R277-504-4. Early Childhood Education (K-3) and Elementary (K-6) License Areas

  (1) The Board may approve the Early Childhood Education (K-3), Elementary (K-6), or Elementary (1-8) teacher preparation program of an institution if the program:

  (a) is aligned with:

  (i) the 2010 National Association for the Education of Young Children Standards for Initial and Advanced Early Childhood Professional Preparation Programs; or

  (ii) the 2007 Association for Childhood Education International Standards for Elementary Level Teacher Preparation, as appropriate;

  (b) requires study and experiences which provide appropriate content knowledge needed to teach:

  (i) literacy including listening, speaking, writing, and reading;

  (ii) mathematics;

  (iii) physical and life science;

  (iv) health and physical education;

  (v) social studies; and

  (vi) fine arts; and

  (c) includes coursework specifically designed to prepare teachers:

  (i) in the science of reading instruction including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension;

  (ii) in the science of mathematics instruction including quantitative reasoning, problem solving, representation, and numeracy;

  (iii) with the technical skills to utilize common education technology;

  (iv) to integrate technology to support and meaningfully supplement the learning of students;

  (v) to facilitate student use of software for personalized learning;

  (vi) to teach effectively in traditional, online-only, and blended classrooms;

  (vii) to design, administer, and review educational assessments in a meaningful and ethical manner;

  (viii) in early childhood development and learning, if it is an Early Childhood Education (K-3), or Elementary (K-6); and

  (ix) in a specific content area resulting in an endorsement added to the license area, if it is an Elementary (1-8) program.

  (2) The program shall apply the standards to the specific age group or grade level for which the program of preparation is designed.

  (a) An Early Childhood Education (K-3) program shall focus primarily on early childhood development and learning.

  (b) An Elementary (K-6) program shall include both early childhood development and learning and elementary content and pedagogy.

  (c) An Elementary (1-8) program shall focus primarily on elementary content and pedagogy.

  (3) A teacher holding an Elementary (1-8) license area may earn an Early Childhood (K-3) license area by completing specific coursework requirements established by the Superintendent.

  (4) An Elementary (1-8) license permits the teacher to teach in any academic area in self-contained classes in grades 1-8.

  (5) An Elementary (1-8) license permits the teacher to teach specific content courses at the 7th or 8th grade level only if the teacher's license includes the appropriate endorsement.