelines, learning objectives and
				lesson plans (where established), consistent negative evaluations (student,
				staff, Board), or complaints, derogatory statements concerning the Board, Board
				staff, Public Safety Agencies/staff by speech or social media postings,
				and
7. Any other actions
				detrimental to professional emergency telecommunications training.
M. Staff may take administrative
				action to reprimand, suspend, or cancel and recall an instructor certificate
				for any of the purposes stated above. Upon taking administrative action, the
				certificate holder will be notified by the staff of such action and informed of
				his/her right to a hearing before the Board.