REPA Update and IACTE Next Steps

A number of individuals attended the professional standards advisory board work session last week on August 20th. The majority of the questions involved licensing issues and little on teacher preparation. Attached is a document distributed by the Department of Education which outlines changes made thus far or anticipated. While some issues about teacher and administrator preparation were corrected there are several remaining concerns.

Also attached is a new IACTE position paper which is being sent to the Advisory Board this week. The IACTE Executive Committee has decided that it will be best that the Association focus on these main issues. It is so easy to get lost in the details. Please contact individual Advisory Board members regarding additional, individual matters if you are so inclined. Note: Advisory Board members are receiving a large number of e-mails about many topics. It will be important that any contact be direct, concise and include supportive data and/or rationale.

The IACTE Executive Committee also is collaborating with organizations around the state especially regarding alternative routes and the requirement of standards for them. At an upcoming meeting with the leadership of those groups, we will discuss public hearing strategies, assuming that the Advisory Board will approve forwarding the proposed rules to public hearing when it meets again on September 3rd.

In the mean time, we are requesting clarification from the Department of Education regarding the test requirements, specifically Praxis language, in the second draft of REPA, as well as requesting reconsideration of the effective proposed dates/time line for implementation of the final new rules.

NOTE: THE NEXT IACTE MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 18TH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF INDIANAPOLIS. PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS. The agenda of that meeting will be determined following the results of the Advisory Board meeting on September 3rd and any hearings scheduled therafter. More will come out shortly.

In the interim, under separate cover, you will be receiving a survey to provide information about your secondary and elementary programs. Please respond to that ASAP. These data are being compiled to share with the Advisory Board and the Department of Education in response to the proposed limitations on education curricula.

A third draft of REPA is scheduled to for distribution to the Advisory Board on the 27th. As we receive a public copy of this draft, we will distribute it to you.

Should you have any feedback to these strategies, please forward your suggestion to the IACTE Executive Committee quickly.

We will make our best efforts to keep you informed AND to represent teacher education in Indiana well. Your work in talking with individual Advisory Board members and other education associations is critical.