RELATES TO:
KRS
161.020,
161.028,
161.030,
161.042
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
161.028 requires that an educator preparation
institution be approved for offering the preparation program corresponding to a
particular certificate on the basis of standards and procedures established by
the Education Professional Standards Board.
KRS
161.030 requires that a certificate be issued
to a person who has completed a program approved by the Education Professional
Standards Board.
KRS
161.042 requires the Education Professional
Standards Board to promulgate an administrative regulation relating to student
teachers, including the qualifications for cooperating teachers. This
administrative regulation establishes the standards for admission, placement,
and supervision in student teaching.
Section
1. Cooperating Teacher Eligibility Requirements.
(1) The cooperating teacher, whether serving
in a public or nonpublic school, shall have:
(a) A valid teaching certificate or license
for each grade and subject taught; and
(b) At least three (3) years of teaching
experience as a certified educator.
(2) A teacher assigned to a teaching position
on the basis of a provisional or emergency certificate issued by the Education
Professional Standards Board shall not be eligible for serving as a cooperating
teacher.
(3) Prior to student
teacher placement, a cooperating teacher shall receive training approved by the
Education Professional Standards Board and provided at no cost to the
cooperating teacher by the educator preparation institution which shall include
the following components:
(a) Basic
responsibilities of a cooperating teacher;
(b) Best practice in supporting the student
teacher; and
(c) Effective
assessment of the student teacher.
(4) Each educator preparation institution
shall file an electronic report with the Education Professional Standards Board
every semester which identifies the following:
(a) Each candidate at the educator
preparation institution enrolled in student teaching;
(b) The candidate's assigned
school;
(c) The cooperating teacher
assigned to each candidate;
(d) The
cooperating teacher's area of certification;
(e) The cooperating teacher's years of
experience as a certified or licensed educator; and
(f) The number of days the cooperating
teacher supervised the student teacher during the semester.
Section 2. Admission to
Student Teaching. Admission to student teaching shall include a formal
application procedure for each teacher candidate.
(1) Prior to and during the student teaching
experience, the teacher candidate shall adhere to the Professional Code of
Ethics for Kentucky School Personnel established in
16
KAR 1:020.
(2) Prior to admission to student teaching,
each teacher candidate shall complete a minimum of 200 clock hours of field
experiences in a variety of primary through grade 12 (P-12) school settings
which allow the candidate to participate in the following:
(a) Engagement with diverse populations of
students which include:
1. Students from a
minimum of two (2) different ethnic or cultural groups of which the candidate
would not be considered a member;
2. Students from different socioeconomic
groups;
3. English language
learners;
4. Students with
disabilities; and
5. Students from
across elementary, middle school, and secondary grade levels;
(b) Observation in schools and
related agencies, including:
1. Family
Resource Centers; or
2. Youth
Service Centers;
(c)
Student tutoring;
(d) Interaction
with families of students;
(e)
Attendance at school board and school-based council meetings;
(f) Participation in a school-based
professional learning community; and
(g) Opportunities to assist teachers or other
school professionals.
(3) The educator preparation institution
shall maintain electronic records that confirm all candidates enrolled in
student teaching have fulfilled the field experiences required in subsection
(2) of this section. Beginning July 1, 2019, the educator preparation
institution shall maintain electronic records in the Kentucky Field Experience
Tracking System (KFETS) that confirm all candidates enrolled in student
teaching have fulfilled the field experiences required in subsection (2) of
this section.
Section 3.
Cooperating Teacher to Student Teacher Ratio. The ratio of student teachers to
cooperating teachers shall be one-to-one.
Section 4. University Supervisor.
(1) The university supervisor shall conduct a
minimum of four (4) observations of the student teacher in the actual teaching
situation, a portion of which may be remote. Requests for remote observation(s)
shall be submitted to and approved by EPSB prior to observation(s).
(2) The observation reports shall be filed as
a part of the student teacher record and used as a validation of the
supervisory function.
(3) The
university supervisors shall be available to work with the student teacher and
personnel in the cooperating school regarding any problems that may arise
relating to the student teaching situation.
(4) University supervisors shall receive
training approved by the Education Professional Standards Board and provided at
no cost to the university supervisor by the educator preparation institution
which shall include the following components:
(a) Basic responsibilities of a university
supervisor;
(b) Best practice in
supporting the student teacher; and
(c) Effective assessment of the student
teacher.
Section
5. Professional Experience.
(1)
The educator preparation institution shall provide opportunities for the
student teacher to assume major responsibility for the full range of teaching
duties, including extended co-teaching experiences, in a real school situation
under the guidance of qualified personnel from the educator preparation
institution and the cooperating elementary, middle, or high school. The
educator preparation institution and the school district shall make reasonable
efforts to place student teachers in settings that provide opportunities for
the student teacher to develop and demonstrate the practical skills, knowledge,
and professional dispositions essential to help all P-12 students learn and
develop.
(2) A student teacher
shall not be placed in a setting that is not consistent with his or her planned
certification content and grade range.
(3) The student teacher placement shall
provide the student teacher with the opportunity to engage with diverse
populations of students.
(4) Each
educator preparation institution shall provide a full professional semester to
include a period of student teaching for a minimum of seventy (70) full days,
or its equivalent, in instructional settings that correspond to the grade
levels and content areas of the student teacher's certification program.
Institutions unable to locate a placement aligned with grade level requirements
in this section shall submit an alternative placement request to EPSB staff.
EPSB staff may pre-approve the alternative placement request if the alternative
placement request includes:
(a) A description
of the efforts of the institution to locate a placement aligned with grade
level requirements in this section;
(b) The rationale for the choice of the
identified alternative placement;
(c) Statements of support for the alternative
placement from the principal and the cooperating teacher; and
(d) Evidence of the candidate's variety of
field experiences prior to student teaching. All alternative placement requests
shall be placed on the consent agenda for the next regularly scheduled meeting
of the board and shall be contingent upon board approval. The EPSB waiver
committee may review submissions prior to the board meeting and recommend that
the board move items from the consent items to the action or waiver items on
the agenda. Pre-approval shall not be granted if the alternative placement does
not meet the criteria set forth in this subsection. All alternative placements
that are not eligible for pre-approval shall be placed on the agenda of the
next regularly scheduled meeting of the board as a waiver item for
consideration.
1. Candidates pursuing a
primary through grade 12 certificate shall have their student teaching balanced
between an elementary school placement and middle school or high school
placement.
2. Candidates pursuing
an elementary certificate shall have their student teaching balanced between a
placement in primary through grade 3 and a placement in grade 4 or grade
5.
3. Candidates seeking dual
certification in either middle school or secondary content areas shall have
equal placements in both content areas.
(5) The educator preparation institution
shall use the Kentucky Teacher Internship Program Teacher Performance
Assessment documents established in
16 KAR
7:010.
(6)
A student teacher shall not have responsibility for the supervision or
instruction of P-12 students without the direct supervision of a certified
educator.
(7) A student teacher
shall not receive direct compensation for student teaching.
(8) The educator preparation institution
shall maintain electronic records that confirm that all students meet the
requirements of this section.
Section
6. Compensation of Cooperating Teachers.
(1) The Education Professional Standards
Board may make arrangements with local school districts to compensate a
cooperating teacher.
(2)
(a) The educator preparation institution
shall electronically submit a report of all cooperating teachers and their
corresponding student teachers to the Education Professional Standards Board:
1. On or before September 30 for a
cooperating teacher supervising a student teacher during the fall semester;
or
2. On or before February 1 for a
cooperating teacher supervising a student teacher during the spring
semester.
(b) Each
report shall include:
1. The number of
contract weeks that the cooperating teacher is working with each student
teacher for that semester;
2. The
cooperating teacher's full name and Social Security number;
3. The student teacher's full name, Social
Security number, demographic data, and contact information;
4. The student teacher's preparation and
certification area by assigned certification code; and
5. The names of the school district and
school where the cooperating teacher is employed and the student teaching
requirement is being fulfilled. If the certified cooperating teacher is
employed in a nonpublic school which meets the state performance standards as
established in
KRS
156.160 or which has been accredited by a
regional or national accrediting association, the institution shall submit the
name of the school.
(c)
If an educator preparation institution fails to provide the report by the date
established in paragraph (a) of this subsection, the Education Professional
Standards Board shall not be liable for payment under this administrative
regulation.
(3)
(a) The electronic voucher shall be
electronically signed by the cooperating teacher and the university supervisor
as verification of the cooperating teacher's service to the student teacher and
submitted to the Education Professional Standards Board:
1. On or before December 15 during the fall
semester; or
2. On or before May 1
during the spring semester.
(b) If a cooperating teacher fails to provide
the completed electronic payment voucher by the date established in paragraph
(a) of this subsection, the cooperating teacher shall not be eligible to
receive any compensation available under this administrative
regulation.
(4)
(a) The payment to a cooperating teacher
shall be determined based upon available funding allocated under the biennial
budget bill and the total number of days served by all cooperating teachers
reported for the fiscal year.
(b)
The payment shall be allocated to a cooperating teacher based upon the number
of days the teacher supervised a student teacher as reported in subsections (2)
and (3) of this section, not to exceed more than seventy (70) days in a
semester.
(5) Payments
to cooperating teachers shall be disbursed to the school districts or to
cooperating teachers in nonpublic schools by the Education Professional
Standards Board:
(a) On an annual basis;
and
(b) On or before June
30.
(6) Any payment of
state funds under this administrative regulation shall:
(a) Be a supplement to the compensation
provided by an educator preparation institution to a cooperating teacher who is
supervising an institution's student teacher; and
(b) Not supplant the educator preparation
institution's compensation responsibility.