LAC 28:XLV.745. Minimum Requirements for Alternate Teacher Preparation Programs

A. An alternate teacher preparation program is a program that includes a minimum number of credit or contact hours of coursework or training and required practice experiences. There are three types of alternative teacher preparation programs. 1. The practitioner teacher program may be offered by state-approved colleges or universities and non-university providers with an approved teacher education program in grades PK-3, 1-5, 4-8, 6-12, all-level K-12 (art, dance, foreign language, health and physical education, and music), or integrated to merged approach for grades 1-5, grades 4-8 and grades 6-12: a. total hours required in grades PK-3 program—24-33 credit hours (or equivalent 360-495 contact hours); b. total hours required in grades 1-5, 4-8, 6-12, all-level (K-12) programs—21-30 credit hours (or equivalent 315-450 contact hours); and c. total hours required in general-special education mild/moderate grades 1-5, grades 4-8, and grades 6-12 programs—27-33 credit hours (or equivalent 405-495 contact hours). 2. The master’s degree program may be offered by state-approved colleges or universities with an approved teacher education program. Master's degree programs may offer certification in grades PK-3, 1-5, 4-8, 6-12, all-level K-12 (art, dance, foreign language, health and physical education, music), early interventionist birth to five years, general-special education mild-moderate: an integrated to merged approach for grades 1-5, grades 4-8, and grades 6-12: a. total hours required in grades PK-3, grades 1-5, grades 4-8, grades 6-12, all-level K-12, early interventionist birth to five years programs—33-39 credit hours; and b. total hours required in general-special education mild/moderate: an integrated to merged approach for grades 1-5, grades 4-8 and grades 6-12 programs33-42 credit hours. 3. The certification-only program may be offered by state-approved providers with an approved teacher education program in grades PK-3, 1-5, 4-8, 6-12, all-level K-12 (art, dance, foreign language, health and physical education, and music), early interventionist birth to five years, general-special education mild-moderate: an integrated to merged approach for grades 1-5, grades 4-8, and grades 6-12. Total hours required—27-33 credit hours or equivalent contact hours (405-495). B. Beginning September 1, 2024, a portion of the total required credit or contact hours for all alternate teacherpreparation programs must include the minimum number of hours in the teaching of reading and literacy as follows: 1. for certification in PK-3 and 1-5—9 credit hours or 135 contact hours; a. The instruction must: i. develop and assess candidate mastery of applicable literacy competencies, which are found in LAC 28:CXLVI (Bulletin 146); and ii. systematically and explicitly address the foundational literacy skills of phonological awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Each course shall, at a minimum, integrate: (a). how to effectively teach the foundational literacy skills of phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension; (b). how to differentiate instruction for teaching students with advanced literacy skills and students with significant literacy deficiencies, including dyslexia; (c). how to implement effective literacy instruction using high-quality instructional materials; (d). behavior management, trauma-informed principles and practices for the classroom, and other developmentally-appropriate supports to ensure that students can effectively access literacy instruction; (e). how to administer literacy assessments to students and use the resulting data to improve literacy instruction for students; iii. systematically and explicitly address behavior management, trauma-informed principles and practices for the classroom, and other developmentally appropriate supports to ensure that students can effectively access literacy instruction. 2. for certification in middle grades 4-8—6 credit hours or 90 contact hours; 3. for certification in secondary 6-12 or all-level K-12 - 3 credit hours or 45 contact hours; and 4. for special education areas (early interventionist, hearing impaired, significant disabilities, visually impaired, or mild/moderate special education 1-5, 4-8, or 6-12)9 credit hours or 135 contact hours. 5. Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, for all certification areas, candidates must spend three credit hours within the existing credit hour requirements, or 45 contact hours, engaged in coursework regarding teaching students with dyslexia, taught by a faculty member who has been provided specialized training in instructing teacher candidates on pedagogical methods for teaching students with dyslexia. The coursework shall include but need not be limited to the following: a. an overview of the body of scientific work regarding dyslexia, including the history, epidemiology, and clinical presentation, including early clinical indicators of dyslexia and common, persistent classroom presentation; b. an overview of evidence-based instruction for individuals with dyslexia including remediation of weaknesses, fortification of strengths, and common accommodations to help mediate between the two; and c. an introduction to the process of becoming a dyslexia practitioner or dyslexia therapist, pursuant to R.S. 17:392.2. 6. Beginning January 1, 2024, an applicant for initial certification in kindergarten through third grade shall pass the BESE-approved Teaching of Reading: Elementary or Teaching of Reading: Elementary Subtest exam in accordance with LAC 28:CXXXI.303. (Bulletin 746). Candidates already enrolled in the year-long residency and holding the R credential prior to January 1, 2025, are not subject to this provision. C. The program shall sequentially develop and assess teacher candidates’ mastery of applicable Louisiana teacher preparation competencies codified in LAC 28:CXLVI (Bulletin 146) through a combination of coursework, assessments, and related practice experiences. D. Programs must include the following practice experiences, which directly align with and sequentially develop the competencies identified in LAC 28:CXLVI (Bulletin 146). 1. Clinical experiences will be provided in classroom settings prior to the residency year as follows. a. In all programs, a minimum of 9 credit hours or 135 contact hours of training is required prior to the residency. 2. A one-year residency shall take place in a public school classroom, approved non-public school classroom, or in a classroom at a Type III Early Learning Center that has maintained consecutive years of LDOE-issued academic approval in the certification area the candidate is pursuing. The residency shall include a combination of the following experiences: a. instructional goal-setting and planning, including IEP, English Learner Accommodation Checklist, and IAP review and implementation; b. classroom teaching; c. analysis of student assessment results, including formative and summative assessment data, student work samples, and observations of student class discussions; d. parent-teacher conferences and communication; and e. interactions and collaboration with other teachers. 3. Requests for a one-year out-of-state residency placement may be permitted when the teacher preparation program is approved to operate in the state that the residency will occur. Such requests must be submitted by the teacher preparation program with the application for the resident teacher certificate or prior to the candidate beginning a residency as a teacher of record out-of-state. 4. The teacher candidate shall be supervised in all residency experiences by a team comprised of a school-based mentor teacher, the residency school site principal or designee, and program faculty member. a. Beginning with the 2020-2021 academic year, candidates enrolled in an alternate teacher preparation program who serve as a teacher of record must be mentored five hours per week, of the school’s instructional time, during the first year, by a school-based mentor teacher, who may collaborate with other personnel providing mentoring support. i. The school-based mentor teacher must be credentialed in accordance with LAC 28:CXXXI.553 (Bulletin 746). ii. The mentorship must include intensive supports, including: (a). co-teaching; (b). collaborative planning; and (c). observation and feedback sessions. b. The supervision must include, at a minimum, two formal observations of teaching practice per semester, including feedback on performance and analysis of formative and summative student achievement results and candidate performance data. Observations may be conducted by any member of the supervision team. 5. Practitioner teacher programs shall require candidates to complete the residency as a teacher of record. Candidates must hold a valid practitioner teacher license pursuant to Bulletin 746. 6. Master’s degree or certification-only alternate programs shall allow candidates to complete the residency as a teacher of record or in a classroom under a teacher of record. a. candidates may complete the residency as a teacher of record and must hold a valid practitioner teacher license pursuant to Bulletin 746; or b. candidates may complete the one-year residency in a classroom a public or approved non-public school in a classroom in the certification area with a teacher of record who holds a valid level 1, 2, 3, type A, or type B teaching certificate in the area for which the candidate is pursuing certification pursuant to Bulletin 746. The residency may include practice with other teachers in a public or approved non-public school setting. Residents placed in charter schools must be placed with a teacher of record who has demonstrated effectiveness pursuant to state law and Bulletin 130: i. effective July 1, 2018, candidates must hold a valid resident teacher certificate. The residency may include practice with other teachers in the public or approved non-public school setting; ii. for certification in PK-3, 1-5, or 1-5 integrated to merged, candidates must spend a minimum of 80 percent of the residency school site’s instructional time each week engaged in residency activities; and iii. for certification in K-12, 4-8, 6-12, 4-8 integrated to merged or 6-12 integrated to merged, candidates must spend a minimum of 60 percent of the residency school site’s instructional time each week in the first semester and 80 percent of the residency school site’s instructional time each week in the second semester engaged in residency activities; iv. teacher preparation providers may seek approval to offer an innovative residency model that does not meet the minimum instructional time requirements but meets a specific workforce need and includes high-quality clinical experiences throughout the program and intensive clinical experiences throughout the residency year. E. The preparation provider shall assess and document evidence of candidates’ teaching competency for all candidates completing one-year residencies. 1. Assessments of teaching competency shall be jointly administered by the preparation provider and the residency school site principal or designee. 2. Assessments of teaching competency shall include, but not are not limited to, the following: a. observations that occur during the residency year; and b. measures of teacher candidates’ impact on all students’ learning, which may include student learning targets. 3. Upon completion of the program, a holistic evaluation of the teacher candidate’s eligibility for initial licensure shall be made collaboratively by preparation provider faculty, the residency school site principal or designee, and mentor teacher. F. To be admitted into an alternative teacher preparation program, candidates must meet the following requirements: 1. possess a non-education baccalaureate degree from an institution accredited in accordance with 34 CFR 602; 2. meet minimum 2.20 or higher undergraduate GPA on a 4.00 scale to enter a teacher preparation program; and 3. pass the required content examinations or meet alternate requirements pursuant to Bulletin 746. If no examination has been adopted for Louisiana in the certification area, candidates must present a minimum of 30 semester hours of coursework specific to the content area. 4. Beginning June 14, 2023, an applicant who has not attained a 2.20 GPA may be issued certification if the following requirements are met in an alternate teacher preparation program: a. If the program awards credit hours, the applicant shall achieve a minimum GPA of 3.00 on a 4.00 point scale in the alternate teacher preparation program courses by the end of the first 12 credit hours and successfully complete the program with a minimum of a 2.5 GPA. b. If the program does not award credit hours, the applicant shall demonstrate mastery of competencies as required by the program and by the school system in which the applicant completes required clinical practice. G. Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, for prescribed certification areas, the program shall include instruction on teaching foundational numeracy skills. Certification areas include B-5, PK-K, elementary 1-5, elementary 1-5 integrated to merged, mathematics 4-8, mathematics 4-8 integrated to merged, mathematics 6-12, and mathematics 6-12 integrated to merged. Instruction shall include but need not be limited to the following: 1. effectively teaching foundational mathematics skills explicitly and systematically; 2. implementing effective mathematics instruction using high-quality instructional materials; 3. providing effective instruction and interventions for students who have difficulty with mathematics; and 4. understanding and using student data to make instructional decisions. H. Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, for all certification areas, the program shall include instruction on teaching students computer science, which may be incorporated into an existing course of study. The coursework shall include but not be limited to the following: 1. an introduction of the Louisiana Computer Science Content Standards; 2. an overview of computational thinking and computer science content, including broad knowledge of computing systems, internet safety, and data analysis to enhance student learning; and 3. an overview of standards-based instruction based on the core concepts and practices found with the Louisiana Computer Science Framework. I. Beginning with the 2027-2028 school year, for all certification areas, the program shall include instruction in crisis intervention and effective strategies for behavior management of students with disabilities, which may be incorporated into an existing course of study. J. Beginning with the 2027-2028 school year, for all certification areas, the program shall include instruction on teaching language acquisition strategies to support English learners, which may be incorporated into an existing course of study.