This supplemental notice is being issued to clarify the location of the oral hearing and the procedures to submit oral public comment on these regulations. You may submit oral comments to the State Board of Education and Early Development at a hearing to be held by the board on September 7, 2022, by audio-conference or in person at the Mt. Edgecumbe High School Library, 1330 Seward Avenue, Sitka, Alaska. Public participation for the meeting will be in person and through the Legislative Information Office (LIO). Public comment begins at 8:45 a.m. The Department of Education and Early Development is no longer accepting written comments because the time period for submitting written comments has closed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The proposed amendments would adopt changes regarding the qualification and certification of Alaska educators.

The State Board of Education and Early Development proposes to adopt regulation changes in Title 4 of the Alaska Administrative Code dealing with the qualification and certification of Alaska educators under 4 AAC 12, including the repeal of 4 AAC 12.335 Requirements for teachers of gifted children, and the amendment of 4 AAC 04.220 Paraprofessional standards, 4 AAC 12.300 Certification of teachers,

4 AAC.12.305 Teacher certificate (initial, professional, master), 4 AAC 12.307 Acceptance of educator preparation programs, 4 AAC 12.308 Approval of in-state educator preparation programs, 4 AAC 12.330 Endorsement requirements for teachers providing special education, 4 AAC 12.340 Special education alternative program certificate, 4 AAC 12.345 Administrative certificate (Type B); provisional certificate (provisional Type B), 4 AAC 12.347 Special education administrator certificate (Type F); provisional certificate (provisional Type F); 4 AAC 12.355 Special services certificate (Type C); provisional certificate (provisional Type C); 4 AAC 12.375 Instructional assistant limited certificate; 4 AAC 12.388 World language expert limited teacher certificate; 4 AAC 12.395 Teaching endorsements; 4 AAC 12.396 Addition and removal of endorsements; 4 AAC 12.401Emergency certificate; 4 AAC 12.405 Renewal of certificates; 4 AAC 12.410 General provisions; 4 AAC 12.415 Current address; and 4 AAC 12.900 Definitions.

The goal of the proposed regulation changes is to expand certification pathways, simplify qualification requirements, and streamline the certification process.

Specifically, the proposed changes expand certification pathways by:

• Providing an additional path for teachers to qualify for a Master teacher certificate that utilizes a combination of teacher evaluations and a professional portfolio;
• Allowing individuals holding at least a bachelor’s degree to qualify for a special education teacher and special services alternative program certification;
• Allowing for credits and degrees offered by nationally accredited institutions of higher education to meet certification requirements;
• Expanding certification renewal and additional endorsement options to include micro-credentials;
• Allowing all paraprofessionals with two years of experience to qualify for the Instructional Assistant Type I limited certificate that provide a pathway to full teacher certification;
• Allowing for the addition of elementary education endorsement with two years of teaching experience and passing scores on an elementary content area exam; and
• Allowing micro-credentials approved by the department to be qualify for an additional teaching endorsement.

  Specifically, the proposed changes simplify qualification requirements by:

• Increases the testing options available to paraprofessionals to achieve qualified status;
• Removes additional coursework requirements for special education teachers providing service to preschoolers and teachers of gifted children;
• Removes the recency credit requirements for the regular administrative (Type B) and special services (Type C) certificates;
• Removes the mathematics basic competency subtest requirement for individuals applying for the World Language Limited Certificate; and
• Allows all endorsements earned in another state and awarded on an Initial out-of-state certificate be placed on subsequent certificates without further review.

  Specifically, the proposed changes streamline the certification process by:

• Requires a copy of a government issued identification instead of notarization;
• Requires all certificate types to complete the mandatory trainings;
• Allows for eligible Initial teaching certificates to be valid for up to five years and renewable;
• Allows for limited certificates to be transferred from one district to another district;
• Extends the amount of time that a background check conducted for a student teacher authorization can be used when applying for an Initial teacher certificate; and
• Makes a technical correction to the qualifications for the school psychologist endorsement.

A copy of the proposed regulation changes are available on the Alaska Online Public Notice System, at https://education.alaska.gov/regs/comment.cfm, and by contacting Sondra Meredith at (907) 465-2800 or at deed.commissioner@alaska.gov.

You may submit oral comments to the State Board of Education and Early Development at a hearing to be held by the board on September 7, 2022 at 8:30 a.m., by audio-conference or in person, at the Mt. Edgecumbe High School Library, 1330 Seward Avenue, Sitka, Alaska 99835. The public comment period will be held from 8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. but may be extended to accommodate those present before 8:35 a.m. who have not had an opportunity to comment before 9:45 a.m.

You may submit oral comments at this hearing, during this time only, via the Legislative Information

Office (LIO) streaming by calling 1-844-586-9085 if you are outside of Juneau or Anchorage. For participation from Juneau, call (907) 586-9085. For participation from Anchorage, call (907) 563-9085. You also may submit oral comment by visiting your local LIO and submitting your oral comments through the LIO during the hearing. The following LIO’s will participate: Anchorage, 1500 W Benson Blvd; Bethel, 460 Ridgecrest Drive, Suite 215; Fairbanks, 1292 Sadler Way, Suite 308; Juneau, Room 111 Terry Miller Bldg.; Kenai, 145 Main St. Loop, Suite 217; Ketchikan, 1900 First Ave., Suite 310; Kodiak, 305 Center Ave., Suite 1; Mat-Su, 600 E Railroad Ave.; Nome, 103 Front St.; Seward, 302 Railway, Suite 119; and Sitka, 201 Katlian St., Suite 103.

This meeting will be streamed through the LIO’s YouTube channel. The direct stream link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiUm8eR1-b8 beginning at 8:30 a.m. on September 7, 2022 (audio only). The general LIO YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCieOj8YUaEFHWuiDVVhNvRA.

If you are a person with a disability who needs a special accommodation in order to participate in this process, please contact Sondra Meredith at (907) 465-2800 or deed.commissioner@alaska.gov not later than August 26, 2022, to ensure that any necessary accommodation can be provided.

After the public comment period ends, the Department of Education and Early Development will either adopt the proposed regulation changes or other provisions dealing with the same subject, without further notice, or decide to take no action. The language of the final regulation may be different from that of the proposed regulation. You should comment during the time allowed if your interests could be affected.

Statutory authority: AS 14.07.010, AS 14.07.020, AS 14.07.060

Statutes being implemented, interpreted, or made specific: AS 14.50.080, AS 14.20.020, AS 14.20.030, AS 14.20.010, AS 14.20.022, AS 14.20.620, AS 14.20.630, AS 14.20.017, AS 14.20.025, AS 14.20.015, AS 14.30.250, AS 14.30.255, AS 14.20.025

Fiscal information: The proposed regulation change is not expected to require an increased appropriation.

Date: 08/15/2022

                                                                                    Lacey Sanders, Deputy Commissioner