Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification And Licensure and Development Central High Building Fourth Floor Conference Room 10:00 A.M. September 7, 2012 Members Attending: Doris Perkins Renee Moore Pamela Manners Marilyn McMillan Liz Michael Brian Pearse Dr. Angela Rutherford Kelly Fuller Members Absent: Robin Herrington Donna Loden MDE Personnel: Cindy Coon Raina Lee Gail Gettis Amy Daniel Liz Dungan The meeting was called to order by Pamela Manners, chair. A quorum was announced by Dr. Daphne Buckley. On a motion by Doris Perkins, seconded by Rene Moore, the Commission approved the agenda. On a motion by Brian Pearse, seconded by Liz Michael, the minutes were approved from July 6, 2012. Item 1. MDE Update The following Commission items were approved by the State Board of Education at the September meeting: proposal by Mississippi State University to add an Elementary 4-6 Track to its Master of Arts in Teaching alternate route program request by the University of Mississippi for a redesigned masters degree program in Educational Leadership National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) Accreditation for William Carey University request to begin the Administrative Procedures Act process: to approve new Praxis II Test, passing score and license code for Chinese (Mandarin); and to approve the regenerated Praxis II Test for School Guidance and Counseling. 1
Item 2. Discussion on Proposal from Mississippi College to Recognize the Master of Fine Arts degree as a Class AAA license Dr. Stephanie Busbea from MC presented the item. She requested that a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree be recognized as a Class AAA license. The MFA is typically a 60 hour program, 30 hours beyond a standard Master s program. She also added that an MFA is typically considered a terminal degree. She noted that many states already recognize the MFA as a Class AAA or Master s plus 30 license: SC, TN, WV, KY, NY, GA. Mrs. Coon asked the Commission to consider the Class AAA designation for the Juris Doctorate of law as well. Commission action is needed to change the designation of either license from a Class AA to a Class AAA. Mrs. Coon also added that the Commission may want to consider Master s plus 30 designation for reciprocity applicants whose licensing states recognized that designation. The Chair voiced concerns with recognizing a Masters plus 30 class. Dr. Busbea added that in some states the Master s plus 30 was a second master s degree. The Commission asked that this item be brought back for approval in November and requested more information on the Master s plus 30 designation. Item 3. Discussion on Policy for Removing License Endorsements Ms. Coon reminded the Commission that there is not currently a procedure in place for removing endorsements from a license. Mrs. Coon proposed that a form be completed and submitted with a letter of explanation. Mrs. Coon cited examples of educators who earned endorsements but later began to teach that area and felt unqualified. Doris Perkins stated that if an endorsement is removed, there should be some criterion that must be met if an educator wants to add the endorsement back on. Kelly Fuller brought up the consideration that a teacher could be hired in a subject area and then have that subject area removed, leaving the district with a teacher who is then not highly qualified. Brian Pearse stated that if a form is used, it might need approval of the educator s current administrator to ensure that removing the endorsement will not affect the educator s current assignment. Liz Michael and Renee Moore suggested that a statement be added to the application to clarify that once and educator adds an endorsement, it cannot be removed. Moore stated that an educator should not add an endorsement if they do not want to teach or are not qualified. Mrs. Coon pointed out that some educators apply for endorsements to make themselves more marketable. The Commission requested for legal council to review legalities of having an endorsement taken off a license. Mrs. Coon is going to research and see if other states allow this. The item will be brought back in November for further discussion. 2
Item 4. Discussion on Proposal from Mississippi State University for Approval of Supplemental Endorsement Programs in Career Technical Education Dr. Connie Forde, in collaboration with the Office of Career/Technical Education here at MDE, is proposing that the Department of Instructional Systems and Workforce Development at Mississippi State University be approved by the Commission to offer an approved program for the following CTE licenses: 917 Career Pathway Experience 981 ICT I 982 ICT II 984 Technology Foundations With this proposal CTE teachers would have the option to complete modules by MSU s Research and Curriculum Unit (RCU), as now approved, or take courses at MSU to gain these endorsements. The item will come for approval in November. Item 5. Discussion of Proposed New Licenses from Career/Technical Education The Office of Career/Technical Education is asking for the Commission to approve three new CTE licenses: 912 Career Pathway: Law and Public Safety 913 Career Pathway: Emerging Energy Technology 965 Career Pathway: Transportation Logistics These new programs are being piloted in selected districts this school year. The CTE office is asking the Commission for approval of licenses for the teachers teaching these classes, and RCU is in the process of developing the curriculum for new courses. The item will come back for approval in November. Item 6. Approval of Proposed Commission Meeting and Hearing Dates for 2012-2013 MS Code Section 37-3-2 authorizes the Commission and states that the Commission will meet six times a year. Traditionally, licensure hearings are held on the first Thursday, with a Commission meeting following on the first Friday. The proposed calendar follows in that tradition. The first week in January was a conflict for several Commission members. January 10-11, 2013, were proposed to replace January 3-4, 2013. A motion to approve the proposed calendar with the new January dates of January 10-11, 2013, was made by Brian Pearse and seconded by Dr. Angela Rutherford. The motion was approved. 3
Item 7. Approval of Changes to Alternate Route Programs as Recommended by Commission s Alternate Route Study Committee The recommendations to bring consistency amongst the alternate route programs in MS were discussed at the July 6, 2012, Commission meeting. The recommendations included: 1. Revise current licensure guidelines, so that all alternate route programs result in a 3-year initial license. 2. Delete the MAPQT and ABCTE requirement that an applicant must have a job before a license can be issued. 3. Revise requirements of Praxis cut scores required for admission into all alternate route programs, to reflect new cut scores recommended by the Commission and State Board of Education. 4. Require that each alternate route program offer the same areas of endorsement for licensure, and add the following areas of endorsement to the current list: Health Latin Library Media Physical Science Economics Chinese 5. Revise TMI guideline to add Art, Music and Physical Education as are included in other routes. 6. Revise MAT to include Special Education as in MAPQT and TMI. 7. Revise Special Education alternate route licensure from 7-12 to K-12 for all routes - Develop a SPED track for each alternate route program. A motion to approve the item was made by Doris Perkins and seconded by Liz Michael. The motion was approved. Item 8. Approval of Change to Mathematics Supplemental Endorsement as Recommended by Commission s Math Study Committee Current licensure guidelines state that a math endorsement (number 154) for grades 7-12 can be added by successful completion of Praxis test 0061/5061 or by completion of 21 hours of Math coursework with a grade of C or above. Last year, the Commission began to review how math is added after the Mississippi Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (MAMTE) voiced concern with the practice of adding a Math endorsement with completion of 21 hours. Based on discussion from the July 6, 2012, Commission meeting, the following recommendations were proposed for approval: 4
1. Remove the Math grades 7-12 license (endorsement code 154) as a supplemental endorsement that can be added with 21 hours. The 154 endorsement, instead, will be added only through completion of an approved program or successful completion of the Praxis test. This means that each IHL that wants to offer an approved program for adding math as a supplemental endorsement will present a proposal to the Commission, who will review and make a recommendation to the State Board of Education. The approved program must include the recommended courses from MAMTE. 2. For Elementary Education graduates, who get a recommendation from an IHL with 21 hours of Math coursework including pedagogy courses, a Middle Grades Math 7-8 license (endorsement code 901) will be added. This practice will reflect the true intent of Standard 6 of Teacher Education Process and Performance Standards. A motion to approve the item was made by Kelly Fuller and seconded by Doris Perkins. The motion was approved. Item 9. Ratification of Voluntary Surrenders Five educators violated MS Code Section 37-3-2, were served a Complaint by Sworn Affidavit stating the charges, and offered the opportunity to voluntarily surrender their licenses before being served notice of a hearing. Maranda Burks, Christopher Lee, Shaun Beck, Stacey Walker, and Tanarri Moore all opted to surrender licenses. A motion to approve the item was made by Doris Perkins and seconded by Brian Pearse. The motion was approved. Item 10. Report on Hearings from September 6, 2012 On September 6, 2012, the Commission s Hearing Subcommittee comprised of Ms. Pamela Manners, Ms. Robin Herrington, and Ms. Marilyn McMillan conducted the following disciplinary hearings: 1. The hearing for License No. 125864, issued to Melvin Glass Moore, was continued again. At the hearing, Mr. Glass attorney, Mr. Stan Little, moved ore tenus for a continuance based on Mr. Glass having filed a timely appeal of his termination by the Tunica County School District with the Tunica County Chancery Court, cause number 2012-0083. In light of that evidence and pursuant to Rule 3, Rules of Procedure Governing Disciplinary Proceedings of the Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification and Licensure and Development, the Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification and Licensure and Development continued the matter until a final disposition is made by the Tunica County Chancery Court relating to Mr. Glass appeal, with the matter to be reset as soon thereafter as it can be heard. It was further agreed and ordered that Mr. Glass will not seek employment with Tunica County School District before his licensure hearing is rescheduled. 5
Item 11. Licensure Update Peak season is winding down in the Office of Educator Licensure. From May 1 September 1, 2012, 14,704 licenses were issued by the six analysts in the office. The office has been receiving lots of calls and concerns regarding the increase of the Praxis I test scores, as passed by the State Board. Callers are reminded that the new cut scores are effective for any applications dated 9/1/12 or after. The new licenses for school business officers are being issued, along with many new Career Technical Education licenses. Since the last Commission meeting, the Licensure office has made presentations at the Management Information Systems (MIS) conference, as well as at the Mississippi Association of School Superintendents (MASS) conference. Both presentations were designed to include recent updates and issues in Licensure. There are currently five vacancies on the Commission. The Office of Educator Licensure anticipates that the School Board will make recommendations to fill these vacancies at the October board meeting. A retreat is being scheduled November 1-2, 2012, to prepare new members. A focus in the retreat will be discussing new policies to be established for Division of Educator Misconduct, within the Office of Educator Licensure. The retreat will include at least one licensure hearing, so all new members can learn policies and procedures of hearings. Because of the number of pending licensure hearings, the Commission will need to hear cases in October, as well as November. October dates proposed were 10/11/12 or 10/12/12. Commission members should email the Office of Educator Licensure as to their availability to serve on a sub-committee on these dates. Item 12. Other Business No other business was discussed. Adjourn On a motion made by Brian Pearse and seconded by Renee Moore, the meeting was adjourned. 6