Relating to teacher education and licensing, including by modifying provisions related to practitioner preparation programs and licenses issued by the board of educational examiners

The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. This bill relates to teacher education and licensing, including by modifying provisions related to practitioner preparation programs and licenses issued by the board of educational examiners (BOEE). Beginning July 1, 2027, the bill requires higher education institutions providing practitioner preparation to include clinical experiences and preparation to prepare students admitted to a practitioner preparation program to serve students with disabilities and English learners. The rules adopted by the state board pursuant to this provision must prescribe practicum and clinical experience standards for practitioner preparation programs related to serving students with disabilities and English learners. Clinical experiences for all students are required to include a minimum of 15 practicum hours focused on differentiation of instruction and support for special populations. Meanwhile, clinical experiences for students who are seeking an endorsement in English learner instruction must include a minimum of 40 practicum hours, inclusive of methods of teaching English to English learners in both elementary and secondary school settings. The bill requires the department of education (DE) to establish a process to review and provide ongoing support for the adoption and implementation of standards for preparation of teacher and administrator candidates in serving students with disabilities and English learners. Beginning July 1, 2027, the bill requires higher education institutions providing practitioner preparation to administer prior to a student’s completion of the practitioner preparation program a summative end-of-program assessment that is designed to measure the student’s preparation in content areas that are required for the endorsement area in which the student will be teaching, and that was distributed to the higher education institution by DE pursuant to the bill’s provisions. The bill requires DE to, on or before July 1, 2027, identify and distribute to all higher education institutions providing practitioner preparation a summative end-of-program assessment required for each endorsement area. If DE creates a new endorsement area after July 1, 2027, the bill requires DE to identify and distribute to all higher education institutions providing practitioner preparation a summative end-of-program assessment required for the new endorsement area. DE is required to set the minimum score for each summative end-of-program assessment that will be used to determine mastery of content by a student enrolled in a practitioner preparation program. Higher education institutions are required to report to DE information related to the scores attained by students on the summative end-of-program assessment. Beginning August 1, 2028, the bill requires DE to publish on the DE’s internet site passage rates attained by students on the summative end-of-program assessment, information related to efforts DE has made to support the higher education institutions in certain specified areas, and examples of program remediation and assessment plans that higher education institutions have provided to students who scored below the minimum score set by DE. BOEE is required to adopt rules requiring an individual who has applied to a school to teach in a special education setting to complete a self-paced course created by DE as a condition of awarding the individual a class B license or a conditional license.