TEACHER EDUCATION AND LICENSURE

VASPA

Presented to:

Patty S. Pitts Assistant Superintendent

Teacher Education and Licensure Virginia Department of Education

March 9, 2020

ANNOUNCEMENT

May 1, 2020

Training for New Licensure Specialists

Richmond, Virginia

POSTPONED

AUTOMATION OF LICENSURE

SSWS

• Confidential Licensure Lookup System

• On-line Renewals

• Directory – Please update contacts in your division.

• SCED Code Mapping to Endorsement Codes

MSC-IPAL

REMINDERS ABOUT IPAL AND REPORTS

TEACHER SHORTAGES

Critical Teacher Shortage Areas in Virginia

• Special Education • Elementary Education PreK-6 • Career and Technical Education • Middle Education Grades 6-8 • Mathematics Grades 6-12 (including Algebra 1) • Science (Secondary) • Foreign Language PreK-12 • English (Secondary) • English as a Second Language PreK-12 • Library Media – PreK-12

Critical Teacher Shortage Areas

The ranking is based on an aggregation of the following:

a) total number of teaching positions that are unfilled; and

b) teaching positions that are filled by teachers who are licensed, but who are teaching in academic subject areas other than their area of preparation.

Critical Teacher Shortage Areas

TOP 5 AREAS NOT CHANGED SINCE 2011-12

Special Education

Elementary Education

Middle Education 6-8

Career and Technical Education

Mathematics 6-8

Ten-Year Trend in Rate of Teacher Turnover for Virginia

Source: Virginia Department of Education

Reasons for departures unknown.

Reasons for Teacher Turnover

• 55% indicate dissatisfaction – Lack of administrative support

– Poor/substandard teaching conditions

– Accountability pressures

• 43% indicate family/personal reasons

• 31% indicate retirement

• 31% pursue another job

• 18% cite financial reasons

Source: Learning Policy Institute Research Brief “Teacher Turnover: Why It Matters and What We can Do About It”; September, 2017)

Factors Influencing Teacher Recruitment and Retention

• Researchers find four major factors that influence teacher recruitment and retention:

– Compensation

– Preparation

– Mentoring and Induction

– Teaching Conditions

Source: September 15, 2016, A Coming Crisis in Teaching? Teacher Supply, Demand, and Shortages in the U.S., by Leib Sutcher, Linda Darling-Hammond, and Desiree Carver-Thomas

0.3%

7.1%

22.2%

16.2%

0.2%

5.7%

48.4%

0.3% 2.1%

12.3%

3.0% 0.2% 0.4%

81.8%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

American Indian orAlaska Native

Asian Black, not of Hispanicorigin

Hispanic Native Hawaiian orPacific Islander

Non-Hispanic, two ormore races

White, not of Hispanicorigin

Student and Teacher Diversity (2018-19 School Year)

Students Teachers

Student and Teacher Demographics in Virginia 2018-2019 School Year

Source: VDOE Fall Membership Reports & IPAL

Number of Positions Unfilled by Teacher Assignment Area – October 1, 2018

Source: Virginia Department of Education

Unfilled Teaching Positions 2014-2019

The Department of Education surveys school divisions for their number of unfilled positions as of

October 1.

Source: Virginia Department of Education

New Teachers in Virginia

• Since 2016, the Department of Education has collected the number of first-year teachers.

Source: Virginia Department of Education

Year Number of First-Year Teachers Reported

October 1, 2016 5,067

October 1, 2017 5,227

October 1, 2018 5,249

AUGUST 2018

LICENSURE REGULATIONS EFFECTIVE

IMPLEMENTATION OF STATUTORY AND REGULATIONS REVISIONS

Undergraduate Education Programs

2018 GENERAL ASSEMBLY – HOUSE BILL 1125 AND SENATE BILL 76

• Institutions of higher education allowed to offer undergraduate degrees/majors in “education.”

• Prior to this legislation, undergraduate programs preparing teachers, with the exception of health and physical education and career and technical education, were required to offer arts and sciences majors.

Reciprocity

HOUSE BILL 1125 AND SENATE BILL 649, 2018 GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Offers reciprocity to individuals who have obtained a valid out-of-state license, with full credentials and without deficiencies, that is in force at the time the application for a Virginia license is received by the Department of Education.

New Endorsements

Board of Education regulations (effective August 2018) provide for new endorsements:

• Add-on endorsements in special education

– Special education – general curriculum K-6 (add-on endorsement)

– Special education – general curriculum middle grades 6-8 (add-on endorsement)

– Special education – general curriculum secondary grades 6-12 (add-on endorsement)

• Engineering

Endorsements are being proposed in Dual Language and Economics and Personal Finance.

Provisional Licenses

HOUSE BILL 1125 and SENATE BILL 349, 2018 General Assembly

– Allows for the extension of a Provisional License if specified criteria are met:

• Up to two one-year extensions

• Recommendation by Division Superintendent; and

• Satisfactory performance evaluations for each of the three years of the original Provisional License

HOUSE BILL 2037 AND SENATE BILL 1397, 2019 GENERAL ASSEMBLY Requires the Board of Education to issue a license to an individual seeking initial licensure who has not completed the professional assessments prescribed by the Board, if such individual • holds a Provisional License that will expire within three months; • is employed by a school board; • is recommended for licensure by the division superintendent; • has attempted, unsuccessfully, to obtain a qualifying score on the

professional assessments prescribed by the Board; • has received an evaluation rating of proficient or above on the performance

standards for each year of the Provisional License, and such evaluation was conducted in a manner consistent with the Guidelines for Uniform Performance Standards and Evaluation Criteria for Teachers, Principals, and Superintendents; and

• meets all other requirements for initial licensure.

Provisional Licenses

TIPS FOR LICENSURE

RENEWAL TIPS

• For licensure renewal, statutory requirements must be completed again for that license period. Even though the license notes the requirement from a previous renewal, these requirements must be completed for each renewal period.

• If you are requesting renewal for an individual whose license has expired, you must mail the request and include an updated renewal application form. [You cannot use the online renewal system for such requests.]

RENEWAL TIPS • Please remember that division superintendent license renewals

must be mailed to the office. The chair of the school board must sign the Licensure Request Form to renew the division superintendent’s license.

• Individuals who are renewing a five-year license, in addition to

other statutory requirements, must complete 180 points for renewal. The Board of Education approved 270 points for renewal for those with ten-year licenses; however, the regulations are in the Administrative Process Act to make that change in the regulations.

RENEWAL TIPS

• When submitting a Licensure Request Form for renewal, please do not include the certificates/documentation for the statutory requirements.

You are certifying by checking the renewal box and signing the form that these requirements have been met. The renewal box includes the statutory requirements, so it is not necessary to check the boxes at the top of the form. If you do wish to check them at the top, you must check all applicable boxes or the request will need to be returned for clarification.

RENEWAL TIPS

• Please reference the Licensure Renewal Manual;

• Note for Option 8: Activities must be a minimum of 5 hours per activity. The 5 hours do not have to be consecutive.

LICENSURE TIPS – Division Supt. Appl. • Individuals seeking a division superintendent

license must submit the full application packet. This is not an added endorsement, but rather a separate license. Only the licensee receives a copy of this license.

• Fee Schedule for Licensure – [Effective January 1, 2019]

LICENSURE TIPS - Requests

• When submitting requests, please place one staple in the upper left-hand corner of the entire packet and then securely clip the check to the top of the packet.

• Checks must be made payable to the Treasurer of Virginia, have a current date, and are signed.

• Money orders must be signed.

LICENSURE TIPS – Request Form

• Please use the Licensure Request Form for each submission. Please be specific in stating the assignment of the individual on the Licensure Request Form. For example, please do not write, “elementary;” state the specific grade, such as Grade 2.

Licensure Tips – Request Form

• Include on the Licensure Request Form:

– Correct address of licensee

– Dates of current license

– Clearly indicate request

Licensure Tips -- Applications

• Applications: – Front pages only – Complete all information (not just

first page) – Statement of Eligibility – Not issued for individuals

seeking a Provisional (Special Education) License or for individuals seeking a license with a CTE endorsement who have not completed an industry credential.

LICENSURE TIPS -- ROE

• On Report on Experience Forms, please be specific in noting the assignment. For example, please do not state the person taught “special education;” be specific, such as special education-general curriculum; special-education adapted curriculum; elementary grade 2; or Middle Grade 7 – English. Individuals’ experience used to change provisional licenses must match the assignment. This will help expedite processing.

LICENSURE TIPS – Third-Party Transcripts

• When submitting transcripts, please note that third-party transcripts are to be received by you via mail in a sealed envelope.

LICENSURE TIPS – Driver Education

• Driver Education: Please ensure that all driver education instructors hold an active license with the driver education endorsement prior to teaching.

• Also, if you have individuals who have been prepared in other states, you need to communicate with Vanessa Wigand in our Health, Physical Education, and Driver Education office, regarding an update on Virginia laws and regulations. [Email: Vanessa.Wigand@doe.virginia.gov]

LICENSURE TIPS – Adding Endorsements

• An individual who holds an active teaching license may add an additional teaching endorsement to the license by passing a rigorous academic subject test prescribed by the Board of Education. This testing option does not apply to individuals who are seeking an Early/Primary preK-3 or Elementary Education preK-6 endorsement or who hold a Technical Professional License, Vocational Evaluator License, Pupil Personnel Services License, School Manager License, International Educator License, or Division Superintendent License. Individuals may not add an endorsement in special education through testing. Also, endorsements in Administration and Supervision preK-12 and Reading Specialist cannot be added by testing. If the individual holds a provisional license, the Praxis Subject Assessment for his or her original endorsement must be completed before additional endorsements can be added through testing. Please note that only endorsements in special education are allowed on a provisional special education license.

LICENSURE TIPS -- NOTICE

• An employing Virginia public school division, agency, or accredited nonpublic school is required to notify employees in writing at the time of employment of the need to meet appropriate assessment requirements for licensure.

Questions

Patty S. Pitts

Assistant Superintendent for Teacher Education and Licensure

Virginia Department of Education

Patty.Pitts@doe.virginia.gov