The State Board of Education adopted Emergency Rules and Regulations for adding additional areas of licensure/endorsements to an existing Arkansas teaching license and for gaining an initial teaching license through the Probationary Route to Licensure at the June 11, 2001 meeting.
A copy of these Emergency Rules and Regulations is available as an attachment to this memo.
Highlights of these rules and regulations are as follows: As of May 14, 2001 deficiency and removal plans ceased to be issued in the areas of Special Education, Elementary Education, Middle School, and all areas of Science. Teachers who already have these DRP's on file will have until December 31, 2003, to complete all requirements for adding these areas to their licenses. Teachers without a DRP for these areas on file with Professional Licensure may add any of these areas to their license if they can finish the coursework and testing prior to December 31, 2001.
Teachers and administrators can now add additional teaching areas and endorsements to their teaching licenses by taking the Praxis II Specialty Area Test required for the area they have selected. The area must have a subject specific test in order to qualify. Coursework will not be required anymore. Those who already have a DRP on file and are working to complete coursework will not have to finish that coursework if or when they can pass the Praxis II Specialty Area Test for that area.
Areas that once required a Master's Degree, such as School Counseling and Library Media, can now be added to a current teaching license by taking and passing the Praxis II Specialty Area Test for those areas. The Master's Degree is no longer required.
The Current DRPs will be replaced by Additional Licensure Plans on September 1, 2001. These Additional Licensure Plan will serve the same purpose as the old DRP's. Teachers who will not be teaching out-of-field will need to have an Addional Licensure Plan on file with the school district and with the Office of Professional Licensure. Those individuals who are just interested in adding an area of licensure/endorsement and who are teaching out-of-field, will not have to file an Additional Licensure Plan with Professional Licensure. The only requirement for adding an additional area of licensure/endorsement is to take and pass the required Praxis II Specialy Area Test. Once that is done, the teacher will need to submit an application for licensure and indicate that they are adding an additional area of licensure/endorsement to their current license. These Additional Licensure Plans will be available in late August by contacting the Office of Professional Licensure. School districts will be receiving a complete packet of Additional Licensure Plans as soon as they can be prepared and shipped. Teachers can work under the new Additional Licensure Plans for three years. They must, however, take and pass the Praxis II Specialty Area Test for their area within this three-year period of time.
Teachers who are working on administrator licensure and have a DRP for principal or superintendent on file with Professional Licensure will have until December 31, 2002 to finish all coursework, and until June 30, 2002 to complete the Praxis II Educational Leadership exam. Applicants who fail to complete their DRP requirements by these dates will have to be licensed according to the new performance-based licensure system.
Individuals who are gaining their initial teaching license through the Probationary Route to Licensure and who have met the minimum requirements for their first provisional license or who have already taught a year, can now convert that provisional license to a standard license by completing all required assessments. No further coursework will be necessary unless they wish to license under the old requirements. Those wishing to license under the old requirements will have until December 31, 2004 to complete all coursework and required testing. They must also follow the guidelines established for renewing that provisional license on a yearly basis. The Probationary Route to Licensure was phased out as of June 30, 2001 and applications will no longer be taken for this route to licensure. All individuals interested in an alternative route to licensure through the Arkansas Department of Education will now work thorugh the Non-Traditional Teacher Licensure Program. The contact person for this program is Mr. Jim Chism at 501-682-4375.
Please advise your teachers of the recent changes regarding DRPs:
Passing the Praxis II Specialty AreaTest, does not require additional course work for their area test licensure/endorsement.
Praxis II Specialty Area Test, does not exist for Gifted and Talented, English as a Second Language and Educational Examiner.