Except where the context makes another meaning manifest, the following words shall have the meanings indicated when used in this chapter:

1. (a) “Authorization” means permission for a person to serve in the role of a licensed educator prior to completing the licensure endorsement requirements for that role, or for a temporary period of time established by the document;
2. (b) “Board” means the state board of education created by RSA 21-N:10;
3. (c) “Bureau” means the bureau of credentialing, division of educator support and higher education, department of education;
4. (d) “Case” means a complaint or report has been reviewed by the department and determined that the allegation within the complaint involves a credential holder and a possible violation of the educator code of conduct and might warrant an investigation;
5. (e) “Clearance” means a document issued to bus drivers and candidates enrolled in a professional educator preparation program (PEPP) which reflects that the criminal history record check was completed pursuant to RSA 189:13-b and RSA 189:13-c, and none of the violations in RSA 189:13-a, V were found;
6. (f) “Certificate” means the electronic or paper form of any type of credential issued by the board;
7. (g) “Code of conduct” means the code of conduct for credential holders as outlined in Ed 510.01-Ed 510.05;
8. (h) “College-level course” means a course of at least 3 credit hours from an institution of higher education accredited by a regional accrediting body approved by the U.S. Department of Education;
9. (i) “Commissioner” means the commissioner, department of education;
10. (j) “Complaint” means information that has come to the attention of the department either through direct reporting or other means and alleges possible educator misconduct as defined by the educator code of conduct. The term also includes “report”;
11. (k) “Credential” means any authorization, statement, or license issued by the state board including, but not limited to, beginning educator license (BEL), experienced educator license (EEL), in process of licensure authorization (IPLA), intern authorization (IA), statement of eligibility (SOE), educational interpreter and transliterator license (EITL), paraeducator I and II license (PARA I & PARA II), school nurse I, II, and III license (SN I, SN II, and SN III), and master teacher license (MTL);
12. (l) “Credential holder” means any individual who holds a credential, as defined in Ed 501.02(k);
13. (m) “Credential verification request” means a request from a credential holder to fulfill a request for verification of a New Hampshire credential;
14. (n) “Career and technical education principal” means the individual who serves as the administrative and instructional leader of a career and technical education school;
15. (o) “Curriculum administrator” means the individual, other than the superintendent, who is responsible for the oversight of the entire curriculum, instruction, and assessment program of a school district or school administrative unit (SAU);
16. (p) “Degree” means a degree from an institution accredited by a regional accrediting body approved by the U.S. Department of Education;
17. (q) “Denial” means the refusal to grant a credential to an applicant;
18. (r) “Department” means the New Hampshire department of education;
19. (s) “Director” means the director, division of educator support and higher education, department of education;
20. (t) “District administrator” means the senior educational official of a school district or SAU with 400 or fewer total school-age enrollments and with no more than 2 public schools who provides the superintendent services identified in RSA 194-C:4 and Ed 302;
21. (u) “Division” means the division of educator support and higher education, department of education;
22. (v) “Education administrator” means a person who provides building-, district-, or SAU-level administrative services at the pre-K, elementary, or secondary level including a superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, special education administrator, curriculum administrator, career and technical education principal, and district administrator, as outlined in Ed 506;
23. (w) “Educational interpreter and transliterator” means a person licensed by the board who facilitates communication between individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, or who use signed language as a primary mode of communication, and individuals who are hearing;
24. (x) “Educational organization” means a public school, an SAU, a school district, a chartered public school, public academy, or a nonpublic school;
25. (y) “Educational specialist” means a person who provides non-instructional services, or provides specialized instructional services outside of the classroom, to students at the pre-K, elementary, or secondary level including a library media specialist, school counselor, school counseling director, school nurse, school psychologist, school social worker, and specialist in assessment of intellectual functioning;
26. (z) “Educator” means education administrators, educational specialists, instructional specialists, teachers, paraeducators, educational interpreter and transliterator, and school nurses;
27. (aa) “Endorsement” means the area specified on a credential that indicates the role for which the credential holder is authorized for employment; and
28. (ab) “Experience” means full-time employment in a specific educator role, or equivalent to full-time, and does not include time in a role requiring a credential if the educator did not hold the required credential.

Source. (See Revision Note at chapter heading for Ed 500) #13999, eff 6-14-24 (formerly Ed 501.02(a)-(y)):