PURPOSE: This rule provides procedures and standards for approval of professional education programs in baccalaureate degree granting four (4)-year colleges and universities in Missouri. The rule also provides procedures and standards for approval of preliminary teacher education programs in associate’s degree granting two (2)-year colleges in Missouri and acceptance of credits from the two (2)-year colleges for purposes of teacher certification and student transfer to the four (4)-year colleges and universities.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The secretary of state has determined that the publication of the entire text of the material which is incorporated by reference as a portion of this rule would be unduly cumbersome or expensive. Therefore, the material which is so incorporated is on file with the agency who filed this rule, and with the Office of the Secretary of State. Any interested person may view this material at either agency’s headquarters or the same will be made available at the Office of the Secretary of State at a cost not to exceed actual cost of copy reproduction. The entire text of the rule is printed here. This note refers only to the incorporated by reference material.

1. (1) For the purpose of this rule, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the following terms shall mean:

   1. (A) Advanced certification program. A post-baccalaureate program leading to additional certification;
   2. (B) Annual reports. Written reports prepared by the professional education unit each year attesting to its continuing capacity to meet the standards and requirements of the State Board of Education (board);
   3. (C) Approved program. The status granted a professional education program by the board authorizing the recommendation of candidates for certification as a result of the program having demonstrated its capacity to satisfy the standards for the preparation of educational professionals, not to exceed seven

2. (7) years;

   1. (D) Candidates. Individuals admitted to or enrolled in programs for initial or advanced preparation of teachers or other professional school personnel;
   2. (E) Certification. The official recognition by the board that an individual has met state requirements and is, therefore, approved to practice as a duly certified/licensed education professional;
   3. (F) Clinical experiences. Activities that are conducted in off-campus settings, such as a school, classroom, or community center. They include classroom observations, tutoring, assisting teachers and administrators, student teaching, and internships;
   4. (G) Conceptual framework. The rationale and organizing principles that guide the development of the design, curriculum, and accountability for professional education;
   5. (H) Conditional approval. The status granted a professional education program by the board authorizing an institution to recommend candidates for certification from such programs for a period, not to exceed two (2) years, with conditions and limitations stipulated by the board;
   6. (I) Denial of approval. Board action that denies or removes the authorization of an institution to recommend candidates for state certification from programs that fail to meet the standards and requirements for the preparation of educational professionals;
   7. (J) Diversity. Differences among groups of people based on culture, ethnicity, race, language, socio-economic status, gender, regional/geographic background and exceptionalities. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) does not consider diversity of geographic origins, religion, or language group to be good faith representation of wide-range cultural diversity;
   8. (K) Evaluation team. A team selected by DESE for the purpose of conducting an onsite review and evaluation of an institution’s professional education unit and programs; the team includes a member of DESE, faculty from elementary or secondary schools and institutions of higher education possessing board approved professional education programs;
   9. (L) Governance. The system and structure for defining policy and administering procedures for the professional education unit;
   10. (M) Initial certification programs. Programs at the baccalaureate or post-baccalaureate levels that prepare candidates for their first certificate of license to teach;
   11. (N) Interim review. A review conducted during a period of program approval, consistent with board procedures and standards and authorized by the commissioner of education when s/he has reason to believe that an institution or an approved program is no longer in compliance with state standards or when an 5 CSR 80-805

institution recommends a candidate for certification from a nonapproved program;

1. (O) Preliminary professional education program. A program that provides the introductory or early phases of teacher preparation culminating in a two (2)-year associate’s degree;
2. (P) Professional community. Professional education candidates, faculty/staff in PK–12 schools, higher education faculty, and others in the educational enterprise;
3. (Q) Professional education unit. An institution of higher education, college, school, department, or other administrative entity within the institution that is primarily responsible for the initial and advanced preparation of teachers and other professional school personnel;
4. (R) Professional education faculty. Those individuals employed by a college or university who teach one (1) or more courses in education, provide services to education students (e.g., advising or supervising student teaching), or administer some portion of the unit; professional education faculty may include both higher education faculty and school-based personnel who are considered to be members of an institution’s professional education unit;
5. (S) Professional education program. A planned sequence of courses and experiences leading to a degree, state certification, and/or adequate preparation to provide professional education services in schools;
6. (T) Program approval process. The sequence of events by which professional education programs are reviewed and evaluated by DESE to determine if they meet the standards for the preparation of school personnel; and
7. (U) Scholarly activities. The active involvement in one’s area of specialization as demonstrated through such faculty activities as research, articles published, program evaluation studies, documentation of ongoing activities, grant seeking, and presentations at professional meetings.

1. (2) Professional education programs at institutions of higher education shall be evaluated according to the standards listed below and in the Missouri Standards for Teacher Education Programs (MoSTEP) and the Benchmarks for Preliminary Teacher Education Programs, which are hereby incorporated by reference and made a part of this rule.

   1. (A) Standard 1: Performance Standards for Education Professionals. (Initial and Advanced) The professional education unit ensures that candidates for professional certification possess the knowledge, skills, and AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

competencies defined as appropriate for their area of responsibility.

1. (B) Standard 2: Program and Curriculum Design. (Initial and Advanced) The professional education unit has high quality professional education programs that are derived from a conceptual framework that is knowledge-based, articulated, shared, coherent, consistent with the unit and/or institutional mission, and continuously evaluated.
2. (C) Standard 3: Clinical Experiences. (Initial and Advanced) The professional education unit ensures that clinical experiences for programs are well-planned, of high quality, integrated throughout the program sequence, and continuously evaluated.
3. (D) Standard 4: Composition, Quality, and Competence of Student Population. (Initial and Advanced) The professional education unit has and implements plans to recruit, admit, and retain a diverse student population who demonstrate potential for professional success in schools.
4. (E) Standard 5: Qualifications, Composition, Assignments, and Development of Professional Education Faculty, and Quality of Instruction. (Initial and Advanced) The professional education unit has and implements plans to recruit, employ and retain a diverse faculty who demonstrate professional qualifications and high quality instruction.
5. (F) Standard 6: Governance, Organization, and Authority. (Initial and Advanced) Governing boards and administrators shall indicate commitment to the preparation of educational personnel, as related to the institution’s mission and goals, by adopting and implementing policies and procedures supportive of programs for the preparation of professional educators.
6. (G) Standard 7: Professional Community. (Initial and Advanced) The professional education unit and the professional community collaborate to improve programs for the preparation of school personnel and to improve the quality of education in the schools.
7. (H) Standard 8: Resources for Operating the Unit and for Supporting Teaching and Learning. (Initial and Advanced) The professional education unit has sufficient facilities, equipment, and budgetary resources to fulfill its mission and offer quality programs. The unit has adequate resources to support teaching and scholarship by faculty and candidates.

1. (3) In lieu of the standards listed above, the board may accept the standards of any accrediting agency used for the evaluation of a professional education unit in an institution of higher education if the agency is approved by the United States Department of Education and has established a formal agreement with DESE.
2. (4) An institution of higher education desiring initial approval of its professional education program(s) shall submit a written request and supporting documentation in accordance with the standards and procedures in MoSTEP.
3. (5) An institution of higher education desiring continuing approval of its professional education program(s) shall submit to DESE annual reports in a form consistent with the rules and regulations promulgated by the board.
4. (6) An evaluation team shall conduct an onsite review of an institution’s professional education program(s) to determine compliance with MoSTEP listed above and shall prepare a report for the commissioner of education.
5. (7) The commissioner of education shall review the team’s report and may request additional information from the institution before recommendations are made to the board.
6. (8) For professional education programs that receive a rating of “not met” by the evaluation team or programs for which the commissioner of education has indicated to the institution that s/he may recommend denial of approval, the institution shall be afforded an opportunity for a hearing to provide evidence to support approval or conditional approval of those programs. The hearing shall be conducted by the commissioner of education or his/her designee according to the provisions of Chapter 536, RSMo.
7. (9) The commissioner of education shall recommend to the board that the professional education program(s) of the institution be granted approval; conditional approval; or be denied approval. The recommendation of the commissioner of education shall not include denial of approval to programs for which the institution was not afforded an opportunity for a hearing according to the provisions of Chapter 536, RSMo.

8. (10) The board shall review the recommendations of the commissioner of education and shall grant approval; conditional approval; or deny approval of an institution’s professional education program(s). The board shall not deny approval to programs for which the institution was not afforded an opportunity for a hearing according to the provisions of Chapter 536, RSMo.

   1. (A) Should the board grant conditional approval to any professional education program(s) offered by an institution, the institution’s authorization to recommend candidates for certification shall not exceed two (2) years with conditions and limitations stipulated by the board. Conditional approval for a professional education program(s) shall not be extended or renewed without consent of the board or its designee.
   2. (B) Should the board deny approval to any professional education program(s) offered by an institution of higher education, the commissioner of education shall notify the institution of the denial and inform the institution of the reasons for the denial.
9. (11) The commissioner of education may authorize an interim review of an institution or an approved professional education program(s) in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the board. As a result of the review, and upon the recommendation of the commissioner of education, the board may discontinue an institution’s authorization to recommend candidates for certification.
10. (12) Requisite conditions, guidelines, procedures and standards, as set forth in the rules and regulations promulgated by the board, shall be followed by institutions seeking board approval of their professional education programs.
11. (13) DESE will accept, for purposes of teacher certification and student transfer to baccalaureate degree granting four (4)-year institutions of higher education, credits from state-approved preliminary teacher education programs in Missouri’s two (2)-year colleges to meet general education, subject knowledge and/or professional education competencies equivalent to those in the first two (2) years of the baccalaureate educational experience.
12. (14) All institutions of higher education in Missouri seeking DESE approval for preliminary professional education programs shall be reviewed and evaluated by DESE and approved by the board pursuant to MoSTEP and the Benchmarks for Preliminary Teacher Education Programs.
13. (15) It is not the intent of this rule to cause Missouri’s four (4)-year teacher preparation institutions to deny acceptance of credit for candidates from any two (2)-year or other four (4)-year institutions of higher education.
14. (16) It is not the intent of this rule to deny acceptance of any nonprofessional education credit earned at two (2)-year community colleges to meet the renewal requirements for a certificate of license to teach.

AUTHORITY: sections 161.092 and 168.021, RSMo Supp. 2003 and 161.097 and 161.099, RSMo 2000.* This rule was previously filed as 5 CSR 80-800.015. Original rule filed Sept. 29, 1986, effective Jan. 12, 1987. Amended: Filed Aug. 1, 1988, effective Nov. 25, 1988. Amended: Filed April 25, 1990, effective Sept. 28, 1990. Amended: Filed Oct. 31, 1996, effective June 30, 1997. Amended: Filed Dec. 23, 1998, effective Aug. 30, 1999. Amended: Filed July 28, 2000, effective Feb. 28, 2001. Amended: Filed Sept. 24, 2002, effective April 30, 2003. Amended: Filed April 5, 2004, effective Nov. 30, 2004.

*Original authority: 161.092, RSMo 1963, amended 1973, 2002 2003; 161.097, RSMo 1985; 161.099, RSMo 1993; and 168.021, RSMo 1963, amended 1973, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1998, 2000, 2003.