Minnesota Administrative Rules

8705.2100 INITIAL TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAM APPROVAL.

Subpart 1.

Application required.

An application for initial approval of a program must be submitted in accordance with the timelines and procedures established and published by the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board.

Subp. 2.

Request for Initial Program Approval (RIPA).

The following are the application requirements for seeking approval for a new licensure program submitted by an approved Minnesota institution or provider.

A.

The unit leader, on behalf of the institution or program provider, shall submit to the board an application for each new teacher preparation program for which approval is requested.

B.

Programs that have submitted applications may not begin prior to approval by the board.

C.

The application must include verification by the unit's dean or administration that sufficient financial, physical, human resources, and qualified faculty, have been dedicated to the program to sustain it if approved.

D.

Program applications must include all requirements in subitems (1) to (6).

(1)

The application must provide evidence of the following program development standards:

(a)

the program was developed in consultation with licensed and practicing teachers in the subject area and other school-based partners, qualified faculty, and content experts; and

(b)

the name and contact information for a faculty member, qualified by academic preparation in the content, who is responsible for delivery of this program.

(2)

The application must provide evidence of teaching and assessing the standards of effective practice (SEP) under part 8710.2000, including:

(a)

candidates with a professional sequence of courses based on the standards under part 8710.2000, consistent with credit requirements of existing board-approved programs; and

(b)

evidence of how the program will provide opportunities for candidate learning and assessment specific to each standard.

(3)

The application must provide evidence of teaching and assessing content standards for one or more licensure programs under parts 8710.3000 to 8710.8080, including:

(a)

the program provides candidates with a sequence of courses based on the specific content standards of one or more licensure program under parts 8710.3000 to 8710.8080, consistent with credit requirements of existing board-approved programs; and

(b)

evidence of how the program will provide opportunities for candidate learning and assessment specific to each standard of the identified licensure program.

(4)

The application must provide evidence of the following field experiences and student teaching standards:

(a)

the program requires a range of planned and supervised field experiences prior to student teaching that provide candidates with opportunities to demonstrate the unit's indicators of professional dispositions and the required pedagogical and content skills and knowledge under parts 8710.2000 to 8710.8080;

(b)

the program provides and requires experiences in the field aligned to the scope and content of the licensure field sought and with diverse populations of learners;

(c)

for initial teacher licensure, the program requires a student teaching period of a minimum of 12 consecutive weeks, full time, face-to-face, which may be split into two placements;

(d)

qualified faculty supervisors and cooperating teachers each provide documented formative feedback multiple times, including at least two triad conferences including the candidate, supervisor, and cooperating teacher;

(e)

evaluation of candidates seeking an initial teaching license includes the completion of the state-approved teacher performance assessment during the student teaching placement;

(f)

for licenses added to an initial license, the program may determine the length of field experiences needed for each candidate to demonstrate program standards necessary to be recommended for an additional license as follows:

i.

the program must provide field experiences aligned to the scope of the licensure sought;

ii.

the length of field experience may vary depending on the prior academic preparation and experiences of each candidate; and

iii.

a written evaluation by a supervisor is required;

(g)

for middle-level endorsement fields, the program requires a student teaching period of a minimum of four continuous weeks, full time, face-to-face; and

(h)

applications for related services licensure programs under parts 8710.6000 to 8710.6400 must evidence the incorporation of a range of planned and supervised field experiences providing opportunities to demonstrate the required skills and knowledge of the candidate's specific field.

(5)

The application must provide evidence of the following faculty qualifications standards:

(a)

program faculty assigned to instruct and assess the subject matter content must have advanced academic preparation in the content;

(b)

all faculty who are assigned to teach content-specific methods courses must have advanced academic preparation and have at least one academic year of prekindergarten through grade 12 teaching experience in that content area within the scope of the license; and

(c)

all faculty who supervise student teaching must have advanced academic preparation and have at least one academic year of prekindergarten through grade 12 teaching experience. Teaching experience must be within the scope of the programs they are supervising.

(6)

The application must provide evidence of the following assessment processes standards:

(a)

a uniform, operational assessment system applied to all candidates with a minimum of three key assessments, including performance assessments, that are aligned to identified pedagogical and content standards under parts 8710.2000 to 8710.8080, used to determine candidates' attainment of standards and to monitor candidates' progress;

(b)

the assessment system collects data to monitor candidate progress at a minimum of three checkpoints, including entry, advancement through the program, and exit;

(c)

a plan to systematically collect, analyze, and use aggregated candidate competency data to evaluate program effectiveness and to make program improvements;

(d)

in preparation for seeking continuing program approval, the planned assessment system will provide candidate competency data for the following board-adopted performance assessment components:

i.

planning and assessment skills;

ii.

instructional skills and engaging students; and

iii.

ability to assess student learning;

(e)

a plan to systematically obtain and analyze feedback from graduates, employers, school partners, and other stakeholders on the performance of graduates for use in program evaluation; and

(f)

assessment of teacher candidate performance includes data about the performance of the students they teach.

Subp. 3.

Review process.

A.

RIPA applications will be initially reviewed by trained content experts and board staff according to timelines and consistent with standards adopted by the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board. If all standards are verified, the application will be recommended to the board for approval.

B.

If a program application does not meet all standards in the initial review, the findings will be returned to the applicant for clarification and resubmission.

C.

If, after the second review, any standards remain unmet, the application will be forwarded to the board's program review panel.

D.

The PRP will provide a review and make a recommendation to the board regarding whether the program application meets the standards. If the application is not approved by the board, an application for the same licensure area may not be submitted for a minimum of one year from the time of board action.

Subp. 4.

Approval decisions and duration.

A.

RIPA applications that are recommended by reviewers or the PRP shall receive approval for up to two years to launch the program and to begin to collect candidate and program efficacy data needed for continuing approval.

B.

A program with initial approval will submit reports for continuing approval on the same reporting cycle as the unit.

(1)

Continuing approval shall be granted when a program effectiveness report and data from a minimum of ten program completers is approved through the continuing approval reporting process.

(2)

If, after two years, the program has less than ten program completers, another two years of "initial approval" shall be granted. If, after four years of "initial approval," there are less than ten program completers, the board may act to provide continuing approval based on performance data and other information provided by the program or may grant approval with a continuous improvement focus under part 8705.2200, subpart 3, item C, subitem (2).

Statutory Authority:

MS s 122A.09

History:

39 SR 822; L 2017 1Sp5 art 12 s 22

Published Electronically:

August 21, 2017