Changes to Licensure and Licensure Renewal
THIS AFFECTS ALL EDUCATORS!!!!
The State of Massachusetts has been cited by the U.S. Department of Justice for failing to adequately prepare teachers to work with English Language Learners in their classrooms. The state was basically told that they needed to address the problem or that the Department of Justice would.
In response to this letter, DESE has proposed regulation changes regarding teacher licensure and licensure renewal. These changes, as proposed, will affect everyone!! The states proposal includes changing the current plan of preparing teachers to work with ELL learners. Currently, teachers are required to take four levels of training in Sheltered English Immersion that will provide them with techniques and strategies that will allow them to work more successfully with ELL students. Under the proposed regulations, teachers would be required to take the equivalent of a 3 graduate credit course on Sheltered English Immersion instruction. This course would have to be taken by 2016 by all educators. If educators have not taken the course, their licenses will not be renewed. In the proposed regulations, teachers who have already taken all four levels of SEI training are not grandfathered in.
The new regulations also require that for all future cycles of renewal, that educators obtain 15 PDPs in the area of SEI and 15 PDPs in the area of working with children with disabilities.
There are several problems with the proposed regulations:
Teachers who have invested the time and taken all four SEI trainings are not grandfathered under the proposed regulations.
By linking the requirement to have the SEI training to our licenses, DESE has basically shifted the entire burden (financial and time) to meet this requirement from the administration to the teachers. The regulations need to be clearer about districts having the responsibility to provide this training to the teachers.
The regulations should also be clearer about districts needing to provide ongoing professional development in the areas of SEI and teaching children with learning disabilities.
DESE is currently taking public comment on the proposed regulations. The public comment period will end on April 20th. Please be sure to participate and let DESE know what your concerns are.
You may send your comments by email to Retell@doe.mass.edu.
For more information on the proposed regulations and how you can participate in the public comment period, visit http://www.doe.mass.edu/news/news.aspx?id=6725
3 comments:
how about hiring more sei teachers
We SEI teachers not only needed PDP's to be considered highly qualified (10 in each area)in addition to the 120 necessary for recertification, we also were forced to take the Category Four Trainings as part of yet another "highly qualified" mandate from the state- above and beyond general ed or sped teachers. I guess that wasn't good enough because "here we go again." Since most teachers in one way or another deal with ELL children, all teachers should be included in this, although I think we (SEI) have already done our part.
If you read the changes in the law this affects ALL teachers. Not only do we need 15 PDP's in ELL/SEI training but also 15 PDP's in Special education Training. This includes our content area certification.
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