AACTE Leads Task Force on Teacher Preparation in Higher Ed
Earlier this year, AACTE reconstituted the Higher Education Task Force. The task force, which was previously led by AACTE, will share information about the policy work underway in the teacher preparation world with our higher education colleagues and inform Congress and other key officials about important developments related to the field. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, the change of administrations and other factors, the task force was dormant for a short time. But AACTE’s colleagues eagerly accepted our invitation to rejoin.
Task force participants are from the major associations of higher education, whose members are presidents of institutions of higher education. Members include the American Council on Education (ACE), American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), Association of American Universities (AAU), Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU), American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU), Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO), National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) and UNCF.
These organizations look to AACTE to provide expertise on teacher prep, including resources and policy guidance. Together, we were instrumental in preventing the Obama Administration’s proposed teacher preparation regulations from being implemented.
The group meets monthly to discuss new developments. We recently met with staff from the offices of Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC) to discuss legislation they are working on to improve Title II of the Higher Education Act (HEA); AACTE is helping to draft this legislation. We anticipate that the legislation will be introduced shortly.
The task force will help the higher education community present a unified front on educator preparation policy when Congress reauthorizes HEA. It also ensures that the teacher preparation community is heard by our higher education colleagues and Members of Congress in a timely manner.
Tags: AACTE partner organizations, advocacy, higher education, policy
