Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 210 - State Department of Education › Chapter 20 - Staff › Subchapter 9 - Proffesional Standards: Teacher Education and Certification › Part 9 - TEACHER CERTIFICATION › Section 210:20-9-102 - Paraprofessional credentials and career development program for paraprofessionals

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
(a)
Purpose.
Under Oklahoma law at 70 O.S. § 6-127A, a public
				  school paraprofessional is an employee of a school district whose position is
				  instructional in nature, or who delivers other direct services to students
				  and/or their parents, and for which a certified teacher or other professional
				  has the ultimate responsibility for the design, implementation, and evaluation
				  of the individual educational programs or related services and student
				  performance. Individuals must meet requirements established by federal and
				  state law to be authorized to serve as public school paraprofessionals in Title
				  I schools and in special education settings. The State Board of Education is
				  also authorized to issue provisional teaching certification to a qualifying
				  individual with a paraprofessional credential and relevant experience serving
				  as a paraprofessional.
(b)
Paraprofessional credential.
An individual who wishes to apply for
				  a paraprofessional credential shall submit an application and all required
				  supporting documentation to the State Department of Education Office of
				  Certification.
(1)
Tier 1.
In
				  order to qualify for a Tier 1 Oklahoma paraprofessional credential issued by
				  the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE), which is required for
				  general education paraprofessionals in Title I schools and available to general
				  education paraprofessionals in other settings, an applicant shall meet the
				  following eligibility criteria, established through the Elementary and
				  Secondary Education Act (ESEA):
(A) Has a
				  high school diploma, or a General Educational Development (GED) Diploma or
				  other certificate of high school equivalency recognized by the State of
				  Oklahoma.
(B) Has on file with the
				  State Board of Education a current Oklahoma criminal history record from the
				  Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) as well as a national
				  fingerprint-based criminal history record provided by the Federal Bureau of
				  Investigation(FBI). Upon receipt of the Oklahoma criminal history record, the
				  Board may issue a temporary credential which shall be effective until receipt
				  of the national fingerprint-based criminal history record. The person applying
				  for a credential shall be responsible for the cost of obtaining the criminal
				  history records.
(C) Meets at
				  least one of the following criteria:
(i) Has
				  completed at least two (2) years of study at an institution of higher
				  education, defined as completion of at least forty-eight (48) credit hours of
				  college coursework; or
(ii) Has
				  obtained an associate's degree or higher; or
(iii) Has either passed the Oklahoma General
				  Education Test (OGET), obtained a National Career Readiness Certificate through
				  successful completion of the ACT WorkKeys assessment, or passed the ParaPro
				  Assessment offered through the Educational Testing
				  Service.