The following Administrative Policy has been adopted by the Arkansas Department of Education in an effort to address staffing issues for special education and regular early childhood education at the 5th and 6th grade levels.
Effective immediately, all Special Education Early Childhood Instructional Specialist (P-4) licensed teachers will receive an automatic approval through Standards Assurance to teach special education students at the 5th and 6th grade levels when employed to teach at those levels.
Effective immediately, all regular Early Childhood (P-4) licensed teachers will receive an automatic approval through Standards Assurance to teach regular Early Childhood students at the 5th and 6th grade levels when employed to teach at those levels.
Since this policy is not intended to be a permanent solution to the staffing issues at the 5th and 6th grade levels, the approval to teach at these levels will not be reflected on the current teaching license.