Minnesota Teacher Licensure .mn.us

O L A OFFICE OF THE LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR STATE OF MINNESOTA

EVALUATION REPORT

Minnesota Teacher Licensure

MARCH 2016

PROGRAM EVALUATION DIVISION Centennial Building ? Suite 140 658 Cedar Street ? St. Paul, MN 55155 Telephone: 651-296-4708 Fax: 651-296-4712 E-mail: legislative.auditor@state.mn.us Website: auditor.leg.state.mn.us Through Minnesota Relay: 1-800-627-3529 or 7-1-1

Program Evaluation Division

Evaluation Staff

The Program Evaluation Division was created within the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) in 1975. The division's mission, as set forth in law, is to determine the degree to which state agencies and programs are accomplishing their goals and objectives and utilizing resources efficiently.

Topics for evaluations are approved by the Legislative Audit Commission (LAC), which has equal representation from the House and Senate and the two major political parties. However, evaluations by the office are independently researched by the Legislative Auditor's professional staff, and reports are issued without prior review by the commission or any other legislators. Findings, conclusions, and recommendations do not necessarily reflect the views of the LAC or any of its members.

OLA also has a Financial Audit Division that annually audits the financial statements of the State of Minnesota and, on a rotating schedule, audits state agencies and various other entities. Financial audits of local units of government are the responsibility of the State Auditor, an elected office established in the Minnesota Constitution.

OLA also conducts special reviews in response to allegations and other concerns brought to the attention of the Legislative Auditor. The Legislative Auditor conducts a preliminary assessment in response to each request for a special review and decides what additional action will be taken by OLA.

James Nobles, Legislative Auditor Judy Randall, Deputy Legislative Auditor

Joel Alter Caitlin Badger Valerie Bombach Ellen Dehmer Sarah Delacueva Will Harrison Jody Hauer David Kirchner Laura Logsdon Carrie Meyerhoff Ryan Moltz Judy Randall Catherine Reed Jodi Munson Rodriguez Laura Schwartz KJ Starr Katherine Theisen Jo Vos

To obtain reports in electronic ASCII text, Braille, large print, or audio, call 651-296-4708. People with hearing or speech disabilities may call through Minnesota Relay by dialing 7-1-1 or 1-800-627-3529.

To offer comments about our work or suggest an audit, investigation, or evaluation, call 651-296-4708 or e-mail legislative.auditor@state.mn.us.

Printed on Recycled Paper

For more information about OLA and to access its reports, go to: auditor.leg.state.mn.us.

O L A OFFICE OF THE LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR STATE OF MINNESOTA ? James Nobles, Legislative Auditor

March 2016 Members of the Legislative Audit Commission: At your request, the Office of the Legislative Auditor evaluated teacher licensure in Minnesota. This report presents the results of our evaluation. We found that teacher licensure laws are complex, unclear, and confusing. We also found that because the Minnesota Board of Teaching and the Minnesota Department of Education share responsibility for licensing teachers in Minnesota, accountability is diffuse and decision making is not always transparent. We make a number of recommendations for the Legislature to consider that would clarify teacher-licensure requirements and more clearly assign responsibility for licensing teachers in the state. Our evaluation was conducted by Judy Randall (evaluation manager), Sarah Delacueva, and Katie Reed. The Minnesota Board of Teaching and the Minnesota Department of Education cooperated fully with our evaluation. Sincerely,

James Nobles Legislative Auditor

Room 140 Centennial Building, 658 Cedar Street, St. Paul, Minnesota 55155-1603 ? Phone: 651-296-4708 ? Fax: 651-296-4712 E-mail: legislative.auditor@state.mn.us ? Website: auditor.leg.state.mn.us ? Minnesota Relay: 1-800-627-3529 or 7-1-1

Table of Contents

Page

SUMMARY

ix

INTRODUCTION

1

1. BACKGROUND

3

Overview

3

Teacher-Licensure Regulation

4

Teacher-Preparation Programs

7

Concerns

12

2. TEACHER LICENSES AND LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS

15

Types of Teacher Licenses

15

Special Permissions

19

Licensure Requirements for Educators Trained in Minnesota

21

Licensure Requirements for Educators Trained or Licensed in Other States

26

3. TEACHER-LICENSURE PROCESS

35

Overview

35

Traditional Application Process

35

Areas of Concern

41

Licensure by Portfolio

51

Special Permissions Requests

53

Licensure Denials and Appeals

59

4. TEACHER-LICENSURE LAWS

67

Multiple Changes to Laws

67

Undefined and Duplicative Terms

70

Inconsistent Statutes and Rules

72

Unclear Laws

72

Exceptions

74

Recommendations

75

5. GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE

81

Board of Teaching

81

Minnesota Department of Education

84

Licensure Governance Structure

85

Other States' Oversight of Teacher Licensure

89

Licensing Other Professions in Minnesota

90

Recommendations

93

LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS

99

AGENCIES' RESPONSES

101

Board of Teaching

101

Minnesota Department of Education

103

RECENT PROGRAM EVALUATIONS

107

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download