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ABE Teacher's License Update
Volume 3 Number 3 - March 2001

Developing an Adult Basic Education Licensure Process for Massachusetts

The ABE Teacher's License Update [formerly the "ABE Certification Update" and recently renamed to reflect changes in preK-12 licensure terminology] is published by the ESE (Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) in coordination with SABES (System for Adult Basic Education Support) in an effort to keep practitioners and interested parties apprised of the status of the ABE Teacher's License. This Update, past issues, and other relevant documents are posted on the ESE Website www.doe.mass.edu/acls and the SABES Website www.sabes.org.

SUMMARY OF PROPOSED REGULATIONS FOR THE VOLUNTARY LICENSURE OF ADULT BASIC EDUCATION TEACHERS

ESE licensure regulations are the legal underpinnings of a license-acquisition process. As such, they must be expressed in language that minimizes the possibility of legal vagueness or confusion. The lay reader, therefore, might find some passages a bit daunting. This Licensure Update is an attempt to help lay readers understand the new Proposed Regulations for Licensure of Adult Basic Education Teachers and Preparation Program Approval, by briefly walking them through, section by section. This summary is best used as a companion piece while reading the sections of the Proposed Regulations.

The proposed Regulations were recently drafted as Chapter 603, Section 47 of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR)--or in shorthand, 603 CMR 47.00. They are now open for public comment. The Regulations were mass-mailed along with an optional Public Comment and Review Form in late January 2001. These and other relevant documents can be downloaded from www.doe.mass.edu/acls/abecert/, or copies can be requested from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by calling 781-338-3854. All members of the ABE field are strongly encouraged to register their comments on what they approve of in the proposed licensure process and what they would like to see changed.

47.01: Purpose and Authority. This section describes what these regulations are designed to do (Purpose); the Authority is the statute that gives the Department the permission to develop these regulations.

47.02: Definitions. Key terms used throughout the Regulations are briefly defined in this section. By taking a few minutes to study the unfamiliar terms, the reader will be better prepared to understand the sections ahead.

47.03: Adult Basic Education Teacher Preparation Program Approval. The three-plus pages of this section are primarily concerned with teacher preparation programs, such as colleges, universities, or other organizations that intend to provide state-approved training for new ABE teachers. No college, university, or organization in the Commonwealth currently offers such a program; if one wished to do so, it would have to follow the regulations that comprise this section--bases for approval, required educational capacities, the state teacher's test pass rate among program completers, causes for revoking program approval, and so forth.

47.04: Adult Basic Education Panel Review for Licensure. This section describes a process sponsored by the ESE whereby teachers can be awarded licensure. The process takes into account the experienced teacher's cumulative knowledge, evidence of which is assembled for review by a Review Panel. The section begins with the baseline requirements for application, describes the Panel, and then explains the review process itself.

47.05: Types of Licenses, Requirements for Licensure, and Requirements for Field-Based Experience. One general "teacher's" license is proposed--that is, no license for program manager, for example, or for specializations within teaching (e.g. ESOL or math). The teacher's license has two levels--provisional and professional--and this section lays out the basic requirements for each. Those baseline requirements include evidence of having met subject matter knowledge and professional, or "teaching" standards and satisfactory completion of field-based experiences (e.g. pre-practicum and practicum). Note that teachers can perform the practicum as part of an approved teacher preparation program or as part of an ABE teaching job, and in all cases there are proposed rules designed to ensure that the candidate is exposed to different ABE settings and teaching areas. This section also spells out the options for candidates to demonstrate their teaching.

Section 47.05 concludes with practicum requirements for the different so-called "Routes to Licensure." This information will make more sense if the reader skips ahead to the next section first.

47.06: Routes to Professional Licensure. This two-page section lays out four proposed routes to licensure, ranging from prospective and novice ABE teachers to those with five years of ABE teaching experience. The requirements for each of the four routes is explained in turn, including which of the Mass teacher's tests (the tests include the Communication and Literacy Skills Test and the not-yet-developed ABE subject matter test) must be taken and which professional standards the candidate must document proficiency (the standards are listed in the next section). Note that even the most experienced ABE teachers must indicate proficiency in at least eight standards and, again, that all teachers must perform a teaching demonstration. Please see the attached Chart, which provides an at-a-glance listing of required components for each of the four Routes.

47.07: Subject Matter Knowledge Requirements. This one-page section lists all the subject matter knowledge a candidate will be expected to possess before she/he will be awarded an ABE teacher's license.

47.08: Professional Standards. This two-page section lists required standards that cover ABE teaching practice.

47.09: Standards for Orientation. The proposed process has been designed to provide support for novice teachers (those pursuing the license via Routes One or Two), as described in this section, and builds upon existing orientation practices for ESE-funded ABE programs.

47.10: Licensure Renewal and Professional Development. ABE licensed teachers, by statute, will be required to renew their licenses every five years and to draw up professional development plans, as must all other educators licensed in Massachusetts. The ESE will be bringing the draft regulations for this section to the Board of Education in the fall of 2001.

47.11: General Provisions. The first part of this section is the demonstration of teaching required of all ABE licensure candidates. Following that section, are several unrelated parts meant to cover elements that did not readily fit in with other sections--the qualifications for individuals who will oversee practica, and various options open to candidates for a waiver of an education requirement or in cases involving denial, suspending, or revoking licenses, and when the ABE license will become effective.