Code of Maine Rules › 05 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION › 071 - EDUCATION - GENERAL › Chapter 114 - PURPOSE, STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES FOR THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF PREPARATION PROGRAMS FOR EDUCATION PERSONNEL › Section 071-114-1 - PURPOSE, PREPARATION AND DEFINITIONS

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
1.1
Statement of Purpose
The preparation of educators cannot be a static process in an
				  ever-changing environment. Maine higher education units with programs that have
				  been approved for this purpose are expected to be dynamic, to strive for
				  continuous improvement, and to utilize the outcomes of new knowledge,
				  practices, and technologies. They are expected to be involved in a process by
				  which faculty and administrators, in collaboration with practitioners, are
				  thinking and talking about the preparation of teachers and other educators.
				  They are expected to be committed to assuring that teacher candidates are
				  prepared with the knowledge and skills necessary to assist Maine students to
				  meet Maine's Learning Standards. They are expected to collect and analyze data
				  about their effectiveness, and make changes to improve their programs. They are
				  expected to be engaged in ongoing self-assessment in which they assess the
				  needs of schools and candidates, identify potential problems and points of
				  vulnerability, and develop strategies for becoming more effective. They are
				  expected to be in a transitional mode where an early and on-going emphasis upon
				  clinical practice experiences becomes the norm. The evolving world of education
				  and educational reform demands the continuous development of education
				  programs. For this reason, state program approval must be initially conducted
				  and periodically revisited.
A preparation program for education personnel must meet the
				  state adopted standards and be authorized as an accredited degree-granting unit
				  to recommend its graduates for certification. All units preparing educators for
				  certification must have State approved programs. Successful completion of an
				  approved program entitles an individual to be recommended for certification in
				  the appropriate categories for which the unit is approved.
Following a unit's initial approval to offer educator
				  preparation programs, approval must be reaffirmed every five (5) or seven (7)
				  years, so long as a unit continues to satisfy the standards and requirements as
				  established by the Maine State Board of Education as demonstrated in an annual
				  Program Update as described in Section 4.4(1).
The State Board of Education and the Department of Education
				  are committed to promoting the development of innovative and collaborative
				  practices in programs for the preparation of educator personnel. The six
				  program approval standards encourage innovations and interactive practices in
				  such areas as gender equity, cultural diversity, involvement of parents and
				  community and to preparing education personnel. Additionally, the Board and the
				  Department clearly support innovation in unit/school relationships in areas
				  such as collaborative program development, and school-and classroom-based
				  research. These innovative and collaborative approaches must be evident in unit
				  policies and practices.
1.2
Statement of Vision - Teaching and Learning
The Maine State Board of Education has formally adopted and
				  recognizes that the Maine Learning Standards are built on the following Guiding
				  Principles.
Each student must leave school as:
A clear and effective communicator 
										A self-directed and lifelong learner 
										A creative and practical problem solver 
										 A responsible and involved citizen 
										An integrative and informed thinker
The Maine State Board of Education's vision for schools in
				  Maine includes:
Personal learning plans
that target each
					 student's individual and common learning goals that will, throughout his or her
					 school career, lead toward Maine's Guiding Principles and the goals that are
					 built around Maine's Learning Standards following a timeline for learning that
					 is individualized.
Processes in place
which allow students
					 to reach the goals identified in the personal learning plan; teams of teachers,
					 at all levels, who have sufficient time and resources to learn, to plan, and to
					 confer with individual students, colleagues and families.
Creating assessments
of individual student
					 progress based on multiple measures, using both formative and summative
					 assessments.
Resources,
such as after-school programs,
					 technology resources and training every student and educator, professional
					 learning communities, professional development, rubrics to establish shared
					 expectations, and ongoing collaborations between parents and
					 educators.
School environments
where learning governs
					 the allocation of time, space, facilities, services and individual
					 timelines.
1.3
Definitions:
The following definitions refer to the specific use of terms
				  in this Chapter only as they relate to the program review and approval process
				  for certification of education personnel.
Accreditation:
A process for assessing and enhancing academic and
				  educational quality through voluntary peer review; also the decision rendered
				  by an accrediting agency when an institution/agency or professional education
				  unit meets its standards and requirements.
Accredited:
When an educational institution meets required standards or
				  accepted criteria of quality in its educational program as established by a
				  regional or national accrediting agency that is recognized by the US Secretary
				  of Education.
ACT Exam:
The ACT (American College Test) is a national college
				  admission and placement exam that assesses high school students' general
				  educational development and their ability to complete college-level work.
Administrator:
An administrator is a leader in a district, school building
				  or program area who focuses on improved learning by managing, supervising,
				  mentoring and evaluating professional staff and by overseeing programs,
				  curriculum, instruction, and student assessment. He/she is an individual
				  certified to provide services in any of the following capacities:
				  superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal,
				  teaching principal, administrator of special education, assistant administrator
				  of special education, administrator of career and technical education,
				  assistant administrator of career and technical education, curriculum
				  coordinator/instructional supervisor, director of adult and community
				  education, or assistant director of adult and community education.
Advanced Program:
A professional education program leading to certification
				  offered at a level other than for P-12 provisional or professional teacher or
				  administrator certification at the post-baccalaureate level designed for the
				  continuing education of teachers who have previously completed an initial
				  preparation program or for the preparation of other school personnel. Advanced
				  preparation programs award graduate credit at the masters, specialist, and
				  doctoral degree levels as well as non-degree licensure programs offered at the
				  graduate level.
Alternate Route Program:
An organized, performance-and-standards-based professional
				  preparation and support program leading to initial teacher certification. A
				  participant in such a program has an appropriate undergraduate degree or
				  non-traditional preparation path designed for individuals who did not prepare
				  as educators during their undergraduate studies. These programs or paths lead
				  to initial teacher certification, often in teacher shortage areas. A
				  participant in an alternate route program or path will have earned an
				  appropriate undergraduate degree.
Alternate Route Teacher Candidate:
An individual with a minimum of a bachelor's degree in a
				  content field or a degree that supports the academic content knowledge of the
				  teaching field for which the individual is seeking initial certification, but
				  whose undergraduate or graduate work did not include pedagogical knowledge and
				  skills. The alternate route teacher candidate will not have held an initial
				  teaching certificate before.
Approved Program:
A professional education program developed and offered by a
				  unit that includes a Maine college or university that has been assessed by a
				  review team utilizing the standards contained within Chapter 114 and authorized
				  by the Maine State Board of Education to prepare PK-12 educators. (See
				  definition of "unit" below).
Assessment System :
A comprehensive and integrated set of evaluation measures
				  that provide information for use in monitoring candidate performance and
				  managing and improving unit operations and programs for the preparation of
				  professional educators.
Basic Skills Assessment:
Before a traditional or non-traditional student can be
				  admitted to candidacy status in a state approved teacher education program,
				  he/she must take and successfully pass the rigorous basic skills assessment as
				  defined by the Maine State Board of Education.
CAEP:
Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)
				  is the national professional accrediting body for educator preparation
				  programs.
Candidacy Status:
The designation assigned to a student who has taken and
				  successfully passed the PRAXIS I exam or its equivalent, rigorous basic skills
				  assessment as defined by the Maine State Board of Education, and any other
				  institutional benchmarks.
Candidates:
Individuals admitted to, or enrolled in, programs for the
				  initial or advanced preparation of teachers, teachers continuing their
				  professional development, or other professional school personnel. Candidates
				  are distinguished from "students" in PK-12 schools.
Candidate Performance Data:
Information derived from assessments of candidate
				  proficiencies in areas of teaching and effects on student learning, candidate
				  knowledge and dispositions. Candidate performance data may be derived from a
				  wide variety of sources, such as projects, essays or tests demonstrating
				  subject content mastery, employer evaluations, state licensure tests and
				  mentoring year "portfolios," as well as assessments, projects, reflections,
				  clinical observations and other evidence of pedagogical and professional
				  teaching proficiencies.
Commissioner:
The Commissioner of the Department of Education or a
				  designee.
Clinical Experiences:
Direct experiences for candidates in PK-12 schools, including
				  field experiences, prior to student teaching or internship; internships for
				  preparation programs other than teacher preparation; and student teaching.
Clinical Faculty:
Higher education faculty responsible for instruction,
				  supervision, and assessment of candidates during field experience and clinical
				  practice.
Clinical Focus of Program:
In the redesign of educator preparation programs there is the
				  expectation that an early, expanded, and on-going emphasis will be placed upon
				  clinical practice experiences and that these experiences will become the norm.
Common Core State Standards - CCSS :
Performance-based norms, aligned with college and work
				  expectations, as well as being internationally benchmarked, define the
				  knowledge and skills that students must develop within their PK-12 education
				  careers so that they will graduate from high school able to succeed in
				  entry-level, credit-bearing academic college courses and in workforce training
				  programs.
Conceptual Framework:
A conceptual framework(s) establishes the shared vision for a
				  unit's efforts in preparing educators to work in PK-12 schools. It provides
				  direction for programs, courses, teaching, candidate performance, scholarship,
				  service, and unit accountability. The conceptual framework(s) is
				  knowledge-based, articulated, widely shared, coherent, consistent with the unit
				  and/or unit mission, and continuously evaluated. The conceptual framework(s)
				  provides the unit's intellectual philosophy.
Content Area Methods:
A grade level and subject area specific course, integrating
				  pedagogy and content, offered as a component of an approved teacher preparation
				  program.
Content Knowledge:
Understanding of the central concepts, methods of inquiry,
				  and structures of a subject area.
Cooperating Teachers:
Certified school-based faculty who advise, supervise, and
				  assist with the evaluation of unit candidates placed with them during field
				  experiences, practical, and clinical practice.
Department:
Maine Department of Education.
Dispositions:
The values, commitments and professional ethics that
				  influence behaviors toward students, families, colleagues, and communities and
				  affect student learning, motivation, and development as well as the educator's
				  own professional growth. Dispositions are guided by beliefs and attitudes
				  related to values such as caring, fairness, honesty, responsibility, and social
				  justice.
Diversity:
Differences among groups of people and individuals based on
				  age, race, culture, ethnicity, experiences, socioeconomic status, gender,
				  language, exceptionalities, religion, sexual orientation, learning style, and
				  geographic region in which they live.
Educator:
A person involved in PK-12 education that requires
				  certification including, but not limited to teachers, administrators and
				  specialists; or 2) a person in a higher education institution with
				  responsibility for educator preparation programs.
Education Personnel:
Persons employed in PK-12 educational settings in an
				  instructional or instructional support capacity requiring certification or
				  authorization in accordance with the provisions of Maine Department of
				  Education Regulation Chapter 115.
Educational Specialist:
School-based personnel with job designations in one or more
				  of the following capacities: athletic director; school counselor; library-media
				  specialist; literacy specialist; school psychological service provider
				  psychologist; school nurse; special education consultant; speech and language
				  clinician; or career and technical education evaluator.
Exceptionalities:
Physical, mental, or emotional conditions, including
				  gifted/talented abilities, that requires individualized instruction and/or
				  other educational support or services.
Exhibit:
Materials that are presented by the unit to the Review Team
				  during the site visit including the conceptual framework(s), self assessment,
				  supporting documents and other materials and evidence prepared by the unit for
				  the site visit .
Faculty:
Professional education faculty members who are employed by
				  higher education units and PK-12 school faculty who supervise clinical
				  practice.
Field Experiences:
A variety of early and on-going field-based opportunities in
				  which candidates may observe, assist, tutor, instruct, and/or conduct research.
				  Field experiences may occur in off-campus settings such as schools, community
				  centers or homeless shelters that are designed to permit pre-service candidates
				  to engage in observation of teachers in a classroom setting and to assume
				  progressive levels of teaching responsibility that shall take place prior to
				  the culminating student teaching experience.
General Education Program:
The component of the college or university baccalaureate
				  degree program that emphasizes the study of the behavioral and social sciences,
				  fine arts, humanities, natural sciences, and mathematics.
Governance:
The system and structure for defining policy, providing
				  leadership, and managing and coordinating the procedures and resources that
				  ensure the quality of all school personnel prepared at the unit.
GRE Exam:
The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is a standardized test
				  that is an admissions requirement for many graduate schools in the United
				  States. It aims to measure verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, analytical
				  writing and critical thinking skills that have been acquired over a long period
				  of time - not related to any specific field of study.
Higher Education Institution:
An accredited institution approved by the state to grant
				  baccalaureate and/or graduate degrees that offers programs for the professional
				  preparation of educators.
Indicators:
A knowledge, skill or ability used to demonstrate mastery of
				  a designated standard. The operational definitions that define the evidence
				  that professional education programs will provide to demonstrate that a
				  standard is met.
Initial Program:
The program that when completed qualifies an individual for
				  his or her first certification as a P-12 teacher. A program that prepares
				  candidates at the baccalaureate or post-baccalaureate level for their first
				  certification as a PK-12 teacher, specialist, or school leader.
InTASC
The Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium
				  (InTASC) is a project of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)
				  that has developed model performance-based standards and assessments for the
				  certification of teachers which are known as the "Common Core Teaching
				  Standards".
ISLLC
:
Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium, a source of
				  national standards for school administrators developed by the Council of Chief
				  School Officers (CCSSO).
Institutional Standards:
Candidate knowledge, skills and dispositions identified by
				  the institution to reflect its mission and the unit's conceptual
				  framework.
Instructional Technologies:
The study of computer/technology operations and concepts, the
				  personal and professional uses of technology, the application of technology in
				  instruction, specialty content preparation in educational computing and
				  technology literacy, and the uses of technology-based productivity tools to
				  support instruction and student learning. Technology operations and concepts
				  that include the application of technology in instruction; specialty content
				  preparation in educational computing; technology literacy, and the uses of
				  technology-based productivity tools to support instruction and student
				  learning.
Learning Community:
A learning community consists of program stakeholders whose
				  members share accountability for supporting the distinct learning needs of one
				  another and for advancing the knowledge of the community.
Knowledge Bases:
The research and theoretical bases upon which a program of
				  study in professional education is founded. Examples might include: empirical
				  research; action research; disciplined inquiry, and informed theory.
Local Support Team (LST):
A Local Support Team (LST) is established in a school
				  administrative unit where a teacher candidate is employed. The LST exists to
				  support such candidates as they pedagogically prepare to qualify for initial
				  teacher certification. LSTs are comprised of a school-based administrator; a
				  school-based mentor or teaching coach; a supervisor employed by the
				  non-traditional preparation path provider; and a content specialist (if either
				  the mentor or supervisor are not also a content specialist in the candidate's
				  teaching field).
Maine Learning Results Standards:
These are the Maine PK-12 Maine Kindergarten-Grade 12 student
				  standards which identify the knowledge and skills that are essential to prepare
				  students for work, for higher education, for citizenship, and for personal
				  fulfillment.
Major:
A field of study in which a candidate completes an academic
				  specialization as part of an approved program leading to certification.
Mentor :
A professional teacher, master teacher, administrator,
				  educational specialist or other educator from inside or outside the school unit
				  who may perform functions of support for an initial educator.
Minor:
A field of study in which a candidate completes an academic
				  specialization as part of an approved program leading to certification in
				  addition to the major.
NETS
The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) are a
				  set of standards published by the International Society for Technology in
				  Education (ISTE) for the purpose of leveraging the use of technology in K-12
				  education. There are three groupings: NETS.S - student technology standards;
				  NETS.T - teacher technology standards; and NETS.A - Administrator technology
				  standards.
NCATE:
The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
				  (NCATE) is a national professional accrediting body for educator preparation
				  programs.
Non-Traditional Teacher Preparation Paths
:
Alternate teacher preparation paths which prepare individuals
				  with a minimum of a four-year bachelor's degree, or a verifiable equivalent, in
				  a content field that supports the academic content knowledge of the content
				  field for which the individual is seeking initial teacher certification, but
				  whose undergraduate or graduate work did not include pedagogical knowledge and
				  skills. Alternate teacher preparation path candidates will not have held an
				  initial teaching certificate before.
Non-Traditional Preparation Path
				  Provider:
Any Maine State Board of Education approved professional
				  education unit that accommodates the preparation needs of alternate route
				  teacher candidates and supervises their instruction as they seek to acquire the
				  necessary pedagogical skills to qualify for initial teacher certification.
Paraprofessional:
An educational technician who assists appropriately certified
				  personnel with the supervision of PK-12 pupil activities.
Pedagogical Content Knowledge:
An integration of teacher understanding that combines content
				  (subject matter), pedagogy (instructional methods), and learner characteristics
				  (cultural backgrounds, prior knowledge, and experiences) - in its simplest
				  form, it is the knowledge of how to teach a subject.
Pedagogical Knowledge:
An understanding of learning, human development, professional
				  ethics, motivational techniques, cultural and individual differences,
				  instructional strategies, classroom management, and assessment strategies that
				  have an impact on the learner designed to have a positive impact on
				  learners.
Performance Assessment:
A comprehensive assessment through which candidates
				  demonstrate their proficiencies in subject, professional and pedagogical
				  knowledge, and skills including their abilities to have positive effects on
				  student learning.
Performance-Based Program:
A professional preparation program that systematically
				  gathers, analyzes, and uses data for self-improvement and candidate advisement;
				  especially data that demonstrate candidate proficiencies, including positive
				  effects on student learning (also referred to as Proficiency-Based
				  Program).
Performance Criteria:
Descriptions or rubrics that specify qualities or levels of
				  candidate proficiency and are used to evaluate candidate performance.
PLT Exam:
The Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT) Exam is the set
				  of standardized tests that individuals seeking to be certified to teach in the
				  state of Maine must successfully pass, if they have not completed a state
				  approved educator preparation program offered by a regionally accredited
				  institution. The exam measures both general and subject-specific knowledge and
				  teaching skills.
Portfolio:
A collection of artifacts designed to demonstrate mastery of
				  a set of professionally accepted standards for teaching.
Practicum:
A supervised experience in a school, clinic or other setting
				  which provides practical applications of theory and experience for candidates
				  in approved programs is designed especially for the preparation of education
				  candidates that involves the practical application of previously studied theory
				  under the supervision of professional education faculty. When referring to more
				  than one practicum the word practica is used.
Pre-Candidacy Status:
The pre-admission status of a traditional or non-traditional
				  student who is admitted to a state approved teacher education program but has
				  not yet taken and passed the required rigorous basic skills assessment as
				  defined by the Maine State Board of Education.
Preparation Program:
A series or combination of courses, related instructional
				  services and practicuma, internship or other student experience designed to
				  meet the academic and professional requirements necessary to establish
				  eligibility for certification as a teacher, administrator or educational
				  specialist.
Professional Community:
The full-and-part-time faculty (including clinical faculty)
				  in the professional education unit; the faculty in other units of the
				  college/university; the PK-12 practitioners; the candidates; and others
				  involved in professional education.
Professional Education Faculty:
Those individuals who teach one or more courses designed to
				  meet essential competencies for certification endorsement areas as well as
				  provide services to education candidates (e.g., advising or supervising student
				  teaching) or administer some portion of the education program.
Professional Educator:
A person qualified to hold a PK-12 certificate as a teacher,
				  administrator or a specialist as defined in Maine Department of Education
				  Regulation Chapter 115 and who demonstrates, through performance, the
				  knowledge, skills, and abilities to improve student learning.
Proficiencies:
Required knowledge, skills and dispositions identified in the
				  professional, state, national, or institutional standards.
Proficiency-Based Program:
A professional preparation program that systematically
				  gathers, analyzes, and uses data for self-improvement and candidate advisement;
				  especially data that demonstrate candidate proficiencies, including positive
				  effects on student learning (also referred to as Performance-Based Program).
Program Approval Process:
Process by which a state governmental agency reviews a
				  professional education program to determine if it meets the state's standards
				  for the preparation of school personnel. A process for assessing and enhancing
				  academic and education quality through peer review, to assure the public that a
				  professional education unit and/or program has met the state's standards for
				  the preparation of school personnel.
Program Completer:
A candidate who, by successfully completing all of a state
				  approved educator preparation program's requirements, has qualified for a
				  recommendation for certification.
Review Team:
A team of educators recommended to the State Board of
				  Education by the Commissioner for the tasks of: visiting the unit seeking
				  program approval or renewal; applying the program standards against the
				  information gathered and submitted by the unit; and making a recommendation to
				  the State Board, through the Commissioner, as to whether the unit has
				  successfully met, or continues to meet the standards for program
				  approval.
Rubrics:
Criteria for judging performance that indicate the qualities
				  by which levels of performance can be differentiated, and that anchor judgments
				  about the degree of proficiency on a given standard. In a standards-based
				  system the rubric (or scale) is used at each level of content and for each
				  reporting or measurement topic.
Scholarship:
Systematic inquiry into the areas related to teaching,
				  learning and the education of teachers and other school personnel. Scholarship
				  includes traditional research and publication as well as the rigorous and
				  systematic study of pedagogy and the application of current research findings
				  in new settings. Scholarship further presupposes submission of one's work for
				  professional review and evaluation.
School:
An institution serving any of the grades pre-kindergarten
				  through 12 PK-12.
School Partners:
PK-12 schools that collaborate with the higher education
				  institution in designing, developing and implementing field experiences,
				  clinical practice, delivery of instruction and research.
School Leader:
An administrator whose position requires possession of an
				  administrative certificate.
Self-Assessment
:
The unit's information and data as to how showing how it has
				  met the six program standards. The self-assessment document may also include
				  other relevant information and data as may be necessary to support the
				  program's request for approval or renewal.
Semester Hour:
15 contact hours or the equivalent spent in an approved
				  preparation program or in a course offered by an accredited institution of
				  higher education.
Standard:
A standard is a candidate proficiency norm or a unit
				  requirement to be met by candidates during the implementation of preparation
				  programs for education personnel.
Standards-Based System:
A performance-based system that is centered around a defined
				  number of learning levels; where students advance through the system by
				  demonstrating proficiency at each level; where standards are used to guide the
				  curriculum; where student progress is measured and used to determine
				  advancement;where students advance through the system at their own pace; and
				  where learning is the constant and time is the variable. Such systems may also
				  be referred to as Performance-Based or Proficiency-Based.
Standards-Referenced System:
An organized system based on traditional grade levels; where
				  students advance through the system at the same pace as other students of the
				  same age; where students will advance with varying levels of knowledge and
				  skills; where standards are used to guide curriculum and measure student
				  progress; where some promotion decisions may be made based on standards; and
				  where time is the constant and learning is variable.
Student Teaching:
Classroom practice A clinical practice or internship that
				  provides candidates with an intensive and extensive culminating activity t
				  Through observation, participation, and actual teaching, under the direction of
				  a college or university supervisor of student teachers and by a cooperating
				  teacher as a part of the professional education program offered by an
				  institution with an approved educator preparation program candidates are
				  immersed in the learning community and provided opportunities to develop and
				  demonstrate competence in the professional roles for which they are
				  preparing.
TEAC:
The Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) is a
				  national professional accrediting body for educator preparation
				  programs.
Teacher:
An individual who is eligible for employment as a member of a
				  PK-12 school's professional staff with responsibility for planning, delivering
				  and evaluating instruction which is primarily delivered in a classroom or
				  vocational setting; but, this definition does not include the educational
				  specialist.
Teacher of Record:
A person An educator employedby a School Administrative Unit
				  (SAU) or an approved private school who is issued a standard contract for
				  teachers and has been so identified in the SAU's or approved private school's
				  staff information system as required by the Maine Department of Education is
				  responsible for a specified proportion of a student's learning activities that
				  are within a subject or course and are aligned to performance measures.
Technology Education:
The study of technology which provides an opportunity for
				  students to learn about the processes and knowledge related to technology that
				  are needed to solve problems.
Technology, Use of:
What candidates must know and understand about information
				  technology in order to use it in working effectively with students and
				  professional colleagues in the (1) delivery, development, prescription and
				  assessment of instruction; (2) problem solving; (3) school and classroom
				  administration; (4) educational research; (5) electronic information access and
				  exchange; and (6) personal and professional productivity.
Transcript Analysis:
The process whereby a prospective educator submits official
				  undergraduate and/or graduate records concerning all courses for which academic
				  credit has been received for evaluation of compliance with certification
				  requirements as contained in Maine Department of Education Regulation Chapter
				  115.
Unit:
For the purposes of this chapter, a unit must meet either
				  definition A or B:
(A) The entity
				within a four-year and/or graduate level higher education institution charged
				by the higher education institution for managing or coordinating all programs
				offered for initial and continuing preparation of educators and other PK-12
				personnel, regardless of where these programs are administratively housed. This
				entity is also known as the professional education unit.
(B) A separate entity created by a formal
				partnership between one or more accredited four-year or graduate level higher
				education institution(s) approved by the state for initial certification of
				teachers, and one or more recognized PK-12 school administrative units or
				state-approved PK-12 private schools for the purpose managing or coordinating a
				program limited to preparing new teachers-of-record in PK-12 schools who have a
				degree but lack prior eligibility for initial certification through an
				alternate (non-traditional preparation) route. (See definition for Alternate
				Route Program and Section 1.2.19 2 1 Alternate Route Programs).
Unit Head:
The individual officially designated to provide leadership
				  for the unit (e.g., dean, director or chair), with the authority and
				  responsibility for its overall administration and operation.