Informal Review Toolkit

Overview

The Informal Review is the method by which existing sponsoring organizations put new programs forward for approval outside of the Formal Review cycle. It is also the method by which organizations wishing to prepare educators in Massachusetts may seek initial approval to operate as a sponsoring organization within the state.

As of July 31, 2024, the 2024 Informal Review submission window is closed. The next Informal Review submission window will open in early 2025.

The Informal Review process has been updated to align with the expectations for educator preparation programs outlined in the 2023 Guidelines for Educator Preparation Program Approval. These Guidelines were shaped by contributions from over 450 educator preparation personnel, preparation candidates and recent completers, district and school leaders and educators, and PK–12 students and families from across the Massachusetts. Updates to the Informal Review process were informed by these contributions along with interviews with representatives from several sponsoring organizations.

The materials below are organized by review phase:

New Programs
- Intent to Submit and Needs Assessment
- Informal Submission
- DESE Review
- Notification of Approval Determination
New Sponsoring Organizations
- Intent to Submit
- Overview Call
- Informal Submission
- DESE Review
- Notification of Approval Determination

Important Notes Regarding Programs Put Forward for Review During the 2024 Informal Review Cycle

All Initial Teacher Programs: The Guidelines for the Professional Standards for Teachers (PSTs) and Guidelines for the Candidate Assessment of Performance (CAP) have been revised to ensure continued alignment between the updated Standards of Effective Practice and expectations for pre-service teachers. The revised PST and CAP Guidelines were released in June 2024, and sponsoring organizations will be expected to fully implement the expectations at the start of the 2025-2026 academic year. Sponsoring organizations that wish to move forward teacher programs at this time must attest that program leadership has reviewed the 2024 PSTs and commits to making necessary changes to the teacher program, if approved, to ensure it is in alignment with updated expectations by fall 2025.
Early Childhood, Elementary, and Moderate Disabilities Programs: DESE strongly advises sponsoring organizations to wait to propose new Early Childhood, Elementary, and Moderate Disabilities PK–8 programs until the 2025-2026 Informal Review cycle. In addition to attesting to making the necessary changes resulting from updated PST and CAP Guidelines by 2025, all programs in these areas will be expected to demonstrate alignment to all expectations outlined in the 2024 Early Literacy Criteria at the time of submission. Decisions about whether to accept submissions for these programs during the 2024 cycle will be made on a case-by-case basis. Please reach out to EducatorPreparation@mass.gov if your organization wishes to put forward a program in any of these licensure areas.

Programs for PK–2 Moderate Disabilities and PK–2 Severe Disabilities licenses:

The Subject Matter Knowledge Guidelines have been updated to reflect two licenses approved by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education last year: Teacher of Students with Moderate Disabilities, PK–2 and Teacher of Students with Severe Disabilities, PK–2. Both licenses now also appear on our list of MA High Needs Programs. For sponsoring organizations that have an approved program in both PK–2 Early Childhood and either Moderate Disabilities PK–8/5–12 or Severe Disabilities, All Levels (depending on the PK–2 program) at the same level (Baccalaureate or Post-Baccalaureate) as the proposed program, we are offering a streamlined approval process.

Informal Review Toolkit — New Programs

The table below provides a full overview of the process to propose a new licensure program. For a comprehensive understanding of the expectations for each licensure program, please see DESE's complete list of educator preparation program Guidelines and Advisories.

Stage	Timing	Description of Activities
Needs Assessment	Accepted on a rolling basis from March 1, 2024 through July 31, 2024. Sponsoring organizations are strongly advised to complete the Needs Assessment as early as possible to allow adequate time to prepare the Informal Submission.	Self-Study — Proposing, reviewing, and operating a high-quality preparation program requires considerable time and resources from both sponsoring organizations and the state. Given this, DESE encourages sponsoring organizations to conduct an internal self-study to evaluate objectives and capacity prior to putting any new program forward for review. A template for this process can be accessed in Appendix A of the Needs Assessment Advisory. Intent and Needs Assessment Survey — To officially initiate the Informal Review process, sponsoring organizations must complete an Intent and Needs Assessment Survey to demonstrate demand in one of the following categories: High need subject area Local need Candidate interest Diversity of the workforce Completer effectiveness Only programs for which need is demonstrated will be considered for approval. The Needs Assessment Advisory offers specific guidance for submitting strong evidence of need.
Informal Review Submission	Accepted from August 1 through September 15, 2024.	If DESE determines that need is demonstrated, the sponsoring organization will move on to the Informal Submission. During this stage, the sponsoring organization submits materials to demonstrate alignment of the program's content and structure with DESE's expectations. Submission requirements vary by licensure category, field, and grade span. DESE will provide each sponsoring organization with a link to a private SharePoint folder. This folder will include templates for the required worksheets and matrices for the specific program being proposed. DESE's templates can be downloaded using the links below. Sponsoring organizations will also be expected to upload programs of study, course descriptions, and syllabi to the private SharePoint folder. All must be shared as Word or Excel documents. Informal Review Worksheets INF Worksheet — Administrator INF Worksheet — Endorsements INF Worksheet — Professional Support Personnel INF Worksheet — Specialist Teacher INF Worksheet — Teacher Initial INF Worksheet — Teacher Professional PST/PSI and SMK Matrices for New Programs
DESE Review	Regardless of when they are completed within the rolling window, submissions from all sponsoring organizations will be reviewed by DESE's content experts in October through December.	DESE's content experts will review each informal submission to determine whether the proposed program sufficiently meets expectations as outlined in the Guidelines. DESE's review focuses on inputs and plans, given that evidence of impact is not yet available for new programs.
Notification of Approval Determination	Decisions will be communicated to each sponsoring organization by January 31, 2025. Results will be shared as quickly as possible; however, the review process takes time as it involves close collaboration between the Educator Preparation team and DESE's content experts.	Determination — As a result of the review, DESE will notify each sponsoring organization of its approval determination: *Informal Approval Granted: Program meets all expectations and is approved to operate. Informal Approval Pending: Program meets most expectations but must make targeted revisions to be approved to operate. Informal Approval Not Granted: Program does not meet expectations and is not approved to operate. If desired, the program may resubmit with substantial revisions during the next Informal Review cycle. Approval Period* — For current sponsoring organizations proposing new programs, informal approval is granted until the next Formal Review. Formal approval is granted only after the successful completion of a Formal Review. Enrolling Candidates — Sponsoring organizations must receive approval from DESE before recruiting candidates for or enrolling candidates into any educator preparation program. Organizations may be required to implement specific changes before recruiting or enrolling candidates. If applicable, these requirements will be outlined by DESE in the approval letter. Reciprocity — Individuals who complete informally approved programs will be eligible to receive licensure in Massachusetts but may not receive full reciprocity benefits for licensure in other states that have signed the NASDTEC Interstate Agreement. Full reciprocity benefits are available after informally approved programs receive formal approval. Annual Report — After the first year of operation under informal approval and for each subsequent year, the sponsoring organization must submit an annual report to DESE in accordance with 603 CMR 7.03 (4).

Informal Review Toolkit — New Sponsoring Organizations

The table below provides a full overview of the process to propose a new sponsoring organization. For a comprehensive understanding of the expectations for sponsoring organizations, please review the Guidelines for Educator Preparation Program Approval and resources available on DESE's educator preparation Guidelines and Advisories webpage.

Stage	Timing	Description of Activities
Intent to Submit	Accepted throughout the year.	To initiate the Informal Review process, prospective sponsoring organizations must communicate the intention to seek approval to operate an educator preparation program in Massachusetts. By obtaining advance notification, DESE can more effectively support the submission process and plan internal capacity for a timely review. To signal intent, email EducatorPreparation@mass.gov with the following information: Name of proposed sponsoring organization Name and contact information for a designee appointed to oversee the Informal Review process (if the designee is not the organization's formal leader, the leader must be copied on the email)
Overview Call	Prior to beginning the informal submission.	A member of DESE's Educator Preparation team will walk the prospective sponsoring organization through the informal submission requirements and answer questions.
Informal Review Submission	Accepted throughout the year.	The prospective sponsoring organization will submit the following materials to demonstrate alignment of the organization with DESE expectations: INF Worksheet — Cover Page INF Worksheet — Organizational Overview INF Worksheet — Organization Domain INF Worksheet — Continuous Improvement Domain INF Worksheet — Partnerships Domain INF Worksheet — Candidate Domain INF Worksheet — Field-Based Experiences Domain In addition to completing the organization-level worksheets above, the prospective sponsoring organization must also propose specific licensure program(s) it wishes to offer using the process in the New Program table above. DESE will provide each sponsoring organization with a link to a private SharePoint folder. This folder will include templates for all required worksheets and matrices. Once ready, all materials should be uploaded as Word or Excel documents.
DESE Review	Submissions will be reviewed by DESE on a rolling basis.	DESE will then review the Informal Review Submission to determine whether the prospective sponsoring organization and proposed programs sufficiently meet expectations as outlined in the Guidelines. This review focuses on inputs and plans, given that evidence of impact is not yet available.
Notification of Approval Determination	Decisions will be communicated to each Sponsoring organization within six months of receipt of the Informal Review Submission. Results are shared as quickly as possible; however, this process takes time as it involves close collaboration between the Educator Preparation team and a team of external reviewers.	Determination — As a result of the review, DESE will notify the prospective sponsoring organization of its approval determination. Informal Approval Granted: Sponsoring organization sufficiently meets expectations and is approved to operate. Informal Approval Pending: Sponsoring organization meets most expectations but must make targeted revisions to be approved to operate. Informal Approval Not Granted: Sponsoring organization does not meet expectations and is not approved to operate. If desired, the organization may resubmit with substantial revisions during the next Informal Review cycle. If the sponsoring organization is approved to operate, each proposed program will also receive an approval determination. Approval Period — For new sponsoring organizations, informal approval is granted for a three-year period. Formal approval is granted only after the successful completion of a Formal Review. Enrolling Candidates — Sponsoring organizations must receive approval from DESE before enrolling candidates into any educator preparation program. Organizations may be required to implement specific changes prior to enrolling candidates. If applicable, these requirements will be outlined by DESE in the approval letter. Reciprocity — Individuals who complete informally approved programs will be eligible to receive licensure in Massachusetts but may not receive full reciprocity benefits for licensure in other states that have signed the NASDTEC Interstate Agreement. Full reciprocity benefits are available after informally approved programs receive formal approval. Annual Report — After the first year of operation under informal approval and for each subsequent year, the sponsoring organization must submit an annual report to DESE in accordance with 603 CMR 7.03 (4).

Please email EducatorPreparation@mass.gov with questions.

Last Updated: August 2, 2024