Teacher Standards and Practices Commission 465 Commercial Street NE Salem OR 97301		February 9-11, 2011
ITEM:	DIVISION 017 RULES
ACTION:	INFORMATION ITEM
INFORMATION:	A workgroup with representatives of the Commission and OACTE have been meeting to discuss revisions to Division 017 administrative rules relating to program approval standards. The workgroup has reviewed our current standards and compared them to the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) unit standards and identified critical policy issues along with recommendations for wording in the state standards. More policy issues may arise as the rule review and revision continues.

The suggested rubrics for the national standards, the revised rubrics for the diversity standard, the recommended new standards for cultural competency, and the crosswalk of current Division 017 standards to the national standards with suggestions on what rules could be retained or repealed were discussed with representatives of higher education and the program approval subcommittee on multiple dates during 2010. The majority of the discussion centered on the suggested standards for cultural competency, the revised national standards on diversity and cultural competency, and the crosswalk of current rules and suggested retention or deletion.

Some stakeholders expressed concern about the impact data requirements were going to have on small programs. In addition, concerns were registered about specific language requiring candidates to have clinical experience with at least two different racial or ethnic groups as to difficult to meet for a number of programs. Questions were raised about what was meant by candidates needing to demonstrate equitable achievement in the classroom when student teaching.

The Program Approval Committee recommended that a workflow process be suggested showing the necessary steps to complete the revision of Division 017 by February 2011.

Updated Work Flow Process:

· Step 1: Present to Commission: draft Accreditation Manual (with rubrics for unit standards); draft Site Visit Manual; proposed new rules with standards for programs requiring separate coursework or preparation for licensure or endorsement; proposed new Division 017 rules. [This work is the culmination of the work group meetings throughout 2010.

· Step 2: Continue discussions on key policy issues related to rules and rubrics, (i.e. data collection requirements, assessment systems) after review of draft materials;

· Step 3: Propose standards, rules and rubrics for consideration and referral to rule for subsequent hearings by May 2011.

· Step 4: Adopt rules and manuals at August or November meeting 2011 (after time for public comment).

· Step 5: Set date for full implementation (e.g.: 2014) at the May 2011 or August 2011 Commission meetings.

· Step 6: Adopt transition to new standards August 2011.

The workgroup worked regularly throughout 2010. Proposed standards, rules and rubrics were presented to stakeholders during the months of November and December with draft rules and other materials attached for your consideration at this meeting.

Draft revised standards for Division 017, draft site visit manual, draft site visit procedures and rubrics for assessing the standards are being proposed. These proposed standards will be discussed further with stakeholders with the goal of submitting the rules to hearing at the May 2011 Commission meeting.

The suggested framework for the revised standards, program review process and unit accreditation manual and site visits manual will implement a continuous improvement quality assurance model with greater emphasis on candidate and unit performance based assessments and measurable outcomes.

Materials attached:

Agenda item 2.9a: A newly updated Site Visit Manual: The former site visit manual was first produced prior to 2000. This version updates the law, current procedures and anticipated issues that may arise following implementation of the newly revised program standards.

Agenda item 2.9b: A new manual to evaluate the proposed new standards. This manual is modeled after the NCATE handbook, but also includes adaptations that are uniquely Oregon.

Agenda item 2.9c: A set of existing standards, with slightly revised language for authorization programs and licensure programs that are over and above the Initial Teaching License. The proposal is to move these standards to a new division that separates it from Division 065 which has generally been recognized as programs for endorsement on a license. It could be argued that the standards relating to teachers’ licenses (special education, etc.) might stay as part of Division 065.

Agenda Item 2.9d: Proposed amendments to Division 017 rules: It is the first set of proposed administrative rules for program approval. It contains the list of existing rules that are proposed for retention as we move to implement the new standards.