Pursuant to the authority of Iowa Code section 272.2, the Board of Educational Examiners hereby amends Chapter 13, “Issuance of Teacher Licenses and Endorsements,” and Chapter 24, “Paraeducator Certificates,” Iowa Administrative Code.
As part of the Board’s annual review of endorsement requirements, endorsement review committees were formed whose members included current teachers, administrators, education stakeholder groups, and the Iowa Department of Education. Changes recommended by the review committees are adopted by the Board in the following amendments:
- Rescind the rules for the PK-3 endorsement that has since been updated and replaced.
- Revise the elementary education endorsement to reflect recent legislation to address the need for increased teacher preparation regarding reading difficulties, including dyslexia.
- Revise the multioccupations endorsement to make it more attainable for current teachers.
- Create a new career and technical education (CTE) technology endorsement to reflect the Board’s desire to recognize specified technology courses as part of a comprehensive CTE program and to have highly qualified instructors teaching the courses moving forward. The amendments also align with the CTE redesign outlined in 2016 Iowa Acts, House File 2392, specifically to align secondary CTE offerings to in-demand occupations to meet the needs of employers. The CTE technology endorsement will also support the Future Ready Iowa initiative outlined by then Governor Branstad and Lt. Governor Reynolds last fall.
- Create a new autism spectrum paraeducator certificate.
These amendments were published under Notice of Intended Action in the May 10, 2017, Iowa Administrative Bulletin as ARC 3047C. A public hearing was held on May 31, 2017. No one attended the public hearing. The board received written comments from 32 individuals regarding the amendment pertaining to dyslexia. The majority of these comments were supportive. Some commenters asked the Board to include more specificity in requirements for teacher preparation programs or require a stand-alone course related to teaching students with dyslexia. These amendments are identical to those published under Notice of Intended Action.
These amendments are subject to waiver pursuant to 282—Chapter 6.
The Board of Educational Examiners adopted these amendments on June 16, 2017. After analysis and review of this rule making, there is no anticipated impact on jobs. These amendments are intended to implement Iowa Code section 272.2(1)“a.”
These amendments will become effective August 9, 2017. The following amendments are adopted.
ITEM 1. Amend rule 282—13.26(272) as follows:
282—13.26(272) Requirements for elementary endorsements.
13.26(1) and 13.26(2) No change.
13.26(3) Teacher—prekindergarten through grade three, including special education.
- Authorization. The holder of this endorsement is authorized to teach children from birth through grade three.
- Content.
- Child growth and development.
- Understand the nature of child growth and development for infants and toddlers (birth through age 2), preprimary (age 3 through age 5) and primary school children (age 6 through age 8), both typical and atypical, in areas of cognition, language development, physical motor, social-emotional, aesthetics, and adaptive behavior.
- Understand individual differences in development and learning including risk factors, developmental variations and developmental patterns of specific disabilities and special abilities.
- Recognize that children are best understood in the contexts of family, culture and society and that cultural and linguistic diversity influences development and learning.
- Developmentally appropriate learning environment and curriculum implementation.
- Establish learning environments with social support, from the teacher and from other students, for all children to meet their optimal potential, with a climate characterized by mutual respect, encouraging and valuing the efforts of all regardless of proficiency.
- Appropriately use informal and formal assessment to monitor development of children and to plan and evaluate curriculum and teaching practices to meet individual needs of children and families.
- Plan, implement, and continuously evaluate developmentally and individually appropriate curriculum goals, content, and teaching practices for infants, toddlers, preprimary and primary children based on the needs and interests of individual children, their families and community.
- Use both child-initiated and teacher-directed instructional methods, including strategies such as small and large group projects, unstructured and structured play, systematic instruction, group discussion and cooperative decision making.
- Develop and implement integrated learning experiences for home-, center- and school-based environments for infants, toddlers, preprimary and primary children.
- Develop and implement integrated learning experiences that facilitate cognition, communication, social and physical development of infants and toddlers within the context of parent-child and caregiver-child relationships.
- Develop and implement learning experiences for preprimary and primary children with focus on multicultural and nonsexist content that includes development of responsibility, aesthetic and artistic development, physical development and well-being, cognitive development, and emotional and social development.
- Develop and implement learning experiences for infants, toddlers, preprimary, and primary children with a focus on language, mathematics, science, social studies, visual and expressive arts, social skills, higher-thinking skills, and developmentally appropriate methodology.
- Develop adaptations and accommodations for infants, toddlers, preprimary, and primary children to meet their individual needs.
- Adapt materials, equipment, the environment, programs and use of human resources to meet social, cognitive, physical motor, communication, and medical needs of children and diverse learning needs.
- Health, safety and nutrition.
- Design and implement physically and psychologically safe and healthy indoor and outdoor environments to promote development and learning.
- Promote nutritional practices that support cognitive, social, cultural and physical development of young children.
- Implement appropriate appraisal and management of health concerns of young children including procedures for children with special health care needs.
- Recognize signs of emotional distress, physical and mental abuse and neglect in young children and understand mandatory reporting procedures.
- Demonstrate proficiency in infant-child cardiopulmonary resuscitation, emergency procedures and first aid.
- Family and community collaboration.
- Apply theories and knowledge of dynamic roles and relationships within and between families, schools, and communities.
- Assist families in identifying resources, priorities, and concerns in relation to the child’s development.
- Link families, based on identified needs, priorities and concerns, with a variety of resources. 4. Use communication, problem-solving and help-giving skills in collaboration with families and
other professionals to support the development, learning and well-being of young children.
5. Participate as an effective member of a team with other professionals and families to develop and implement learning plans and environments for young children.
- Pre-student teaching clinical experience in teaching literacy.
- to (9) No change.
ITEM 2.Amend rule 282—13.28(272) as follows:
282—13.28(272) Minimum content requirements for teaching endorsements.
13.28(1) to 13.28(32) No change.
13.28(33) Multioccupations.
- Completion of any 5-12 endorsement and, in addition thereto, coursework in foundations of career and technical education, and coordination of cooperative programs, and competency-based curriculum development. work experience which meets one of the following:
- Four thousand hours of career and technical experience in two or more occupations. careers; or
- One thousand hours of work experience or externships in two or more careers and two or more years of teaching experience at the PK-12 level.
- The multioccupations endorsement also authorizes the holder to supervise students in cooperative programs, school-to-work work-based learning programs, and similar programs in which the student is placed in school-sponsored, on-the-job situations.
13.28(34) CTE information technology. 5-12.
- Authorization. The holder of this endorsement is authorized to teach career and technical education (CTE) information technology, CTE computer science, and CTE computer programming courses.
- Program requirements. Applicants must hold a valid Iowa teaching license with at least one other teaching endorsement.
- Content. A minimum of 12 semester hours of computer science to include coursework in the following:
- Data representation and abstraction to include primitive data types, static and dynamic data structures, and data types and stores.
- Designing, developing, testing and refining algorithms to include proficiency in two or more programming paradigms.
- Systems and networks to include operating systems, networks, mobile devices, and machine-level data representation.
- Methods course. A content area methods course is required pursuant to 13.29(1). The course should include the following effective teaching and learning strategies for information technology:
- Curriculum development including recognizing and defining real-world computational problems; computing concepts and constructs; developing and using abstractions; creating, testing, and refining computational artifacts; and problem-solving strategies in computer science.
- Project-based methodologies that support active and authentic learning, fostering an inclusive computing culture, collaborative groupings, and opportunities for creative and innovative thinking.
- Communication about computing including multiple forms of media.
- Digital citizenship including the social, legal, ethical, safe and effective use of computer hardware, software, peripherals, and networks.
- CTE methods.
- A minimum of six semester hours of career and technical curriculum and methods to include:
- Foundations of career and technical education.
- Methods of career and technical education.
- Evaluation and assessment of career and technical programs.
- The CTE methods coursework is not required if the educator holds another career and technical endorsement.
- Waiver of coursework requirements. During the first year of implementation, the coursework requirements may be waived if the practitioner demonstrates relevant content knowledge mastery and successful teaching experience in this endorsement area through criteria established by the board of educational examiners.
ITEM 3.Amend rule 282—24.4(272) as follows:
282—24.4(272) Paraeducator area of concentration. An area of concentration is not required but optional. Applicants must currently hold or have previously held an Iowa paraeducator generalist certificate. Applicants may complete one or more areas of concentration but must complete at least 45 clock hours in each area of concentration.
24.4(1) to 24.4(7) No change.
24.4(8) Autism spectrum disorders. Under the direction and supervision of a qualified classroom teacher, the paraeducator shall successfully complete the following list of competencies.
- Foundations. Under the supervision of a licensed education professional, the paraeducator will:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the components of education plans (individualized education program (IEP), behavior intervention plan (BIP), functional behavioral analysis (FBA), and Section 504 Plan).
- Identify common characteristics of students with autism spectrum disorder (communication, social, restricted interest and behavior) and how these characteristics compare to those of typical children.
- Learning environment. Under the supervision of a licensed education professional, the paraeducator will:
- Assist in structuring the environment to meet the needs of students with autism spectrum disorder.
- Implement with integrity schedules and educational programs prescribed by the licensed teacher.
- Content and instruction. Under the supervision of a licensed education professional, the paraeducator will:
- Implement the educational, academic, and communication accommodations, adaptations, and supports assigned by a teacher.
- Provide opportunities for students with autism spectrum disorders to initiate and respond to large interactions and small interactions in academic settings.
- Provide opportunities for students with autism spectrum disorders to initiate, respond to, and participate in interactions in large groups and small groups in authentic situations.
- Gather and maintain data on student academic performance as directed by a licensed teacher.
- Assist educational staff in developing accommodations and adaptations and self-determination skills to increase student independence.
- Emotional and behavioral. Under the supervision of a licensed education professional, the paraeducator will:
- Understand and identify the function of a behavior (e.g., antecedents, behaviors, consequences).
- Collect data on student behavior and related environmental stimuli, based on the concepts of antecedents, behaviors and consequences.
- Implement antecedent strategies on student behavior, as defined by the licensed educator.
- Reinforce and practice replacement behaviors, as defined by the licensed educator.
- Respond to problem behaviors in a consistent manner, as defined by the licensed educator.
- Gather and maintain data on student social and behavioral performance, as directed by a licensed teacher.
- Professional relationships. Under the supervision of a licensed education professional, the paraeducator will:
- Demonstrate the ability to support the viewpoints and perspectives of students with autism and be empathetic to the students’ learning styles.
- Respond to challenging behaviors in a respectful, empathetic manner.
- Ethical and professional practice. Under the supervision of a licensed education professional, the paraeducator will:
- Know and understand the expectations of confidentiality in regard to student information and social media usage.
- Know and understand the legal constructs of the IEP and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
[Filed 6/20/17, effective 8/9/17] [Published 7/5/17]
EDITOR’S NOTE: For replacement pages for IAC, see IAC Supplement 7/5/17.