Wyo. Code R. 019-0001-1
Teaching Standards Board, Professional
Chapter 1: General Regulations
Effective Date: 09/09/2004 to 07/09/2007
Rule Type: Superceded Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 019.0001.1.09092004
Section 1. Authority. These rules and regulations governing professional educator certification are promulgated by the Professional Teaching Standards Board pursuant to the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act W.S. 16-3-101 through 16-3-115; W. S. 21-2-801 and 21-2-802.
Section 2. Definitions. For the purpose of these regulations the following terms shall have meanings as ascribed below:
(a) Advanced Approved Program. A graduate level, professional education program provided by an institution of higher learning meeting state program approval standards and accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) or a regional accreditation association, such as the North Central Association of Colleges & Schools (NCA).
(b) Approved Program. Any professional education program offered by an institution of higher learning meeting Wyoming program standards. The Professional Teaching Standards Board reserves the right to review for approval any professional education program leading to possible certification in Wyoming.
(c) Assistant Athletic Coach. Any athletic coach other than the head athletic coach, including athletic coaches at the middle/junior high school level.
(d) Certificate. The document issued by the Professional Teaching Standards Board which verifies that an applicant has completed an approved program or portfolio assessment and has met the requirements of Wyoming state law and the professional educator certification regulations of the Professional Teaching Standards Board.
(e) Classroom Teaching Experience. Experience as a certified employee working with students on a regular basis in an appropriately licensed and/or accredited pre-school through grade 12 level or combination thereof. This experience must include the responsibility for providing daily instruction or direct service to students for a majority of the program day. Experience in a non-public school district pre-school shall not count toward the experience needed for a counselor's, principal's, or superintendent's endorsement.
(f) Date of Application. The date the application is received by the Professional Teaching Standards Board.
(g) Deficiency. The extent to which an applicant does not meet standards.
(h) Endorsement. An official indication on a certificate of the subject area(s) and/or specialized program area(s) in which the holder of the certificate is authorized to practice in Wyoming public schools.
(i) Exception. A temporary suspension of the certification regulations granted by the Professional Teaching Standards Board under special circumstances at the request of the applicant. See W.S. 21-2-802 (ii) (A)
(j) Head Athletic Coach. The athletic coach for a specific sport at a high school or junior high/middle school. (One of the coaches for each interscholastic sport at the high school and junior/middle school must be a head coach.)
(k) Initial Applicant. A person applying for a Wyoming certificate for the first time or adding an endorsement not currently held.
(l) Institutional Recommendation. Verification by an institution of higher learning that the applicant has completed a program or fulfilled the knowledge, skills, or professional competencies which have been approved by the Professional Teaching Standards Board.
(m) Non-Qualified Applicant. An individual whose request for a certificate, permit, or endorsement cannot be processed within ninety (90) days after its receipt by the Professional Teaching Standards Board, because all required materials have not been received.
(n) Permit. A document issued by the Professional Teaching Standards Board verifying that an applicant meets the specified standards to perform as a school nurse, classroom substitute, athletic coach, trade and technical education instructor, intern, temporary employment, domestic teacher exchange or visiting foreign teacher.
(o) Petition of Appeal. An applicant’s or certificate holder’s written request to the Professional Teaching Standards Board appealing a denial for certification and/or recertification.
(p) Portfolio Assessment. Knowledge, skills, and professional competencies verified through such means as video taped segments of teaching performance, journals, transcripts, performance evaluations conducted by teams of educational professionals, and statements of beliefs and philosophy, etc.
(q) Professional Development Activity. A specific learning program completed during the term of a certificate or permit to improve an applicant’s skills. Professional Development Activity is required to renew a certificate or permit. This requirement may be satisfied by graduate or undergraduate work in an approved program at an institution of higher learning, an activity approved by the Professional Teaching Standards Board, work that would be transferable to an approved program, a local staff development program approved by the Professional Teaching Standards Board, successful completion of requirements for certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, an individual professional development program, or Professional Teaching Standards Board inservice workshops.
(r) Reciprocity. Agreements among states whereby professional educators may have their qualifications recognized in other states.
(s) Renewal Requirements. Successful professional development activities required during the period for which the certificate or permit is valid which allow the applicant to renew the certificate or permit for an identified period of time.
(t) Revocation. The permanent removal of a licensee's certificate by the Professional Teaching Standards Board. Revocation does not prevent a former licensee from becoming a new certificate applicant.
(u) Suspension. The temporary removal of a licensee's certificate by the Professional Teaching Standards Board. A suspension is annotated on a current certificate.
(v) Undergraduate Approved Program. The undergraduate professional education program consisting of learning experience and outcomes in general education, professional education, and a teaching field.
(w) Unqualified Applicant. An individual who does not meet Wyoming's certification regulations.
(a) Certificates, Endorsements and Permits
(i) The process of evaluation for a certificate or endorsement will include the following steps:
(A) Completion of an approved program.
(B) Comparison of Wyoming program approval standards to other state program approval standards with deficiencies noted.
(C) Analysis of an education program to Wyoming standards through portfolio analysis.
(ii) Current Valid Certificate. An educator currently holding a valid certificate will be permitted to continue to hold that certificate as long as the appropriate professional development renewal criteria are met.
(iii) Lapsed Certificate. A current certificate which has been allowed to lapse after July 1, 1992, will be void. Renewal requirements on the previous certificate must be met prior to any reinstatement. Applicants must then qualify under the latest certification regulations in effect at the time of application.
(iv) Current Endorsements. Endorsements issued prior to July 1, 1992, shall be continued on subsequent renewals.
(v) An application filed after July 1, 1992, shall be subject to the regulations as they are recorded in the year application is made.
(vi) Permits. Permits issued prior to July 1, 1992, remain in force for the term of the permit.
(a) Certification Through Reciprocity. Although certificates from other states are not directly transferable to Wyoming, the Interstate Certification Compact or any regionally based agreements will permit an education professional who has completed approved programs or has experience in another state to have his/her qualifications recognized in the State of Wyoming. Certification by another state will be recognized if the certificate is current and equivalent to any of Wyoming's certificates. Reciprocity agreements are on file with the Professional Teaching Standards Board. Applicants who are issued Wyoming certificates will be allowed five (5) years to complete specific Wyoming requirements.
(b) National Board Certification. An individual who has received National Board Certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards may receive a certificate in the appropriate endorsement area(s).
(i) An individual may receive a certificate with the appropriate endorsement area(s) if he/she has three (3) years of successful (k-12) classroom teaching or administration experience in the appropriate field verified by the following;
(A) letters of recommendation from persons responsible for the teacher's and/or administrator's evaluation,
(B) verification that the experience has been done within the last six (6) years in the appropriate elementary or secondary or k-12 level.
(C) verification that the experience was in an appropriately licensed and/or accredited k-12 level; and
(D) verification that the individual has a current valid certificate/license from another state.
Section 5. General Regulations. The general regulations that apply to all personnel holding a professional educator certificate or permit are drawn from Wyoming statutes and the regulations of the Professional Teaching Standards Board.
(a) Certification Required. A person may teach or provide professional services in a public school in Wyoming, and receive compensation from public funds for such services rendered, only if he/she is a certificate or permit holder or an applicant and qualified for a certificate or permit (W.S. 21-7-303).
(b) Assignment of Certified Personnel. School personnel to whom certificates or permits are issued under these regulations must be assigned only to those grade levels or endorsement areas for which their certificates or permits are issued or working in collaboration with colleagues who hold appropriate certificates.
(c) Certificate or Permit Property of Applicant. A certificate or permit is the property of the applicant to whom it is issued.
(d) Development and Approval of New Endorsement Areas. The Professional Teaching Standards Board reserves the right to develop additional endorsement areas to meet changing needs.
(a) Application Required. An applicant for any certificate, permit, or endorsement(s) must make application directly to the Professional Teaching Standards Board.
(b) Application Materials. Applicants must acquire, complete, and submit the following materials to the Professional Teaching Standards Board:
(i) Application. The application must be properly completed, signed, and dated.
(ii) Completed fingerprint cards.
(iii) Institutional Recommendation. The institutional recommendation must appear on the application, be signed by the designated official of the institution of higher learning, and bear the official seal of the institution.
(iv) Constitutions of U.S. and Wyoming. All applicants must present documentation of successful completion of a course which provides instruction in the Constitutions of the United States of America and the State of Wyoming; or applicants may take a Professional Teaching Standards Board administered examination on the U.S. and Wyoming Constitutions. A score of seventy-five percent (75%) or better on the test(s) is required. (W.S. 21-7-304).
(v) Fees. Fees can be paid by personal check, cash, money order or cashier's check, payable to the Professional Teaching Standards Board. All materials required for certification must be received within ninety (90) days from the date of application, or an additional fee will be charged. The current fee schedule, set by the Professional Teaching Standards Board, is available from the Professional Teaching Standards Board or the administrative offices of local school districts. Fees are not refundable.
(vi) Application Materials on File. Application materials upon which certificates are issued will remain on file as long as the certificates issued are in effect.
(vii) Testing. After September 1, 2004 all applicants must submit the scores achieved on the tests required for the certificate requested.
(c) Application Procedure.
(i) Application Materials. When all required application materials are received by the Professional Teaching Standards Board, they will be evaluated in accordance with the requirements of Wyoming law and the Professional Teaching Standards Board regulations for the type of certificate or permit requested.
(ii) Requirements Met. If the requirements are met, the Professional Teaching Standards Board will issue a letter of authorization valid for one year. Completed background checks and/or verification of testing must be submitted prior to the issuance of the appropriate certificate or permit.
(iii) Requirements Not Met. If the requirements are not met, the Professional Teaching Standards Board will notify the applicant that the application is denied. The denial notification will include the reason upon which the denial is based. Accompanying the decision notice will be information to the applicant about the applicant's due process rights and procedures for seeking an appeal or an exception before the Professional Teaching Standards Board. Due process procedures are listed in Chapter 2.
Section 7. Requirements Of Certificates And Permits. The requirements for certificates and permits outlined in these rules apply to all certificates and permits, regardless of the areas of endorsement. Specific endorsements in the teaching or education specialist areas for which the applicant is qualified will be added to the certificates and permits.
(a) Expiration Date August 31st. Renewal certificates and permits issued prior to June 30, 1995, are valid from the date of issuance until August 31st of the final year of the term for which they were issued. The school year in which the certificate or permit is issued shall be considered as the first year of the term of that certificate or permit.
(b) New Certificates and Permits Issued After July 1, 1995. New certificates and permits issued after July 1, 1995, are valid from the date when materials were received by the Professional Teaching Standards Board, and the requirements were met.
(c) Failure to Renew. A person who fails to renew his/her certificate or permit will be considered a new applicant. Reinstatement of the certificate or permit will require completion of renewal requirements on a lapsed certificate.
(d) New Applicants. A person shall be considered a new applicant when changing the type of certificate, permit, or endorsement and shall be subject to current requirements for that certificate, permit, or endorsement. All certificates and endorsements issued prior to July 1, 1992, will continue in force when properly renewed.
Section 8. Types Of Certificates And Permits. The Professional Teaching Standards Board is authorized to issue one (1) type of certificate and five (5) types of permits. Each is issued for a specified period of time. A certificate or permit allows the holder to serve in specified position(s) in the public schools of the state.
(a) Standard Certificate. A Standard Certificate is issued for a period of up to five (5) years. It lists the endorsement(s) by grade levels in which the applicant is authorized to teach, counsel, work with students, or administer.
(b) Permits.
(i) School Nurse Permit.
(ii) Classroom Substitute Permit.
(iii) Trade and Technical Education Instructor Permit.
(iv) Athletic Coaching Permit.
(v) School Nurse Substitute Permit.
(vi) Temporary Employment Permits:
(A) Internship Permit.
(B) Temporary Employment Permit.
(C) Visiting Foreign Teacher Permit.
(vii) Driver Education Permit
Section 9. Effective Date of Rules and Regulations. Unless otherwise indicated in the regulations, any changes in these regulations, promulgated by the Professional Teaching Standards Board pursuant to the Wyoming Administrative Procedures Act (W.S. 16-3-101 through 16-3-115, and W.S. 21-2-801 and 21-2-802), are effective upon the date filed with the Secretary of State.