GENERAL INFORMATION |
Rule No. PI 34 | Relating to Student teaching equivalency | Rule Type Permanent and Emergency |
SIGNATURE |
State Superintendent Review ☐ Approved. Begin Drafting Rule ☐ Disapproved. Reason for Disapproval | State Superintendent Signature ➢ | Date Signed Mo./Day/Yr. |
NARRATIVE |
1. Finding/nature of the emergency (Emergency Rule only). School districts throughout the state are experiencing challenges filling teaching positions and have been requesting flexibility in recruiting student teachers to support substitute teaching. School districts have expressed a desire to recruit student teachers immediately following graduation, but student teachers are not able complete their programs until many weeks later regardless of the higher education institution's graduation date. Educator preparation programs have also requested support in meeting school district needs and some have sought flexibility from the department in determining student teaching equivalency. An emergency rule is therefore needed to clarify the rules around student teaching equivalency so that school districts and educator preparation programs may take advantage of the flexibility in statute to determine an equivalency for student teaching in time for the upcoming school year. A permanent rule would not provide these flexibilities in time for the upcoming school year, but the promulgation of emergency rules will ensure that the criteria for student teaching equivalency remain consistent through the permanent rule making process. |
2. A description of the objective of the proposed rule. The objective of the proposed rule is to amend ch. PI 34 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code with respect to equivalent experience for student teachers enrolled in an educator preparation program. |
3. A description of the existing policies and new policies included in the proposed rule and an analysis of policy alternatives. Chapter PI 34 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code contains the current rules governing the licensure of school personnel, including rules around the preparation of student teachers enrolled in an educator preparation program. For educator preparation programs leading to a teaching license, s. PI 34.023 (2) (f) provides that each student shall have student teaching experience which lasts for one of the following durations: 1) for educator preparation programs leading to the student's first license, the student teaching shall be for full school days for a full semester of the cooperating school; or 2) for educator preparation programs leading to the student obtaining an additional teacher license, the student teaching shall be for a duration determined by the educator preparation program to be necessary for the student to gain the necessary clinical experience for the additional license. 2019 Wisconsin Act 84, relating to teacher preparatory programs and granting rulemaking authority, made revisions to the underlying statute, s. 118.19 (3) (a), Stats., which now provides that no license to teach in any public school may be granted to an applicant who completed a professional training program outside this state unless the applicant completed student teaching consisting of full days for a full semester, following the daily schedule and semester calendar of the cooperating school, or its equivalent as determined by the state superintendent. Existing statute permits the state superintendent to grant exceptions to the student teaching requirements when the midyear calendars of the institution offering the teacher preparatory program and the cooperating school differ from each other and would prevent students from attending classes at the institution in accordance with the institution's calendar. The state superintendent shall also promulgate rules to implement this subsection. The department proposes to update ch. PI 34 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code to conform the rule to changes in statute with respect to the equivalent experience of a student teacher enrolled in an educator preparation program. The revisions may include, but are not limited to, the following options to count for student teaching experience: the length of time required for an internship or student teaching assignment, substitute teaching experience, demonstrated proficiency, and requirements for out-of-state program completers. Without a rule change, the department will be required to implement rules for educator licensure as they currently exist in PI 34 and educator preparation programs would be required to implement the current rule without the flexibility for student teaching equivalency provided in statute. |
4. The statutory authority for the proposed rule. The state superintendent is authorized under s. 118.19 (3) (a), Stats., to make rules establishing the preparation of student teachers: 118.19 Teacher certificates and licenses; administrator and pupil services professional licenses. (3) (a) No license to teach in any public school may be issued unless the applicant possesses a bachelor's degree including such professional training as the department by rule requires, except as permitted under par. (b) and ss. 115.28 (17) (a), 118.191, 118.1915, 118.192, 118.193, 118.194, and 118.197. Notwithstanding s. 36.11 (16), no teacher preparatory program in this state may be approved by the state superintendent under s. 115.28 (7) (a), unless each student in the program is required to complete student teaching consisting of full days for a full semester following the daily schedule and semester calendar of the cooperating school or the equivalent, as determined by the state superintendent. No license to teach in any public school may be granted to an applicant who completed a professional training program outside this state unless the applicant completed student teaching consisting of full days for a full semester following the daily schedule and semester calendar of the cooperating school or the equivalent, as determined by the state superintendent. The state superintendent may grant exceptions to the student teaching requirements under this paragraph when the midyear calendars of the institution offering the teacher preparatory program and the cooperating school differ from each other and would prevent students from attending classes at the institution in accordance with the institution's calendar. The state superintendent shall promulgate rules to implement this subsection. If for the purpose of granting a license to teach or for approving a teacher preparatory program the state superintendent requires that an institution of higher education be accredited, the state superintendent shall accept accreditation by a regional or national institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. department of education or by a programmatic accrediting organization. |
5. An estimate of the amount of time agency employees will spend developing the proposed rule and of other resources needed to develop the rule. The amount of time needed for rule development by Department staff and the amount of other resources necessary are indeterminate. |
6. A description of all of the entities that will be affected by the proposed rule. Student teachers, school districts, and educator preparation programs will be affected by the proposed rule. |
7. A summary and preliminary comparison of any existing or proposed federal regulation that addresses or is intended to address the activities to be regulated by the proposed rule. Because educator licensure in the United States is typically governed by each state and local government, federal regulations are generally silent with respect to the preparation of student teachers. As a result, the requirements for student teaching vary by state. |
