ARSD 24:28:01:01 – Meaning of terms.

24 : 28 : 01 : 01 . Meaning of terms. Terms used in this article mean :

(1) "Administrator," an individual who completes an approved program for principals or school superintendents at a regionally-accredited institution or completes an alternative certification program and is issued a corresponding certificate;
(2) "Alternative certification," the process established by the department by which an eligible individual completes the requirements for certification as a teacher or administrator while the individual is employed as a teacher or administrator in a public or department-accredited school;
(3) "Approved program," an approved educator preparation program pursuant to article 24:53 or an educator preparation program of another state, which meets the preparation standards of article 24:53;
(4) "Assigned cooperating teacher," a certified teacher who is partnered with a student teacher during the student teacher's student teaching experience;
(5) "Board," the South Dakota Board of Education Standards;
(6) "Categorical special education endorsement," an endorsement that allows the certificate holder to perform services for students in one or more specified disability categories, but does not qualify the certificate holder to provide generalized special education services for all students;
(7) "CEO," a chief executive officer of a school or district;
(8) "Certificate," a recognition by the secretary of education that authorizes the holder to perform educational services;
(9) "Continuing education contact hour," one hour documented by participation in an educational professional development opportunity;
(10) "Credit," the equivalent of fifteen continuing education contact hours;
(11) "Department," the South Dakota Department of Education;
(12) "Department-accredited school," any public or private school, issued accreditation by the department pursuant to article 24:43;
(13) "Designated recommending official," the official of a regionally-accredited institution of higher education with an approved program who is authorized to verify completion of preparation;
(14) "Dual credit course," a university or postsecondary technical institute course taught to eligible and enrolled high school students, for both high school and postsecondary credit;
(15) "Education specialist," an individual who serves as a school counselor, school psychologist, school psychological examiner, curriculum director, special education director, mentor teacher, mentor school counselor, technology integrationist, or technology coordinator, and is issued a corresponding certificate;
(16) "Educator," an individual who is employed by a school or school district in a position requiring a certificate;
(17) "Educator permit," a type of certificate that authorizes the certificate holder to perform only the educational services allowed by the endorsement indicated on the certificate;
(18) "Endorsement," the content and subject areas in which an educator is certified;
(19) "Inactive certificate," a certificate issued to a certificate holder with a valid certificate, who is not acting as an educator and requests the certificate become inactive for a period of five years;
(20) "Leadership role," work experience in which an individual's assignment in the organization is designated as a position of authority with responsibility for regulating the relationships between and among people;
(21) "Long-term substitute," an individual acting as a teacher of record for:
1. (a) No more than forty-five cumulative school days in a vacant teaching position while a school district pursues a contract for a teacher; or
2. (b) More than forty-five cumulative school days when a teacher is on a temporary leave of absence, if: the teacher's leave of absence is granted pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. § 2601, et seq. (March 18, 2020), or the individual has a valid or inactive teaching certificate;
(22) "Major in content," a minimum of twenty-seven semester hours of coursework in a subject area, not including remedial coursework, that:
1. (a) Have been earned from a regionally-accredited institution of higher education;
2. (b) Have been identified on an official transcript or verified by the institution of higher education where the credits were earned;
3. (c) Have been completed with a grade point average of 2.7 or higher; and
4. (d) Count toward completion of a degree;
(23) "Mentor," an educator who provides support and assistance to other educators;
(24) "Military personnel and spouse," an applicant who holds a valid certificate issued by another state or the District of Columbia and is:
1. (a) An active duty member of the armed forces of the United States who is the subject of a military transfer to South Dakota; or
2. (b) The spouse of an active duty member of the armed forces who is the subject of a military transfer to South Dakota;
3. (285) "Pedagogical knowledge," an understanding of learning, human development, professional ethics, motivational techniques, cultural and individual differences, instructional strategies, classroom management, and assessment strategies that impact the learner;
4. (26) "Preparation," the type of educational preparation program an educator has completed to meet certification requirements;
5. (27) "Professional development plan," a detailed statement submitted to the department by an applicant completing administrator alternative certification, describing how the applicant will demonstrate having met the requirements for alternative administrator certification;
6. (28) "Provisional status," a one-year certificate issued to an applicant, who meets all the requirements for certification but has not completed the South Dakota Indian studies course requirement;
7. (29) "Reciprocal certification," the process by which the secretary recognizes an educator certificate issued by another state and issues an equivalent South Dakota certificate;
8. (30) "Regionally-accredited institution of higher education," a college or university accredited by:
  1. (a) The official accrediting agency of the state in which the institution is located; or
  2. (b) An institutional accreditor recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation;
9. (31) "School partner," a preschool-through-twelfth-grade school that collaborates with any higher education institution in to design, develop, and implement field experiences, clinical practice, delivery of instruction, and research;
10. (32) "Secretary," the secretary of the South Dakota Department of Education or the secretary's designee;
11. (33) "Self-contained," a classroom in which one teacher provides instruction in multiple subjects to the same students for the majority of the students' instructional day;
12. (34) "Specialized learning experience," an education-related learning experience that incorporates the applicant's occupational field and teaching area and is not obtained through academic coursework or continuing education;
13. (35) "South Dakota Indian studies," a three-credit-hour course that:
  1. (a) Meets the requirements of SDCL 13-1-48;
  2. (b) Is approved by the department; and
  3. (c) Is listed on an official transcript from a regionally-accredited institution of higher education, with a grade of C or higher;
14. (36) "State-designated content test," the assessment of content knowledge used to meet certification requirements with passing scores established by the board;
15. (37) "State-designated coursework," required coursework within a content area used to meet certification requirements, as specified by the department;
16. (38) "State-designated pedagogy test," the assessment of pedagogical knowledge used to meet certification requirements, with passing scores established by the board;
17. (39) "Student teacher," an individual who is completing an in-depth, direct teaching experience in a school setting conducted as a culminating, field-based experience for an educator preparation program;
18. (40) "Teach For America," a national teacher corps that recruits recent college graduates to commit two years to teach in low-income rural and urban communities;
19. (41) "Teacher," an individual who completes an approved program or an alternative certification program, and is issued a certificate;
20. (42) "Teacher education program," an educational preparation program delivered by a regionally-accredited institution of higher education;
21. (43) "Teacher of record," the certified educator who develops the lesson plans, delivers the instruction to students, and enters students' grades;
22. (44) "Transcripted credit," a credit that is:
  1. (a) Calculated on a semester system;
  2. (b) Issued by a regionally-accredited institution of higher education upon the completion of graduate or undergraduate coursework; and
  3. (c) Documented on an official transcript.

Source: 43 SDR 175 , effective July 3, 2017; 45 SDR 84, effective December 19, 2018; 47 SDR 68, effective December 10, 2020; 48 SDR 60, effective December 7, 2021; 49 SDR 104, effective May 28, 2023; 50 SDR 158, effective July 3, 2024; 51 SDR 141, effective July 1, 2025 .

General Authority: SDCL 13-1-12.1 , 13-42-3 .

Law Implemented: SDCL 13-1-48 , 13-42- 1 to 13-42-4 , inclusive, 13-43-5 , 13-43-5.1 .

Prior versions effective: 2024-07-03, 2023-05-28, 2021-12-07, 2020-12-10, 2018-12-19, 2017-07-03.