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    CHECK IT OUT RIGHT HERE!      This article is a summary of the Rochester Hearing concerning the REPA Licensing.  


     WHEN/WHERE: The Advisory Board will discuss the previous testimonies. It is important to attend this meeting to show your concern by your presence.


     December 10 - noon, 2009 in the Riley Room at the DOE offices on West Ohio St. in Indianapolis. The Advisory Board will discuss the testimony and comments from the public. The public may attend, but not give testimony. See approved final revisions from this meeting below:

    Board Approves Final Revisions to Teacher Licensing Regulations

     

    Members of Indiana’s Advisory Board to the Division of Professional Standards met today to make final revisions to the proposed Rules for Educator Preparation and Accountability (REPA). Several changes have been made to the REPA proposal since it was first introduced in late July. These include:

     

    Content and pedagogy requirements.  With revisions, the REPA proposal requires a content-area major for those seeking to gain licensure to teach grades 5-12, without credit minimums or maximums for pedagogy coursework. The proposal allows career-changers with at least a bachelors’ degree in a subject other than education to obtain an education minor and pass content-area exams to obtain a teaching license. Additionally, the proposal requires future alternative certification programs to gain approval from the advisory board. 

    License renewal. Teachers will have greater freedom and options for renewal. The revised document allows teachers to determine the best way to renew their licenses: by logging professional development hours or by obtaining six college credit hours.

    License categories. The original REPA document reduced licensing categories from five school settings to three. With input from teachers and other stakeholders, the advisory board restored licenses for Early Childhood (Pre-K – 3) and Middle School (5-9). Also, revisions have removed Fine Arts, Health, Physical Education, Journalism and Library Media from content areas eligible for Workplace Specialist licensure. 

    Transition period.  Revisions made to the REPA proposal have clarified the implementation timeline once the rule gains final approval from the advisory board. The transition period between Rules 2002, Indiana’s current licensing regulations, and the REPA will be between the day the new rule is approved and August 31, 2013, for people currently enrolled in educator preparation programs within the state. 

     

    The Advisory Board to the Division of Professional Standards will meet again Jan. 7 to offer a final vote on the proposed licensing changes