5/15/2008

SBEC Update: ACP rule review in progress, certification is next

Dear TASPA members,

The SBEC board met this past Friday, May 9th to review and discuss progress made on the rules governing ACP programs (chapter 227 and 288) of Title 19 part 7 of the Texas Administrative Code (TAC).   Most of the proposed changes are intended to reduce the disparity of preparedness of interns by  certification program currently reported by ISDs (some ACPs and universities produce "classroom-ready" teachers, while other ACPs and universities do not).  The review of these two chapters is in the public input phase through SBEC (that is, changes have not been formally proposed and filed with the Texas Register).  The rules linked below are still being revised and will be presented to the SBEC Board once more at their Friday, July 25 Board meeting. You can view the SBEC rule-making process here.   The next chapter to be reviewed, with a stakeholder meeting to be held in early June is Chapter 230 Professional Educator Preparation And Certification.

 Below are links to the current rules for chapters 227 and 288, and to the proposed rule changes, as well as bullets of the main changes in summative form.  Please read through the proposed changes on both chapters and send feedback on the changes you support or oppose, or other suggestions you might have that are applicable to these two chapters, to Dr. Karen Loonam at SBEC at Karen.Loonam@tea.state.tx.us .  Please copy TASPA on your feedback at amartin@taspa.org so we are aware of the views of our members. Please use "Feedback on revisions to Ch 227 &  228" in your subject line.

SUMMARY/HIGHLIGHTS OF PROPOSED CHANGES:

Chapter 227, Provisions for Educator Preparation Students

This chapter deals with the requirements for candidates who wish to enter into the teaching profession.  The rules currently in place are minimal and very general, and do not include any basic standards to which all candidates and programs are held.  In the proposed revisions to chapter 227 (starting on p.8 of the PDF in the link), there are some standards that apply to all candidates regardless of certification route, and there is  differentiation for other  items where reasonable, to acknowledge student and program differences between university undergraduate programs and ACP and post-Bac programs (such as requiring a conferred bachelor's degree as an entry requirement only for post-bac and ACP programs).

Highlights:

  • Requiring a GPA of 2.5 (C+ letter grade) for all certification candidates (all routes). An exception was added in a separate handout that would allow up to 10% of an ACP cohort to not meet the GPA requirement, provided the program director of the ACP documents and certifies that the individual's work, business, or career experience demonstrates comparable achievement to the GPA requirement. 

  • Requires a minimum of 12 hours in the content area for all certification candidates regardless of route, or a passing score on an SBEC-approved content test.

  • For initial certification, requiring a basic skills test

  • Demonstrate critical thinking skills (measured by a test)

  • Allows exceptions for Career and Technology education cert.

  • Allows for contingency admission into an ACP program

  • Teach for Texas Pilot program is eliminated from rule, as it is not being used.

Pending Issues:

  • Candidates are not allowed to take the content test until they have been accepted into a program.  ACPs generally do not train candidates in the content area, and if not met the GPA, candidates are required to prove mastery by passing an additional different content test prior to program admission.
  • 12 hours in the content area will pose difficulties for native speakers who want to teach foreign languages who might not have had hours of coursework in the language as a subject.
  • Requirement of basic skills test taken in the past 5 years may reduce the candidate pool of people with life experience and higher degrees in the subject.

Chapter 228, Requirements for Educator Preparation Programs

This chapter deals with the requirements for the approval, operation,  and expansion of the educator preparation programs.  The rules currently in place do not define or specify details of program operations or renewal, and do not have minimum requirements for program design (e.g., hours of preservice and overall instruction, nature of content covered, hours of field experience prior to assignment).  The proposed revisions to chapter 228 (starting on page 9 of the link) include the items listed below.

Highlights:

  • Requires that all programs provide a minimum of 300 clock-hours (7.5  40-hr weeks) of coursework and/or training that include:
          A) 30 clock hours of  field-based experience prior to internship or student teaching*
          B) 80 clock hours of pre-service training prior to internship or student teaching*
          C) 6 clock hours of test preparation
    * late hires (hired after July 1 of the summer before the school year starts) are allowed to meet A and B by the end of the first semester.
  • Refines Field-based experiences definition to clarify they are face-to-face with EC-12 students, teachers, staff in a school setting.
  • In a separate handout given at the board meeting, defines a late hire as an individual hired after July 1. 
  • Requires entities to reapply for continuation of operations every 10 years
  • Allows only programs with an "accredited" status to request additional certificate fields, and these must be approved by TEA.  A program accredited to certify people in math, for example, can't just add science or other fields without proving to TEA they have the capacity to do so with the same rigor as their initial subject(s).
  • Programs cannot expand to other geographical areas without prior SBEC approval.  Some programs were approved for one city, and without official approval or review by SBEC are now operating in several cities.
  • Specifies the curriculum to be covered (page 13 of the link above)
  • Campus mentors and cooperating teachers are required for internship year and student teaching respectively.  In a separate handout given at the Board meeting, language was removed that required the program to ensure that  mentors be adequately compensated for the services provided.

Pending Issues:

  • While collaboration with ISDs is encouraged, there is no formal requirement for programs to collect and address "consumer" evaluations from the  ISDs that hire their graduates regarding the classroom readiness of the teachers from their programs.
  • Candidates are not allowed to take the content test until they have been accepted into a program, and it would be helpful to the programs, the ISDs, and entities like troops to teachers if candidates were allowed to test the content area early on. This allows for targeted remediation if needed and for the candidate to move forward if the test score is satisfactory.
  • Issues remain regarding the disparity in programs that pay mentors vs. those that don't, as well as the amounts of the stipend by entity.

Please send your feedback on the changes you support or oppose, or other suggestions you might have that are applicable to these two chapters, to Dr. Karen Loonam at SBEC at Karen.Loonam@tea.state.tx.us .  Please copy TASPA on your feedback at amartin@taspa.org so we are aware of the views of our members. Please use "Feedback on revisions to Ch 227 &  228" in your subject line.

I will keep you informed of the upcoming stakeholders' meeting regarding chapter 230, which deals with certification requirements and assignment criteria.

best,

alex

Dr. Alejandra (Alex) Martin

Executive Director

TASPA

406 East 11th Street

Austin, TX 78701

Tel (512) 494-9353

Fax (512) 494-9354

amartin@taspa.org

http://taspa.org

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