Minnesota Teacher Licensure
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
List of Exhibits
Page
1. BACKGROUND
1.1 Active Teaching Licenses by Content Area, as of July 1, 2015
4
1.2 Teacher-Licensure Responsibilities by State Agency, 2016
5
1.3 Board of Teaching-Approved Teacher-Preparation Institutions, January 2016 8
1.4 Teacher-Preparation Programs Offered by Bemidji State University, 2016
9
2. TEACHER LICENSES AND LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS
2.1 Teacher Licenses Issued by the Minnesota Department of Education,
Fiscal Year 2015
16
2.2 Types of Special Permissions, Fiscal Year 2015
20
2.3 Teacher-Licensure Requirements for Candidates Trained in a Minnesota
Teacher-Preparation Program, 2016
23
2.4 Standards of Effective Practice for Teachers, 2016
24
2.5 General Subject-Matter Standards for Graduates of a Minnesota Teacher-
Preparation Program in Social Studies, 2016
25
2.6 Legislative Changes for Teacher Candidates Licensed in Other States, 2015 30
2.7 Teacher-Licensure Requirements for Candidates Trained and Licensed
Outside of Minnesota, 2016
31
2.8 Comparison of Requirements for Teacher-Licensure Candidates Trained
In and Outside of Minnesota, 2016
33
3. TEACHER-LICENSURE PROCESS
3.1 Applications Submitted to the Minnesota Department of Education's
Licensing Division, Fiscal Year 2015
36
3.2 Traditional Teacher-Licensure Application Process, 2016
38
3.3 Teacher Licenses Available through Minnesota's Educator Licensing
Application Website Compared with Licenses Issued, 2016
43
3.4 Sample Licenses and Permissions Requirements Matrix
47
3.5 Licensure Process for Candidates Who Have Not Passed All State-Required
Examinations, 2016
50
3.6 Individuals Granted Special Permissions, 2009-2010 School Year through
2014-2015 School Year
55
3.7 Examples of Unclear License Denial Language, Fiscal Years 2012 through
2015
62
3.8 Appeals Process for Candidates Denied Teacher Licensure, 2016
64
4. TEACHER-LICENSURE LAWS
4.1 Changes to Skills-Examination Licensure Requirements, 2012-2015
68
4.2 Select Undefined Terms in Minnesota's Teacher-Licensure Statutes, 2015 71
4.3 Teacher-License Inconsistencies in Statutes and Rules, 2015
73
4.4 Sample Tiered Teacher-Licensing System
77
viii
MINNESOTA TEACHER LICENSURE
Page
5. GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE
5.1 Board of Teaching Board Composition, 2015
83
5.2 Teacher Licensure and Standards Boards, 2009
90
5.3 Select Minnesota Professional Licensing Boards and Licensed Professions,
2015
91
5.4 Option 1: Consolidate All Teacher-Licensure Activities in the Board of
Teaching
94
5.5 Option 2: Consolidate All Teacher-Licensure Activities in the Minnesota
Department of Education
96
................
................
In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.
To fulfill the demand for quickly locating and searching documents.
It is intelligent file search solution for home and business.
Related download
- minnesota teacher licensure examinations
- minnesota teacher licensure
- application instructions and checklists
- types of minnesota teaching licenses
- tier 1 requirements tier 2 requirements tier 3
- minnesota teacher licensure testing information
- application for a tier 4 license
- application for a minnesota educator career and technical
Related searches
- nevada teacher licensure renewal
- minnesota teacher licensure lookup
- arkansas teacher licensure lookup
- teacher licensure virginia
- teacher licensure nevada
- ms teacher licensure lookup
- nv teacher licensure lookup
- teacher licensure requirements by state
- alternative teacher licensure colorado
- teacher licensure tennessee
- mississippi teacher licensure lookup
- tennessee teacher licensure renewal