Teacher Standards and Practices Commission
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February 9-11, 2011 |
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ITEM: |
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM PROPOSALS |
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ACTION: |
ACTION ITEM |
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RECOMMENDATION: |
The Program Approval
Committee recommends adoption of the following resolutions: RESOLVED, that the
Commission approve the proposed modifications to the University of Oregon (U
of O) Special Education endorsement for the Early Childhood, Elementary,
Middle and High School authorization level programs effective immediately. RESOLVED FURTHER, that the
Commission adopt the U of O Special Education/Early Intervention endorsement
program effective immediately. |
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INFORMATION: |
In 2009, the Commission made significant revisions
to the standards for “general” special education endorsements that align with
the nationally-adopted special education standards. The Commission did not make changes to the
vision-impaired; hearing-impaired; or Communications Disorders (SLP) special
education endorsements. At that time,
the Commission required all teacher preparation programs offering special
education to submit their proposals to show the Commission that their
programs align with the newly-adopted program standards. |
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The Special Educator Program proposal is a modification
of the U of O’s currently approved graduate preparation programs in
early childhood/elementary special education and middle/secondary special
education. The program is designed to
prepare teachers to work with public school students who have a wide range of
low incidence to high incidence disabilities (full spectrum) and who are in
programs across the early childhood to young adult age range (i.e., early
childhood to age 21).
Candidates who complete this program will fulfill the
requirements for initial teacher licensure in both the early childhood/elementary
and the middle/secondary authorization levels – resulting in a K-12 span of
authorization preparation. With six
additional credits, candidates will also be eligible for a master’s degree in
special education from the U of O.
Two program paths will be available:
• Special Educator I – an add-on endorsement
for those who hold a current unrestricted teaching license such as basic,
standard, initial or continuing teaching license.
• Special Educator II – a stand-alone license
for those who have an undergraduate degree but who do not hold an unrestricted
teaching license.
Rationale for
Modified Program: Three years ago, faculty from the Early
Childhood/Elementary and Middle Level/High School Special Education licensure programs
were awarded a grant for the purpose of improving the quality of special
education teacher preparation at the U of O (Project SOLVE). The goals of the project are to: (a) increase the numbers of special education
license candidates who meet the federal definition of Highly Qualified teachers; (b) improve licensure candidates’
ability to teach students who are English Language Learners; (c) document the
effective use of evidence-based practices and response-to-intervention
procedures; and (d) create an induction experience in collaboration with local
school districts.
The Early Intervention Program (EIP) at the U of O is in the Department of Special
Education and Clinical Sciences (SPECS) in the College of Education, and is
housed in the Center on Human Development, a University Center for Excellence
in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD). The
Early Intervention Program provides an interdisciplinary field of
specialization focusing on infants, toddlers, preschool children, and young
school-aged children who are at risk or disabled, and their families. This specialization combines a theoretical,
research, and clinical base from fields such as early childhood education,
psychology, communication disorders and sciences, medicine, sociology, and
special education. Since 1979, the
personnel preparation component of the Early Intervention Program has offered
quality courses and field placements leading to a master's degree, a teaching
endorsement and a doctoral degree. This
training program is designed to prepare personnel to provide quality services to
young children from birth to eight years, who are disabled or at risk, and
their families. [Note: TSPC does not require
licensure for early intervention special education services, as the educators
serve students outside the scope of TSPC’s licensure jurisdiction. However, the Commission has offered an
optional license to teach in this area.
The current license does allow educators to teach special education up
through the grade 4 (if licensed).
Otherwise, persons providing early intervention services may not “teach”
above kindergarten.]
Students are prepared to
fill a variety of roles, including: interventionists
who deliver services to children and their families; program coordinators or
supervisors who manage and direct personnel that deliver direct services; policy
analysts; researchers; and instructors. The
EIP is composed of four separate but interconnected components: 1) personnel preparation offered at the master's
and doctoral levels; 2) program development focused on the creation of
state-of-the-art intervention programs for infants and young children and their
families; 3) research funded by a variety of grants that explores new strategies
and develops new tools for assessment and intervention; and 4) dissemination activities
designed to share information, research findings, and new approaches with professional
and paraprofessional audiences. The
program material submitted by the U of O in support of this item is located on
the secure FTP server.