R277-301. Educator Licensing, R277. Education, Administration, Utah Administrative Code

Utah Administrative Code (Current through November 1, 2019)

R277. Education, Administration

R277-301. Educator Licensing

R277-301-1. Authority and Purpose

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(1) This rule is authorized by:

(a) Utah Constitution Article X, Section 3, which vests general control and supervision over public education in the Board;

(b) Subsection 53E-3-401(4), which allows the Board to make rules to execute the Board's duties and responsibilities under the Utah Constitution and state law; and

(2) This rule specifies the types of licenses and license areas of concentration available and the requirements and procedures for obtaining a license, required for employment as a licensed educator in the public schools of Utah.

R277-301-2. Definitions

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(1) "Accredited school" means a public or private school that:

(a) meets standards essential for the operation of a quality school program; and

(b) has received formal approval through a regional accrediting association.

(2) "Comprehensive Administration of Credentials for Teachers in Utah Schools" or "CACTUS" means the electronic file maintained on all licensed Utah educators including information such as:

(a) personal directory information;

(b) educational background;

(d) employment history; and

(e) a record of disciplinary action taken against the educator.

(3) "Educator preparation program" means the same as that term is defined in R277-303-2.

(4) "Endorsement" means a designation on a license area of concentration earned through demonstrating required competencies established by the Superintendent that qualifies the individual to:

(a) provide instruction in a specific content area; or

(b) apply a specific set of skills in an education setting.

(5) "LEA" includes, for purposes of this rule, the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.

(6)(a) "License areas of concentration" or "license area" means a designation on a license of the specific educational setting or role for which the individual is qualified, to include the following:

(i) Early Childhood;

(ii) Elementary;

(iv) Secondary;

(v) Educational Leadership

(vi) Career and Technical Education or "CTE";

(vii) School Counselor;

(viii) School Psychologist;

(ix) Special Education;

(x) Preschool Special Education;

(xi) Deaf Education;

(xii) Speech-Language Pathologist;

(xiii) Speech-Language Technician;

(xiv) School Social Worker; and

(xv) Communication Disorders.

(7) "Licensing Jurisdiction" means the designated educator licensing authority in any foreign country or state of the United States of America and the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA).

(8) "Renewal" means reissuing or extending the length of a license consistent with R277-500.

R277-301-3. License Structure

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(1) Utah educator licenses include the following licenses:

(a) Associate educator license;

(b) Professional educator license; and

(2) All new Utah educator licenses shall include general, content knowledge, and pedagogical requirements.

(3) The Superintendent may only issue a single active Utah educator license to an individual.

(4) An educator license shall include at least one area of concentration.

(5) License areas of concentration and endorsements shall have a designation of:

(a) associate;

(b) professional; or

(6) An associate educator license may only include associate or LEA-specific license areas of concentration and endorsements.

(7) An LEA-specific educator license may only include LEA-specific license areas of concentration and endorsements.

(8) The Superintendent may establish deadlines and uniform forms and procedures for all aspects of licensing.

(9) The Superintendent shall review, adopt, and establish passing standards for all assessments required for educator licensing.

(10)(a) All licenses expire on June 30 of the year of expiration and may be renewed any time after January 1 of the same year.

(b) Responsibility for license renewal rests solely with the licensee.

R277-301-4. Associate Educator License Requirements

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(1) The Superintendent shall issue an associate educator license to an individual that applies for the license and that meets all requirements in this Section R277-301-4.

(2) An associate educator license, license area, or endorsement is valid for two years.

(3) The Superintendent may only renew an associate educator license if:

(a) the individual has less than two years of experience in a Utah public or accredited private school; or

(b) the individual is employed by a Utah public or accredited private school and the employer has requested a one year extension of the license.

(4) The general requirements for an associate educator license shall include:

(a) completion of a criminal background check including review of any criminal offenses and clearance in accordance with Rule R277-214;

(b) completion of the educator ethics review described in R277-500 within one calendar year prior to the application; and

(i) a bachelor's degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution;

(ii) current enrollment in a university-based Board-approved educator preparation program that will result in a bachelor's degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution; or

(iii) skill certification in a specific CTE area as established by the Superintendent.

(5) The content knowledge requirements for an associate educator license shall include:

(a) for an elementary license area, passage of an elementary content knowledge test, approved by the Superintendent, that distinctly measures content in:

(i) mathematics;

(ii) reading/language arts;

(iii) social studies; and

(iv) science;

(b) for a secondary or CTE license area with a content endorsement, one of the following:

(i) passage of a content knowledge test approved by the Superintendent, where available;

(ii) a bachelor's degree or higher with a major in the content area from a regionally accredited university; or

(iii) enrollment in a program that will result in a degree described in Subsection (5)(b)(ii); and

(6) Additional requirements for an associate educator license shall include:

(a) successful completion of professional learning modules created or approved by the Superintendent in:

(i) educator ethics;

(ii) classroom management and instruction;

(iii) basic special education law and instruction;

(iv) the Utah Effective Teaching Standards described in R277-530; or

(b) enrollment in a university-based Board-approved educator preparation program.

(7) An individual holding a professional educator license may receive an associate license area or endorsement in additional areas if all the requirements of this section are met.

(8) A license applicant who has received or completed license preparation activities inconsistent with this rule may present compelling information and documentation for review and approval by the Superintendent to satisfy the associate educator license requirements.

(9) The Superintendent shall designate a panel of at least three Board staff members to review an appeal made under subsection (8).

(10) An LEA that employs an individual that holds an associate educator license shall develop a personalized professional learning plan designed to support the educator in meeting the requirements for a professional educator license no later than 60 days after beginning work in the classroom, which shall:

(a) be provided to the Superintendent upon request;

(b) include a formal discussion and observation process no later than 30 days after beginning work in the classroom; and

(i) previous education related experience; and

(ii) previous educational preparation activities.

(11) An educator with an associate educator license may upgrade to a professional educator license at any time prior to expiration of the associate educator license if the educator meets all requirements of Section R277-301-5.

R277-301-5. Professional Educator License Requirements

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(1) The Superintendent shall issue a professional educator license to an individual that applies for the license and meets all requirements in this Section R277-301-6.

(2) A professional educator license, license area, or endorsement is valid for five years.

(3) The general requirements for a professional educator license shall include:

(a) all general requirements for an associate educator license under Subsection R277-301-5(4);

(b) completion of:

(i) a bachelor's degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution; or

(ii) skill certification in a specific CTE area as established by the Superintendent; and

(i) a recommendation from a Board-approved educator preparation program; or

(ii) a standard educator license in the area issued by a licensing jurisdiction outside of Utah that is currently valid or is renewable consistent with Section 53E-6-307.

(4) The content knowledge requirements for a professional educator license shall include:

(a) all content knowledge requirements for an associate educator license under Subsection R277-301-4(5); and

(b) demonstration of all content knowledge competencies as established by the Superintendent.

(5) The pedagogical requirements for professional educator license shall include:

(a) demonstration of all pedagogical competencies as established by the Superintendent; and

(b) when applicable to the license area, passage of a pedagogical performance assessment meeting standards:

(i) established by the Superintendent; and

(ii) approved by the Board.

(6) An individual holding a Utah level 1, level 2, or level 3 educator license on January 1, 2020 is considered to have met the pedagogical requirements described in Subsection (5).

(7) An individual holding a Utah level - APT educator license that is employed by a Utah LEA and an individual enrolled in ARL or a university-based Board-approved educator preparation program on January 1, 2020 may meet the content knowledge and pedagogical requirements described in this Section R277-301-6 by completing all requirements of the applicable program.

(8) An individual holding a Utah professional educator license and license area in early childhood education, elementary, secondary, CTE, special education, or deaf education is considered to have met the pedagogical performance assessment requirement of Subsection (5)(b) if applying to add any of the license areas in the subsection.

(9) A license applicant who has received or completed license preparation activities inconsistent with this rule may present compelling information and documentation for review and approval or denial by the Superintendent to satisfy the professional educator license requirements.

(10) The Superintendent shall designate a panel of at least three individuals, including at least two Board licensed educators not employed by the Board, to review an appeal and make a recommendation to the Superintendent for the Superintendent's review and decision described in Subsection (9).

R277-301-6. Educator Licenses Issued by Licensing Jurisdictions Outside of Utah

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(1) The Superintendent shall review applications for a Utah educator license for individuals holding educator licenses issued by licensing jurisdictions outside of Utah to determine if the applicant has met the requirements for a Utah license under this rule.

(2) The Superintendent shall accept scores from an applicant that meet the Utah standard for passing on assessments from licensing jurisdictions outside of Utah that utilize the same assessment as Utah as meeting the requirements of this rule.

(3) The Superintendent shall accept scores from an applicant on reasonably equivalent content knowledge or pedagogical performance assessments utilized by licensing jurisdictions outside of Utah that meet the passing standard of that jurisdiction as meeting the requirements of this rule.

(4) The Superintendent shall accept demonstrations of content knowledge and pedagogical competencies from an applicant utilized by licensing jurisdictions outside of Utah that are reasonably equivalent to Utah competencies.

(5) Individuals with 4 or more years of successful experience in a public or accredited private school under a standard license issued by another jurisdiction shall be considered to have met both the content knowledge and pedagogical assessment requirements in the areas and subjects taught.

R277-301-7. LEA-specific Educator License Requirements

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(1) The Superintendent may issue an LEA-specific educator license to a candidate if:

(a) the LEA requesting the LEA-specific educator license has an adopted policy, posted on the LEA's website, which includes:

(i) educator preparation and support:

(A) as established by the LEA; and

(B) aligned with the Utah Effective Teaching Standards described in R277-530;

(ii) criteria for employing educators with an LEA-specific license; and

(iii) compliance with all requirements of this Rule R277-301;

(b) an LEA governing board applies on behalf of the the candidate

(d) within the first year of employment, the LEA trains the candidate on:

(i) educator ethics;

(ii) classroom management and instruction;

(iii) basic special education law and instruction; and

(iv) the Utah Effective Teaching Standards described in R277-530.

(2)(a) Except as provided in Subsection (2)(b), an LEA governing board may request an LEA-specific educator license for a license area described in Subsection R277-301-2(6).

(b) An LEA may not request an LEA-specific educator license for a license area in:

(i) Special Education; or

(ii) Preschool Special Education.

(3) An LEA-specific license, license area, or endorsement is valid only within the requesting LEA.

(4) An LEA-specific license, license area, or endorsement is valid for one, two, or three years in accordance with the LEA governing board's application.

(5) The first renewal of an LEA-specific educator license, license area, or endorsement shall be approved or denied by the Board.

(6) The Board may require that subsequent renewals be approved by the Board on a case by case basis.

(7) An LEA-specific license expires immediately if the educator's employment with the LEA that requested the license ends.

(8) The general requirements for an LEA-specific educator license shall include:

(a) completion of a criminal background check including review of any criminal offenses and clearance in accordance with Rule R277-214;

(b) completion of the educator ethics review described in Rule R277-500 within one calendar year prior to the application; and

(c) approval of the request by the LEA governing board in a public meeting no more than 60 days prior to the application, which includes the LEA's rationale for the request.

(9) The content knowledge and pedagogical requirements for an LEA-specific educator license shall be established by the LEA governing board.

R277-301-8. Requirements for LEAs

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(1) An LEA shall provide a mentoring program that provides a trained mentor educator and annual mentoring plan:

(a) for educators holding an associate educator license;

(b) for at least two years for LEA-specific educator license holders; and

(2) A trained mentor educator under Subsection (1) shall hold a professional educator license and shall, where possible:

(a) perform substantially the same duties as the educator with release time to work as a mentor; or

(b) be assigned as an instructional coach or equivalent position.

(3) A trained mentor educator under Subsection (1) shall assist the educator to meet the Utah Effective Educator Standards established in Rule R277-530, but may not serve as an evaluator of the educator.

(4) A mentoring program under Subsection (1) shall include:

(a) a formal professional learning plan and LEA support in meeting the requirements of a professional license area; and

(b) if the educator holds an LEA-specific educator license, on-going training on educator ethics and special education.

(5) An LEA school that requests LEA-specific licenses, license areas, or endorsements shall prominently post the following information on each school's website:

(a) disclosure of the fact that the school employs individuals holding LEA-specific educator licenses, license areas, or endorsements;

(b) the percentage of the types of licenses, license areas, and endorsements held by educators employed in the school based on the employees' FTE in CACTUS; and

R277-301-9. Superintendent Annual Report to the Board

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The Superintendent shall annually report to the Board on licensing, including:

(1) educator licensing;

(2) educator preparation; and

(3) equitable distribution of teachers.

R277-301-10. Effective Date

Latest version.

(1) This rule will be effective beginning January 1, 2020.

(2) This rule will supersede Rule R277-502 on January 1, 2020.