La. Admin. Code tit. 28 § XLV-303

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section XLV-303 - Initial Approval [Formerly Section 203]

A. Initial approval is granted upon approval by BESE and, when applicable, BOR, through submission of a proposal to the LDE.

B. University and non-university providers seeking approval to offer a teacher preparation program, educational leader preparation program, or add-on certification program shall demonstrate eligibility by providing, at a minimum:

1. official declaration of intent in the form of a letter from the head of the institution or organization;

2. evidence of regional accreditation status (e.g., Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) for universities only;

3. evidence that the faculty who teach courses or provide direct coaching to teacher or educational leader candidates possess sufficient knowledge, skills, training, and expertise;

4. evidence to show that the governing structure of the institution or organization endorses and financially supports a teacher preparation program, educational leader preparation, or add-on programs (e.g., full budget report for the implementation of programs, including internal and external sources of funding, and including both hard and soft monies);

5. evidence of an articulation agreement to transfer credit hours with another Louisiana-approved teacher or educational leader preparation institution that agrees to recommend the institution's candidates for certification, as needed, for continuous progress and program completion or, for non-university providers, a plan to make students financially whole in the event of institution or program closure;

6. a description of the provider's system for monitoring and evaluating its candidates, programs, operations, and the performance of its graduates. This description must reflect how the education unit or education program assesses programs, effectiveness, and candidates as well as how the provider provides follow-up data on its graduates;

7. if the provider is currently operating or has operated in Louisiana or any other state, evidence of program completer's teaching and/or leading effectiveness, including but not limited to principal survey results, state accountability system and evaluation results, and local assessment or evaluation results.

C. In order to be recommended for BESE approval, teacher preparation programs must, at minimum:

1. be designed to develop and ensure candidates'mastery of the teacher preparation competencies, educational leader competencies, and/or requirements for existing certificate endorsements required for certification. The program design must center on courses and practice experiences that integrate content, theory, and practice; expressly treat current Louisiana student standards and instructional resources; and require candidates to demonstrate mastery of required competencies or requirements through a series of performance assessments and tasks:

a. in undergraduate programs offered by university providers, descriptions of coursework must include evidence of ample opportunity to develop content area mastery, instruments for assessing candidates'content knowledge, and procedures for remediation, if necessary. For the purposes of initial approval, an academic major in the content area for secondary certification areas may be considered evidence of "ample opportunity;"

b. in post-baccalaureate programs offered by university and non-university providers, descriptions of coursework or contact hours must include instruments for assessing candidates'content knowledge for teaching and/or leading, and procedures for remediation, if necessary;

c. in add-on certification programs offered by nonuniversity providers, descriptions of coursework and contract hours must include instruments for assessing candidate content knowledge, include procedures for addressing unfinished learning, and align with the requirements to add endorsements to existing certificates, which are found in Part CXXI, Bulletin 746 - Louisiana Standards for State Certification of School Personnel;

2. pursuant to R.S. 17:7.1.4(a)(b), teacher preparation programs shall include the minimum number of credit hours or equivalent contact hours in the teaching of reading and literacy as follows. The required courses or training shall:

a. develop and assess candidate mastery of applicable literacy competencies, which are found in Part CXXXI, Bulletin 746 - Louisiana Standards for State Certification of School Personnel;

b. systematically and explicitly address the foundational literacy skills of phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Each course shall, at a minimum, integrate:

i. how to effectively teach the foundational literacy skills of phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension;

ii. how to differentiate instruction for teaching students with advanced literacy skills and students with significant literacy deficiencies, including dyslexia;

iii. how to implement effective literacy instruction using high-quality instructional materials;

iv. how to administer literacy assessments to students and use the resulting data to improve literacy instruction for students;

c. systematically and explicitly address behavior management, trauma-informed principles and practices for the classroom, and other developmentally appropriate supports to ensure that students can effectively access literacy instruction.

3. include required practice experiences for teacher preparation, including, at minimum, a one-year supervised residency in a school setting. In addition to the one-year residency, the candidate must be provided actual practice experience in classroom settings within schools with varied socioeconomic characteristics. The requirements for the one-year residency and for required practice experiences for undergraduate and post-baccalaureate preparation programs are described in detail in Chapter 7 of this bulletin. Evidence of quality must include, but is not limited to, the provider's commitment to:

a. recruit, develop, and evaluate clinical faculty who model effective practical teaching knowledge and skills; and

b. ensure alignment of program faculty, residency school site administrator, and residency school site mentor teacher expectations for candidate's development and performance;

4. be jointly developed and administered in partnership with one or more local educational agencies in which candidates complete the one-year residency. Evidence of partnership shall include, but not be limited to, a formal agreement, such as a memorandum of understanding or memorandum of agreement, that includes:

a. roles of and responsibilities of program faculty, LEA leaders, residency school site administrators, and/or residency school site mentor teachers;

b. criteria and process for residency school site selection, development, and evaluation of effectiveness, to occur in concert with LEA leadership;

c. targets, criteria, and process for mentor teacher recruitment, development, and evaluation, to occur in concert with LEA leadership;

d. protocols for administering assessments of candidates teaching skill in cooperation with the residency school site administrator or his/her designee during the one-year residency and in general alignment with the partner LEA's teacher evaluation system pursuant to the requirements in teacher preparation/certification/evaluation, Bulletin 130 - Regulations for the Evaluation and Assessment of School Personnel; and

e. protocols for the secure exchange of data relative to program improvement and evaluation.

D. The LDE shall utilize evaluation tools to conduct qualitative assessments of teacher and/or educational leader proposals to make initial approval recommendations. The evaluation tools must align to the requirements set forth in this bulletin, including, but not limited, to Louisiana state standards for teacher preparation outlined in Chapter 1 of this bulletin.

E. Upon receipt, teacher, early childhood ancillary certificate program, and/or educational leader proposals will undergo a preliminary review by the LDE for completeness. Proposals that are determined to be complete and meet all initial submission requirements will undergo an evaluation process conducted by a panel of reviewers. Proposals that do not meet all initial submission requirements will receive a notice of pending denial. Providers must provide the required material within seven days. If providers do not provide the required material, the proposal will be denied. Proposals may be resubmitted no sooner than one calendar year following denied applications at two consecutive approval cycles.

F. Teacher, early childhood ancillary certificate program, and/or educational leader proposals that meet all initial submission requirements will be evaluated by a panel of reviewers. The panel will include at least one external reviewer. An external reviewer may serve as a preparation program administrator, a preparation program faculty member, or a current or former K-12 educator or leader. The panel will evaluate each proposal using an evaluation tool that was reviewed by representatives from LDE and BOR and will evaluate the proposal to ensure the proposal meets professional, state, and, when applicable, national standards for quality and state certification policy. The panel's evaluation will include an interview with the provider and at least one partner LEA. The panel may interview additional representatives of the provider and LEA partner organizations.

G. The result of the evaluation will be sent by the LDE to the teacher, early childhood ancillary certificate program, and/or educational leader provider. A proposal that fully meets all structural and policy requirements according to the program proposal guidelines will be recommended for BESE approval at the next scheduled BESE meeting. A proposal that is not recommended by the LDE for approval because it does not meet the policy or structural requirements according to the program proposal guidelines may be resubmitted to the LDE for reconsideration no sooner than one calendar year following the date of initial submission to the LDE. Proposals that are not recommended for approval a second time, or are recommended for approval by the LDE but not approved by BESE, may be resubmitted to the LDE for reconsideration no sooner than two calendar years following the date of resubmission to the LDE.

H. BESE will notify the point of contact listed in the proposal submitted by the teacher, early childhood ancillary certificate program, and/or educational leader providers of the decision. Notification will be sent in writing via U.S. mail.

1. Once BESE has granted initial approval of the proposed program, the provider is authorized to admit candidates to the program and recommend program completers for certification. Providers subject to BOR regulations shall gain BOR approval prior to admitting candidates to the program.

2. If BESE does not grant initial approval of the proposed program, the teacher, early childhood ancillary certificate program, or educational leader provider is eligible to resubmit the proposal. Proposals may be resubmitted no sooner than one calendar year following denied applications at two consecutive approval cycles.

I. Teacher, early childhood ancillary certificate program, and/or educational leader proposals for initial approval will be accepted and considered by BESE twice per year. Application timelines will be established and published annually one year in advance of the notice of intent deadline for the first application cycle.

J. Approved teacher, early childhood ancillary certificate program, and/or educational leader preparation providers seeking approval to pilot innovative approaches to training teacher and/or educational leader candidates must request BESE approval to pilot such approaches and recommend certification of candidates upon completion of the program.

K. BESE may rescind program approval if the teacher, early childhood ancillary certificate program, and/or educational leader preparation program has been found to be or has been operating outside of the teacher preparation program requirements outlined in this Chapter and in LAC 28:CXXXI, Bulletin 746-Louisiana Standards for State Certification of School Personnel.

L. Providers seeking approval to offer a mentor teacher or content leader training program must submit:

1. a proposal from the director of the institution or organization that outlines the training design, coursework, and a system for evaluating the quality of training content, delivery, and operations, including analysis of the performance of participants;

2. evidence to show that the governing authority of the institution or organization endorses and financially supports mentor teacher or content leader training;

3. a full budget report for the implementation of training, including internal and external sources of funding:

a. university-based BESE-approved teacher preparation providers are exempt from this requirement;

4. evidence that the training program, if offered as a university course, will be offered for graduate credit; and

5. any additional information required by the state superintendent of education.

M. Mentor teacher and content leader training proposals will be accepted by the LDE and considered at least twice per year by BESE, beginning in the fall of 2019.

N. The LDE will review applications from providers to offer mentor teacher or content leader training. The state superintendent will provide a recommendation for the board's consideration for each complete application received. Upon approval by BESE, the provider may begin admitting candidates to the mentor teacher or content leader training program.

O. Candidates completing training programs from providers or programs not approved by BESE in accordance with this Section will not qualify to receive an ancillary certificate as a mentor teacher or content leader in accordance with LAC 28:CXXXI (Bulletin 746).

La. Admin. Code tit. 28, § XLV-303

Promulgated by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, LR 30:2453 (November 2004), amended LR 35:2327 (November 2009), LR 37:561 (February 2011), Amended LR 432486 (12/1/2017), Amended LR 45228 (2/1/2019), Amended LR 45902 (7/1/2019), Repromulgated by LR 46891 (7/1/2020), Amended LR 481757 (7/1/2022), Amended LR 50675 (5/1/2024).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 17:6(10), 17:7(6), and 17:7.2.