Minnesota Administrative Rules

8710.0313 TIER 3 LICENSE.

Subpart 1.

Purpose.

A Tier 3 license must be issued to an applicant, consistent with this part, aligned to the scope and field of the applicant's training and experience. A Tier 3 license authorizes the license holder to teach within the specific licensure field for which board rules exist.

Subp. 2.

Requirements.

The board must issue a Tier 3 license if the applicant meets all of the requirements of this subpart.

A.

The applicant must:

(1)

hold the minimum of a bachelor's degree from a college or university located in the United States that is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission or by the regional association for accreditation of colleges and secondary schools, as verified by a college transcript;

(2)

hold a credential from outside the United States that is equivalent to a bachelor's degree, as verified by a credential evaluation completed by a credential evaluator approved by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services or other board-approved credential evaluation service; or

(3)

for applicants in career and technical education fields and career pathway courses of study, have one of the following:

(a)

five years of relevant work experience aligned to the licensure area sought;

(b)

an associate's degree aligned to the licensure area sought; or

(c)

a professional certification aligned to the licensure area sought from an approved certifying organization.

B.

The applicant must obtain passing scores on the board-approved pedagogy and content examinations aligned to the licensure area sought. Any licensure area that does not have a board-approved content examination is exempt from the content examination requirement.

C.

The applicant must show one of the following:

(1)

completion of a board-approved teacher preparation program aligned to the licensure area sought. The board must accept certifications for related services professionals under parts 8710.6000 to 8710.6400 in lieu of completion of a board-approved teacher preparation program;

(2)

completion of a preparation program approved in another state aligned to the licensure area sought that included field-specific student teaching equivalent to field-specific student teaching in Minnesota-approved teacher preparation programs. The applicant is exempt from field-specific student teaching if the applicant has at least two years of field-specific experience teaching as the teacher of record in the licensure area sought;

(3)

recommendation for licensure via portfolio application aligned to the licensure area sought;

(4)

holds or held a professional license from another state in good standing aligned to the licensure area sought with at least two years of experience teaching as the teacher of record in the state where the license is held aligned to the licensure area sought; or

(5)

has at least three years of experience teaching as the teacher of record aligned to the licensure area sought under a Tier 2 license and presents evidence of summative teacher evaluations that did not result in placing or otherwise keeping the teacher on an improvement process aligned to the district's teacher development and evaluation plan.

Subp. 3.

Duration.

A Tier 3 license is valid for up to three years and expires on June 30 of the expiration year.

Subp. 4.

Renewal.

A Tier 3 license may be renewed an unlimited number of times. To renew a Tier 3 license, the applicant must complete:

A.

mentorship and evaluation aligned to the district's teacher development and evaluation model under Minnesota Statutes, section 122A.40, subdivision 8, or 122A.41, subdivision 5; and

B.

board-approved licensure renewal requirements, including obtaining approval from the applicant's local continuing education/relicensure committee, under parts 8710.7100 and 8710.7200 and Minnesota Statutes, section, 122A.187, subdivision 3.

Subp. 5.

Restrictions and expansions.

A.

An applicant whose content training or experience does not align to a currently approved Minnesota license, but for which past rules have been adopted, and who meets all other requirements of subpart 2, must be issued a Tier 3 license restricted to the scope and licensure area of the applicant's content training or experience.

B.

Applicants with content training or experience within two grade levels of a currently approved Minnesota licensure scope must be granted the full scope of the Minnesota license.

C.

Upon request and at the time of application or renewal, a teacher who holds a Tier 3 license that is restricted or limited in scope must be granted the full scope of a currently approved Minnesota license when:

(1)

the teacher has two years of teaching experience in the content area within two grade levels of a currently approved Minnesota licensure scope;

(2)

the teacher has completed field-specific student teaching within two grade levels of a currently approved Minnesota licensure scope; or

(3)

the teacher has completed:

(a)

field-specific methods in a state-approved teacher preparation program aligned to the scope of the currently approved Minnesota license; and

(b)

an evaluated field experience aligned to the scope of the currently approved Minnesota license.

D.

Applicants who meet the requirements of subpart 2, items A and B, from a Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education accredited training center must be issued a Tier 3 license restricted to a Montessori setting and aligned to the scope of training.

Subp. 6.

Addition to Tier 3 license.

When a licensure area is added to a Tier 3 license issued under this part, the expiration date is the date previously established for the Tier 3 license in effect.

Subp. 7.

Middle level licenses.

A.

The board must issue a Tier 3 license to teach middle level communication arts and literature, mathematics, social studies, and general science, pursuant to parts 8710.3310 to 8710.3340, to an applicant who:

(1)

holds a professional license in another state aligned to the license sought and has two years of teaching experience; or

(2)

has completed a state-approved teacher preparation program aligned to the license sought that includes field-specific student teaching equivalent to field-specific student teaching in board-approved teacher preparation programs. The field-specific student teaching requirement does not apply to an applicant who has two years of teaching experience.

B.

The scope of the license shall not exceed grades 5 through 8.

If the applicant holds two or more professional licenses, the board may not issue a stand-alone middle level license.

Statutory Authority:

MS s 122A.09; 122A.092; 122A.18

History:

43 SR 463; 47 SR 986

Published Electronically:

August 31, 2023