The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
Proposed Amendments to 603 CMR 7.00 - Regulations for Educator Licensure and Preparation Program Approval (Professional Standards for Teachers)
I am presenting to the Board this month proposed amendments to 603 CMR 7.00, the Regulations for Educator Licensure and Preparation Program Approval, for initial discussion and a vote to solicit public comment. The proposed amendments would update the Professional Standards for Teachers, to align them with the standards in other educator effectiveness initiatives such as the Educator Evaluation Framework and Curriculum Frameworks. With the Board's approval, we will solicit public comment on the proposed revisions to the regulations and bring them to the Board for a final vote in January 2014.
The approach we are taking here is similar to the action the Board took in December 2011. At that time, the Board approved revisions to the regulations relating to Professional Standards for Administrative Leadership, to align them with the standards in the Educator Evaluation Framework and create consistent expectations for administrators from pre-service to practice. With the proposed revisions to the Professional Standards for Teachers I am presenting this month, we would align the standards for the teaching profession and create consistent expectations for teachers from pre-service to practice. Through the Board's leadership and with support from funds through Race to the Top and the Teacher Incentive Fund, we are building a comprehensive system that supports educator development across the career continuum.
These proposed amendments to the Regulations on Educator Licensure and Preparation Program Approval, 603 CMR 7.00, are intended to do the following:
- Align the licensure standards for teachers with the standards for teacher evaluation that the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approved in June 2011;
- Align the licensure standards for library teachers to the licensure standards for all other teachers, based on the Educator Evaluation Framework; and
- Streamline the licensure regulations by including only the teacher standards and publishing more detailed indicators for each standard in guidelines (except for the indicators for Sheltered English Immersion, which will be retained in the regulations).
I am recommending that the licensure standards for teachers in 603 CMR 7.00, be identical to the four evaluation standards for teachers in the Educator Evaluation Regulations (603 CMR 35.03) the Board adopted in June 2011. This change would mean the standards for teachers entering the profession (preparation and licensure under 603 CMR 7.00) would be the same as the standards by which teachers will be evaluated on the job (educator evaluation under 603 CMR 35.00), thereby establishing a clear connection from pre-service preparation to in-service practice.
I am also recommending that the Department publish the detailed indicators for each standard in guidelines, rather than including them in the regulations. This approach mirrors our system for administrator licensure. It would streamline the regulations and enable the Department to update the guidelines periodically based on research and best practices, in consultation with the field, including higher education, and other state and national experts. As part of a recent award from the Council of Chief State School Officers' (CCSSO) State Consortium on Educator Effectiveness, we are participating with seven other states in the Network for Transforming Educator Preparation (NTEP). We are collaborating with the Department of Higher Education on the NTEP Massachusetts Implementation Plan, which includes these regulation revisions.
The indicators for each professional standard will be based on the "Indicators of Effective Teaching Practice", in the Educator Evaluation Regulations. We will work with stakeholders and expect to have the indicators ready for public comment in June 2014. The indicators will outline expectations for teacher preparation programs in the Commonwealth. The Department will provide information and technical assistance to teacher preparation programs as they align their programs to the new Professional Standards for Teachers.
Proposed amendments are indicated by underline (new language) or strikethrough (deleted language). Sections of the regulations that are not being changed are omitted. For the complete text of the current Regulations for Educator Licensure and Preparation Program Approval, 603 CMR 7.00.
Alan Ingram, Deputy Commissioner; Heather Peske, Associate Commissioner for Educator Quality; Liz Losee, Assistant Director of the Office of Educator Policy Preparation and Leadership; and Attorney Debra Comfort of our legal staff will be present at the Board meeting to answer your questions.
With the Board's approval, we will solicit public comment on the proposed amendments to the regulations. We plan to bring them back to the Board for final action in January 2014. We believe these proposed changes will help to advance the goal of having highly effective teachers in every school and district throughout the Commonwealth.
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