(1) As used in this section, the term “educator preparation institute” means an institute created by a postsecondary institution or a qualified private provider and approved by the Department of Education.
(2)(a) Postsecondary institutions that are accredited or approved as described in State Board of Education rule may seek approval from the Department of Education to create educator preparation institutes for the purpose of providing any or all of the following:
1. Professional development instruction to assist teachers in improving classroom instruction and in meeting certification or recertification requirements.
2. Instruction to assist potential and existing substitute teachers in performing their duties.
3. Instruction to assist paraprofessionals in meeting education and training requirements.
4. Instruction for baccalaureate degree holders to become certified teachers as provided in this section in order to increase routes to the classroom for mid-career professionals who hold a baccalaureate degree and college graduates who were not education majors.
5. Instruction and professional development for part-time and full-time nondegreed teachers of career programs under s. 1012.39(1)(c).
(b) A private provider that has a proven history of delivering high-quality teacher preparation, which is based on evidence provided from other state recipients of its services and data showing the successful performance of its completers based on student achievement, may seek approval to offer a competency-based certification program under subsection (3).
(3) Educator preparation institutes approved pursuant to this section may offer competency-based certification programs specifically designed for noneducation major baccalaureate degree holders to enable program participants to meet the educator certification requirements of s. 1012.56. An educator preparation institute choosing to offer a competency-based certification program pursuant to the provisions of this section must implement a program previously approved by the Department of Education for this purpose or a program developed by the institute and approved by the department for this purpose. Approved programs shall be available for use by other approved educator preparation institutes.
(a) Within 90 days after receipt of a request for approval, the Department of Education shall approve a preparation program pursuant to the requirements of this subsection or issue a statement of the deficiencies in the request for approval. The department shall approve a certification program if the institute provides evidence of the institute’s capacity to implement a competency-based program that includes each of the following:
1.a. Participant instruction and assessment in the Florida Educator Accomplished Practices across content areas.
b. The use of state-adopted student content standards to guide curriculum and instruction.
c. Scientifically researched and evidence-based reading instructional strategies that improve reading performance for all students, including explicit, systematic, and sequential approaches to teaching phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and text comprehension and multisensory intervention strategies.
d. Content literacy and mathematical practices.
e. Strategies appropriate for instruction of English language learners.
f. Strategies appropriate for instruction of students with disabilities.
g. Strategies to differentiate instruction based on student needs.
h. Strategies and practices to support evidence-based content aligned to state standards and grading practices.
i. Strategies appropriate for the early identification of a student in crisis or experiencing a mental health challenge and the referral of such student to a mental health professional for support.
j. Strategies to support the use of technology in education and distance learning.
2. An educational plan for each participant to meet certification requirements and demonstrate his or her ability to teach the subject area for which the participant is seeking certification, which is based on an assessment of his or her competency in the areas listed in subparagraph 1.
3. Field experiences appropriate to the certification subject area specified in the educational plan with a diverse population of students in a variety of challenging environments, including, but not limited to, high-poverty schools, urban schools, and rural schools, under the supervision of qualified educators. The state board shall determine in rule the amount of field experience necessary to serve as the teacher of record, beginning with candidates entering a program in the 2023-2024 school year.
4. A certification ombudsman to facilitate the process and procedures required for participants who complete the program to meet any requirements related to the background screening pursuant to s. 1012.32 and educator professional or temporary certification pursuant to s. 1012.56.
(b) Each program participant must:
1. Meet certification requirements pursuant to s. 1012.56(1) by obtaining a statement of status of eligibility in the certification subject area of the educational plan and meet the requirements of s. 1012.56(2)(a)-(f).
2. Participate in coursework and field experiences that are appropriate to his or her educational plan prepared under paragraph (a). Beginning with candidates entering an educator preparation institute in the 2022-2023 school year, a candidate for certification in a coverage area identified pursuant to s. 1012.585(3)(f) must successfully complete all competencies for a reading endorsement, including completion of the endorsement practicum through the candidate’s field experience, in order to graduate from the program.
3. Before completion of the program, fully demonstrate his or her ability to teach the subject area for which he or she is seeking certification by documenting a positive impact on student learning growth in a prekindergarten through grade 12 setting and, except as provided in s. 1012.56(7)(a)3., achieving a passing score on the professional education competency examination, the basic skills examination, and the subject area examination for the subject area certification which is required by state board rule.
(c) Upon completion of all requirements for a certification program approved pursuant to this subsection, a participant shall receive a credential from the sponsoring institution signifying that the participant has completed a state-approved competency-based certification program in the certification subject area specified in the educational plan. A participant is eligible for educator certification through the Department of Education upon satisfaction of all requirements for certification set forth in s. 1012.56(2).
(4) Continued approval of each program approved pursuant to this section shall be determined by the Commissioner of Education based upon a periodic review of the following areas:
(a) Candidate readiness based on passage rates on educator certification examinations under s. 1012.56, as applicable.
(b) Evidence of performance in each of the following areas:
1. Performance of students in prekindergarten through grade 12 who are assigned to in-field program completers on statewide assessments using the results of the student learning growth formula adopted under s. 1012.34.
2. Results of program completers’ annual evaluations in accordance with the timeline as set forth in s. 1012.34.
3. Workforce contributions, including placement of program completers in instructional positions in Florida public and private schools, with additional weight given to production of program completers in statewide critical teacher shortage areas as identified in s. 1012.07.
(5) Each institute approved pursuant to this section shall submit to the Department of Education annual performance evaluations that measure the effectiveness of the programs, including the pass rates of participants on all examinations required for teacher certification, employment rates, longitudinal retention rates, and satisfaction surveys of employers and program completers. The satisfaction surveys must be designed to measure the sufficient preparation of the educator for the realities of the classroom and the institute’s responsiveness to local school districts. These evaluations shall be used by the Department of Education for purposes of continued approval of an educator preparation institute’s certification program.
(6) Instructors and supervisors of field experiences in which participants demonstrate an impact on student learning growth for a certification program approved pursuant to this section must meet the same qualifications as those required in s. 1004.04(5).
(7) Educator preparation institutes approved pursuant to this section and providing approved instructional programs for any of the purposes in subsection (2) are eligible for funding from federal and state funds, as appropriated by the Legislature.
(8) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this section, which may include weighted criteria and may authorize continued program approval based on a review conducted by a nationally recognized accrediting entity. The rules must establish criteria, based on program size, for determining whether a program review is necessary, whether program quality should be aggregated and measured at the provider or institution level, and whether program reviews may be validly conducted on a remote basis.
History.—s. 5, ch. 2004-295; s. 13, ch. 2008-235; s. 2, ch. 2013-185; s. 10, ch. 2017-116; s. 13, ch. 2019-23; s. 13, ch. 2021-9; s. 4, ch. 2021-228; s. 36, ch. 2022-154.
