District/School Administration Administration
The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

Proposed Amendments to the Vocational Technical Education Regulations (Educator Licenses), 603 CMR 4.00

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education issues two types of licenses for preK-grade 12 educators:

• Chapter 71 Educator licenses for preK- 12 teachers, administrators, and professional support personnel. These educators work in district-wide, school-based, or other educational settings. Teachers of academic subjects in vocational technical education programs must have a Chapter 71 license.

• Chapter 74 Vocational Technical Educator licenses for vocational technical teachers, administrators, and cooperative education coordinators. These educators work in Department-approved vocational technical education programs.

We are proposing amendments to the Chapter 74 Vocational Technical Education Regulations, 603 CMR 4.00 that would add one new vocational technical teacher license and align the licensure provisions more closely in several areas with the Chapter 71 Educator Licensure and Preparation Program Approval Regulations, 603 CMR 7.00, and the Recertification Regulations, 603 CMR 44.00. The Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators (MAVA) and the Educational Personnel Advisory Council (EPAC) support the proposed amendments.

Construction Crafts License

We propose adding a new vocational technical teacher license titled Construction Crafts. This license would be required for individuals who will teach in a new high school vocational technical education program in the field of skilled construction laboring. The United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration - Office of Apprenticeship as well as the Massachusetts Department of Labor and Workforce Development - Division of Apprentice Training have approved a two-year registered apprenticeship program in skilled construction laboring. The high school program in Massachusetts is being developed in partnership with Local 22 of the Laborers International Union. Students who complete the high school program will receive credit toward the two-year apprenticeship at the postsecondary level through an articulation agreement with Local 22. Upon completion of the apprenticeship, they will be journey workers engaged in technical work including hazardous materials remediation, remote tunneling, concrete work, and an array of building construction work.

A Vocational Technical Education Framework for the program is under development. The Framework will be based on all aspects of the skilled construction laboring industry. The Framework will have six strands (Occupational Safety & Health, Technical, Embedded Academics, Employability, Management & Entrepreneurship, and Technological) as do all the Vocational Technical Education Frameworks in the Construction Cluster.

Alignment With the Chapter 71 Educator Licensure Regulations

The proposed amendments would change the validity period of the various Chapter 74 vocational technical educator licenses so that they are consistent with the validity periods of the Chapter 71 educator licenses. It would do so by making the preliminary and the initial vocational technical educator licenses valid for five years of employment.

Alignment With the Chapter 71 Recertification Regulations

The proposal would add provisions regarding inactive and invalid licenses to the Vocational Technical Education Regulations. These provisions are basically identical to the provisions in the Recertification Regulations and provide that a license that is not renewed becomes inactive for a period of five years and an inactive license that is not renewed becomes invalid. The proposal allows educators to become employed under an inactive license and gives them two years from the date of employment to renew the inactive license. Educators cannot be employed under an invalid license unless the school district receives an employment waiver from the Commissioner.

I recommend that the Board send these proposed amendments out for a period of public comment, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. After we receive and review the comments, I plan to bring recommendations back to the Board in January 2009 for final action.

Department staff will be at the meeting to respond to your questions.