Summary of Proposed Action: Housekeeping
changes “Continuing to Professional”
Background: HB
3254 (Enrolled-2013) changed the name of the Continuing Teaching License to the
Professional Teaching License effective January 1, 2014. This rule does not have substantive effect
upon the validity of licenses.
Issues/Concerns that Surfaced (if
any):
Changed Since Last Commission Meeting?
¨ N/A; First reading – Hasn’t been
before the Commission
þ No; same as last meeting considered
¨ Yes – As follows:
Fiscal Impact: None
Staff Recommendation:
þ Adopt
rule as presented
¨
Adopt rule in the future, refer to public comment
¨ No recommendation
¨
Adopt as temporary rule and refer to public comment
Permanent
Rule for Adoption
584-060-0250
License for Conditional Assignment
(1) Upon filing a correct and complete application in
form and manner prescribed by the commission, a school district in Oregon may
request a License for Conditional Assignment (LCA) for any educator holding an
Initial, [Continuing]
Professional, Basic, Standard
or pre-1965 Five-year License.
(2) The purpose of an LCA is to allow a school
district to request misassignment for an educator to teach in an out-of-field
subject-matter endorsement area or at grade-levels for which the educator is
not authorized to teach, while the educator completes requirements necessary
either to add the subject-matter endorsement or grade-level authorization to
the underlying license or to obtain a new license type.
(3) The LCA is required when teaching out-of-field
under any of the following circumstances:
(a) Teaching assignments for more than 10 hours weekly
in one subject-matter area without the appropriate subject-matter endorsement;
(b) Assignment at any grade level not held on the
underlying license;
EXAMPLE: A high school authorized teacher teaching in
grade 4 would require an LCA for any amount of time teaching outside of her
grade level.
EXAMPLE: A physical education teacher without a health
endorsement teaching health three periods of the day would require a LCA for
health. If only teaching two periods a day; that would fall under the 10 hours
per week threshold.
(c) Teaching in more than one unendorsed
subject-matter endorsement area for any amount of time; or
EXAMPLE: If the physical education teacher above was
teaching one period of health and one period of math; then an LCA would be
required for both areas regardless of the 10 hours per week rule. The 10 hours
per week rule applies to one subject only.
(d) Moving from one license to another;
EXAMPLE: A teacher moving to administration; an
administrator moving to teaching (if educator does not hold a valid teaching
license); a teacher moving to school psychology.
(4) Duration of the LCA: The LCA is a provisional
license that provides temporary conditional approval to teach out-of-field
under the following conditions:
(a) All LCAs will expire on June 30 following the date
the LCA is issued.
(b) For endorsements that require only a test,
experience or nine quarter hours or less of coursework, all endorsement
requirements must be completed by June 30th following the date the LCA is
issued.
(c) For endorsements requiring coursework exceeding
nine quarter or six semester hours of coursework, the LCA will not exceed more
than three academic years in total. The LCA for these endorsements will be
issued as follows:
(A) The first LCA will expire on June 30th following
the date the first LCA is issued;
(B) The second LCA will be reauthorized upon
application by the educator and the school district upon evidence the educator
has completed some coursework toward adding the endorsement and will expire on
June 30th following the date the second LCA is issued;
(C) The third LCA will be reauthorized upon
application by the educator and the school district and upon evidence the
educator has substantially the coursework needed to add the endorsement and
will expire on June 30th following the date the third LCA is issued.
(5) The LCA will not be “back dated.” Time spent on
assignments where the district failed to request the LCA will be deducted from
the allowable LCA total (either one year or three years).
(6) The LCA is not renewable and is not eligible for a
120 day grace period beyond its expiration date.
(7) The LCA is not a stand-alone or independent
license. The underlying license must be kept current in order for the LCA to
remain active. The LCA will not be issued for a duration that exceeds the
expiration date of the underlying license. In cases where there is a lapse in
the underlying license, the LCA may be re-activated for a time as determined by
the Executive Director upon reinstatement of the underlying license.
(8) The district applying for an LCA is assumed to
have informed the educator for which the LCA is being requested. Failure to
inform the educator may result in an invalid LCA upon a finding by the
Commission that the educator did not grant the district permission to add the
LCA to the educator's license.
(9) Licenses not eligible for an LCA include, but are
not limited to the following provisional licenses:
(a) Any Restricted Transitional;
(b) Limited Teaching License;
(c) American Indian Language;
(d) Teaching Associate License;
(e) Career and Technical Education Teaching License;
(f) ESEA Alternative Route License;
(g) Substitute Teaching License
(h) Restricted Substitute Teaching License;
(i) Exceptional Administrator License; or
(j) International Teaching License.
(10) Other Special LCA Limitations:
(a) An administrator, school counselor, or school
psychologist who has never held a non-provisional teaching license in any state
may not be issued an LCA to teach.
(b) An educator seeking conditional assignment as an
administrator must hold a master’s degree in education to be eligible for the
LCA.
(c) Applying educators in either school counseling or
school psychology must hold at least a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree in
the respective field of counseling or psychology.
(d) Educators holding a Basic or Standard Teaching
License must only seek a LCA for school counseling if the assignment exceeds
.50 FTE.
(e) Licenses for Conditional Assignment will only be
issued for special education assignments that are supplementary to highly
qualified core academic subjects areas. The holder of the LCA must not be solely
responsible for delivering direct instruction of core academic content matter
to students on an IEP.
(f) Applying educators must never have held any one of
the following licenses or permits endorsed in the subject-matter area or
authorized grade-levels in which the educator is seeking to teach out-of-
field:
(A) Conditional assignment permit;
(B) Restricted Transitional;
(C) Emergency;
(D) Transitional or out-of-state Initial Teaching
License; or
(E) Out of state license in the out-of-field subject-area
or grade-levels.
(11) The LCA is restricted to use within the district
that has applied for it. A new district may request to transfer the LCA so long
as there is time remaining since the date the LCA was first issued.
(12) A district must:
(a) Apply for an LCA by October 31 for the fall term
or otherwise within two weeks after the assignment has begun;
(b) Agree to provide professional assistance specific
to the assignment for the educator during the first year of the conditional
assignment; and
(c) Ensure that federal laws related to Highly
Qualified Teachers are taken into account when applying for an LCA.
(13) After an LCA has expired, the educator must have
completed all requirements necessary to add the appropriate endorsement,
grade-level authorization or new licensure program in order to continue working
in the area in which the educator held the LCA. Continuing to work in an
out-of-field position on an expired LCA is a violation of licensure law and is
unauthorized. The license-holder or the assigning administrator or both may be
subject to sanctions by the commission pursuant to OAR 584-020-0040.
Stat. Auth.: ORS 342
Stats. Implemented: ORS
342.120–342.143, 342.153, 342.165, 342.223–342.232
Hist.: TSPC 8-2011, f. 12-15-11, cert.
ef. 1-15-12; TSPC 3-2013, f. & cert. ef. 8-19-13