First Discussion

First Discussion

February 4, 2015

TO: Members, State Board of Education

FROM: David C. Hespe, Commissioner

SUBJECT: N.J.A.C. 6A:9B, State Board of Examiners and Certification

REASON FOR

ACTION: Readoption

AUTHORITY: N.J.S.A. 18A:1-1, 18A:4-15, 18A:6-34 and 38, and 18A:26-2.7 and 10; and P.L. 2012, c. 11.

SUNSET DATE: December 10, 2015

Summary

In schools, teachers have the greatest influence on student learning. The Department of Education (Department) is committed to a holistic approach to attract, develop, and retain exceptional teachers. The lifecycle of an educator includes preparation and recruitment, certification, evaluation, professional development, and retention. There is not one panacea within this lifecycle that will ensure all New Jersey students have access to a great teacher, but fostering high-quality preparation and maintaining a meaningful bar for entry into the profession are two of the Department’s key mechanisms for enhancing the effectiveness of novice teachers. The Department can leverage preparation and certification requirements to ensure strong candidates enter educator preparation programs, receive quality instruction, and demonstrate performance throughout the programs and initial years of teaching. The Department can also use candidate and programmatic data to provide more insight into New Jersey educator preparation programs and, ultimately, implement a better accountability system to ensure program quality across the State.

New Jersey is not alone in its goal to enhance the effectiveness of novice teachers. In late 2012, the Council of Chief State School Officers published Our Responsibility, Our Promise: Transforming Educator Preparation and Entry into the Profession, calling on states to increase licensure requirements and utilize stronger program approval and accountability measures for educator preparation providers.

The Department proposes to readopt N.J.A.C. 6A:9B, State Board of Examiners and Certification, with amendments, repeals, and new rules to do the following: better align certificate of eligibility (CE), certificate of eligibility with advanced standing (CEAS), and reciprocity requirements to the increased certification standards adopted by the State Board of Education on June 4, 2014; enhance substitute credential requirements; and align standard instructional certificate requirements to the new evaluation system rules in N.J.A.C. 6A:10.

N.J.A.C. 6A:9 previously set forth the rules governing the preparation, licensure, and professional development of educators required by their positions to be certified. It also contained rules governing the approval of educator preparation programs and their content. Finally, it contained the rules delineating the organization of, powers of, duties of and proceedings before the State Board of Examiners. On July 14, 2014, the chapter was recodified into four chapters – N.J.A.C. 6A:9, 9A, 9B, and 9C – via a notice of administrative action. Current N.J.A.C. 6A:9 pertains to professional standards for teachers and school leaders, while N.J.A.C. 6A:9A pertains to the rules governing educator preparation programs in New Jersey. N.J.A.C. 6A:9B focuses on the State Board of Examiners, its proceedings, and the various types of certification. Lastly, N.J.A.C. 6A:9C contains the rules governing professional development for educators.

Coupled with the recent recodification, the proposed reorganization of N.J.A.C. 6A:9B and the proposed amendments are meant to clarify certification requirements as compared to educator preparation program requirements in proposed N.J.A.C. 6A:9A and/or the teacher mentoring requirements in proposed N.J.A.C. 6A:9C. Additionally, the Department proposes within N.J.A.C. 6A:9B to list individually the components of a provisional teacher program; clarify the responsibilities of candidates, school districts, and educator preparation programs throughout the provisional teacher program; and more clearly organize the types of instructional endorsements required for teachers with instructional certification to teach specific subjects and grade levels. The organizational changes are a response to the field’s concern that the structure of the current rules is confusing.

To best focus on the preparation and certification requirements of teachers with an instructional certification, no substantive changes are being proposed for the requirements for educational services certification in recodified N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-13, and only organizational changes and minor amendments are proposed for the administrative certification in recodified N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-12 and for the Board of Examiners rules in recodified N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.

The Department also proposes amendments throughout N.J.A.C. 6A:9B to align certification requirements and processes with industry practices.

The Department proposes throughout the chapter to replace “college and academic program” with “educator preparation program” for consistency and to add “written” when dealing with submissions or requests to the Board of Examiners to reflect current practice. The Department also proposes throughout N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-9 through 11 to replace “nursery school” with “preschool” to reflect the current term for education for 3- and 4-year-old students.

Unless specified in this Summary, all other amendments are proposed for clarity, stylistic and grammatical improvements, or to update Administrative Code citations affected by proposed recodifications.

Subchapter 1. Scope and Purpose

Proposed N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-1.1 Scope

The Department proposes this section to provide this chapter’s scope, which is the rules governing the licensure of educators or candidates required to be certified. The chapter also applies to the organization, powers, and duties of the State Board of Examiners and its proceedings.

Proposed N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-1.2 Purpose

The Department proposes this section to provide this chapter’s purpose, which is to establish a licensure system based on professional standards for pre-service preparation and certification that continuously serves to improve the quality of instruction for New Jersey’s children to prepare them for college and careers. The licensure system functions along a continuum of rigorous pre-professional preparation, certification, and professional development to better prepare educators to support improved student achievement of the Core Curriculum Content Standards (CCCS).

Subchapter 2. Definitions

N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-2.1 Definitions

This section provides that the definitions at N.J.A.C. 6A:9-2.1 also apply to this chapter.

Subchapter 3. State Board of Examiners

This subchapter describes who comprises the Board of Examiners, provides details about its general organization, and outlines its duties and powers.

N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-3.1 General

This section describes the composition, duration of appointment, authority, and required meetings of the Board of Examiners.

N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-3.2 Powers and duties

This section describes the powers and duties of the Board of Examiners.

Subchapter 4. State Board of Examiners’ Proceedings

This subchapter outlines the procedures that the Board of Examiners and a candidate for certification or a certificate holder must follow regarding the suspension or revocation of a certificate and the barring of a candidate from receiving a certificate.

The Department proposes throughout the subchapter to change to 18 (or “an original and 18 copies”) from 21 the number of copies of a document a certificate holder must submit to the Board of Examiners during any proceeding involving the suspension or revocation of a certificate. In practice, 21 copies exceeded the Board of Examiners’ needs.

N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.1 Certificate holder

This section defines the terms “certificate” and “certificate holder” and outlines the process through which a certificate holder must report an arrest or indictment for any crime or offense.

The Department proposes to delete N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.1 as its provisions are being included in N.J.A.C. 6A:9 or elsewhere in this subchapter.

The Department proposes to delete N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.1(a) and (b), which define “certificate holder” and “certificate,” because definitions for the terms are proposed at N.J.A.C. 6A:9-2.1 in another rulemaking as they apply to N.J.A.C. 6A:9, 9A, 9B, and 9C and not just N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.

The Department proposes to recodify N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.1(c), which describes the procedure a certificate holder must follow when reporting an arrest or indictment, as N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.3(c)1 through 4 with amendments as described further in this Summary.

Proposed N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.1 Conduct barring candidate from certification (Current N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.2)

This section describes when the Board of Examiners may refuse to issue a certificate to a candidate who meets all certification requirements.

The Department proposes to recodify N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.2 as new N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.1.

Proposed N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.2 Candidates to provide information regarding criminal history (Current N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.3)

This section describes the rules a candidate for certification must follow regarding the disclosure of a criminal conviction.

The Department proposes to recodify N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.3 as new N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.2.

Proposed N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.3 School district and candidate reporting responsibility (Current N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.4)

This section describes when a chief school administrator must disclose to the Board of Examiners information about a certificate holder regarding a criminal indictment or conviction. This section also describes a school district’s responsibility to cooperate with the Board of Examiners in proceedings that arise from the information the school district provided.

The Department proposes to recodify N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.4 as new N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.3. The Department also proposes to change the section heading from “District reporting responsibility” to “School district and candidate reporting responsibility” to accurately reflect its content as proposed.

The Department proposes at N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.3(a)3 to replace “pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-3.1(b)” with “pursuant to this chapter.” The proposed amendment does not expand the rule’s scope. The rules governing which license(s), certificate(s), and authorization(s) are mandated for an individual to serve in a particular position are located throughout the chapter and not solely in N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-3.1(b). When the rule was last amended, the current citation was inserted in error. The Department proposes the same amendment at N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.5(a)7.

The Department also proposes at N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.3(a)5 to replace “Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS)” with “Division of Child Protection and Permanency in the Department of Children and Families” because DYFS no longer exists and its responsibilities now fall under the Division of Child Protection and Permanency. The Department proposes the same amendment at N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.5(a)5.

The Department proposes to recodify the last sentence of current N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.1(c), which requires school districts to inform all new employees and annually inform all employees of the reporting requirements for an arrest or indictment for any crime or offense, as N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.3(c). The Department proposes to recodify the first four sentences of current N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.1(c) as N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.3(c)1 through 4. The Department also proposes to add “of the day of the arrest or indictment” to the end of recodified N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.3(c)1, which requires a certificate holder to report his or her arrest or indictment to his or her superintendent within 14 calendar days, to clarify the timeframe in which a certificate holder must report the arrest or indictment.

Proposed N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.4 Grounds for revocation and suspension of certification (Current N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.5)

This section describes when a certificate may be revoked or suspended.

The Department proposes to recodify N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.5 as new N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.4.

Proposed N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.5 Revocation or suspension of certificates (Current N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.6)

This section describes the responsibilities of both the Board of Examiners and the certificate holder when charges to suspend or revoke a certificate are brought against a certificate holder.

The Department proposes to recodify N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.6 as new N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.5.

The Department proposes to delete N.JA.C. 6A:9B-4.5(b)8, which stipulates that an order to show cause can be issued to a certificate holder when the Board of Examiners determines the certificate holder’s conduct could warrant the revocation or suspension of a certificate(s) as the result of an individual filing a petition seeking the revocation or suspension of the certificate holder’s certificate. The provision is not practical because it results in an accuser’s claims against the word of the accused certificate holder, with no real basis for the Board of Examiners to issue an order to show cause. Additionally, any truly serious allegation can be investigated by the Office of Fiscal Accountability and Compliance without a petition. The Department also proposes to recodify N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.5(a)9 through 11 as N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.5(a)8 through 10, respectively.

The Department proposes to delete N.J.A.C. 6A-9B-4.5(b), which outlines the procedures an individual must follow to file a petition with the Board of Examiners seeking the revocation or suspension of a certificate holder’s certificate. Since an individual petition to the Board of Examiners has been determined to be an unworkable practice, as described above, the rules dictating its procedure no longer are necessary.

The Department also proposes to recodify N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.5(c) as N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.5(b). The Department proposes an amendment at recodified N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.5(b) to replace “the forgoing” with “this section” to clarify the rules of the section do not preclude the Board of Examiners from issuing an order to show cause on its own initiative when grounds for revocation or suspension of a certificate exist. The Department also proposes to replace “has reason to believe” with “determines” for stylistic improvement; the proposed amendment is not intended to raise the threshold for when the Board of Examiners may issue an order to show cause on its own initiative.

The Department proposes to delete N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.5(d), which explains that a school district employing the certificate holder at the time of the conduct at issue must cooperate with the Board of Examiners in any proceeding arising from the order to show cause. The proposed amendments at N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.3(b) sufficiently dictate school district responsibility in this area and, thereby, will make N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.5(d) unnecessary.

Proposed N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.6 Procedures for revoking or suspending a certificate (Current N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.7)

This section describes the procedure after a charge has been brought to suspend or revoke a certificate holder’s certificate.

The Department proposes to recodify N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.7 as new N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.6.

The Department proposes at recodified N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.6(j), which allows a certificate holder to apply for an extension of time in which to file an answer to the order to show cause, to replace “the extension is requested” with “the extension is submitted in writing” to stipulate that only a written submission will be considered.

Proposed N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.7 Revoked and suspended certificates (Current N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.8)

This section describes the procedures following a revocation or suspension of a certificate.

The Department proposes to recodify N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.8 as new N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.7.

The Department proposes an amendment at N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.7(b)1, which requires notification of the 50 states and territories and other agencies in the Interstate Certification Project when the Board of Examiners has revoked or suspended a certificate. The Department proposes to delete “50” before “states” and to replace “Interstate Certification Project” with “the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification” because the Department cannot guarantee that all 50 states are continuous members of the association and to update the organization’s name.

Proposed N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.8 Suspension of certificates for failure to give notice of intention to resign (Current N.J.A.C. 6A:9B-4.9)