Author Archive

Aaron Goldstein

Manager, State Policy & Relations

NCSL Report Recommends State Actions to Improve Education

At the recent National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Legislative Summit, the organization’s International Education Study Group released the report No Time to Lose: How to Build a World-Class Education System State by State. This report culminates a 2-year study by a bipartisan group of state legislators and legislative staff examining the highest performing countries on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to discover common themes across their policies and practices.

Custom E-mail Alerts Available Through AACTE State Policy Tracker

I am excited to announce an expansion of services through AACTE’s State Policy Tracker, which now provides not only a searchable database of legislation and regulations but also state-specific e-mail alerts for any interested state chapters and member institutions.

tracker-map

The State Policy Tracker is an online tool, launched last November, for member institutions and state chapters to track state legislation and regulations related to educator preparation. Beginning in December 2015, we piloted the e-mail alert program with 17 of AACTE’s state chapters (in Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Wisconsin) and two individual member institutions (Bank Street College and Western Governors University). This pilot program distributed state-specific alerts using information from the tracker on pertinent state policy affecting educator preparation.

State Legislators Want Input from Teacher Educators

Last week, I joined a small group of AACTE staff attending the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) Legislative Summit with over 5,000 state legislators, legislative staff, and trade associations.
One key takeaway from our interactions with state legislators and staff is that they are eager to hear from educator preparation programs. Some of the topics that state legislators referenced as their priorities:

  • Examining licensure requirements
  • Offering more pathways into the teaching profession
  • Boosting the rigor of educator preparation programs
  • Aligning the educator pipeline with school districts’ needs and challenges

July 2016 State Policy Recap

Ed Prep Matters is pleased to bring you this special feature on state policy and AACTE state chapter activity. For a summary of the year prior to the summer, see this article.

Overview of State Policy Activity

Only a handful of state legislatures actively met in July, as over 40 state legislative sessions had adjourned for the year. No educator preparation-related bills were introduced, although Illinois enacted two bills into law. One of them modifies the professional development requirements for educator license renewal. The other law allows a principal endorsement to be added to an existing professional educator license if the individual meets certain requirements, such as having taught for at least 4 years.

June 2016 State Policy Recap

Ed Prep Matters is pleased to bring you this special feature on state policy and AACTE state chapter activity. For a summary of the year prior to June, see this article.

Overview of State Policy Activity

In June, state policy activity slowed down to a crawl, as more than 30 state legislative sessions have adjourned for the year. Currently, only nine state legislatures are in their 2016 session, while three state legislatures are in a special session.

Nine education-related bills in four states–Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania–were introduced in June. These bills covered issues including offering loan forgiveness for educators employed in “failing schools,” expanding pathways into the teaching profession by modifying certification requirements for substitute teachers, and creating a tiered licensure structure for educators.

AACTE Board Special Election Results

Congratulations to the newest members of AACTE’s Board of Directors! In a recent online special election, AACTE members chose colleagues to fill seats representing the Teacher Education Council of State Colleges and Universities (TECSCU) and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU):

Alberto Ruiz, Texas A&M University-Kingsville (HACU)
Elaine Chin, San Jose State University (TECSCU)

The new directors will join the Board at its fall meeting in Tampa, Florida.

State Chiefs Urged to Consult Stakeholders — Including EPPs — for ESSA Implementation

The Council of Chief State School Officers has released a new guide for state policy makers to engage stakeholders on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) implementation, and educator preparation providers (EPPs) are among the two dozen groups recommended for consultation. Although the guide indicates that EPP input is required only for state Title II grant applications, it encourages states to “not stop there” but rather engage whatever perspectives best represent the state’s interests. AACTE encourages its members and state chapters to get involved with their state’s ESSA implementation in as many areas and as early as possible.

May 2016 State Policy Recap

Ed Prep Matters is pleased to bring you this special feature on state policy and AACTE state chapter activity. For a summary of state activities from January through April 2016, see this article.

Overview of Policy Activity

In May, state policy activities have begun to slow, as many state legislatures have adjourned their 2016 legislative sessions. This month, only 15 state legislatures have been in regular session, while four states have been in a special session. Six education-related bills were introduced this month in two states, New York and North Carolina. These bills covered issues such as offering loan forgiveness for teachers, supporting reimbursement for National Board certification, authorizing alternative routes to the teaching profession, and amending admission requirements for graduate-level preparation programs for teachers and school leaders.

ECS Explores Teacher Shortage Solutions

The Education Commission of the States (ECS), a national state policy organization that partners with education policy leaders including AACTE, has released six reports that provide guidance to state policy makers seeking to address teacher shortages.

An introductory report, Teacher Shortages: What We Know, examines the teacher labor market and highlights recent findings from state task forces that have addressed policies related to teacher shortages.

Five additional reports consider different state strategies to tackle shortages: alternative certification, financial incentives, induction and mentorship, evaluation and feedback, teacher leadership.

Arts Education Partnerships Seeks Session Proposals

The Arts Education Partnership seeks concurrent session proposals for its 2016 National Forum, to be held October 5-7 in Denver, Colorado. Proposals are due by Friday, June 17, at 5:00 p.m. PDT.

The Arts Education Partnership is a center within the Education Commission of the States, a national state policy organization that partners with education policy leaders, including AACTE. For the 2016 National Forum, partners and leaders from around the nation are invited to share their exemplary work supporting the role and contribution of the arts to prepare all students for the “next America.”

State Policy Recap – 2016 to Date

Ed Prep Matters is pleased to bring you this special feature on state policy and AACTE state chapter activity. For a summary of March’s state activity, see this article; February’s state activity is available here.

Overview of State Policy Activity

Thanks to AACTE’s State Policy Tracker, we can identify trends in state legislation and regulations related to educator preparation.

So far this year, approximately 300 state bills related to educator preparation have been introduced. Of these, 186 were related to certification and standards, and 18 have been enacted. Many of these laws are related to lowering certification standards for alternative-route programs, differentiated licensure standards for certain subjects including STEM fields and career and technical education (CTE), and allowing more pathways into teaching to alleviate shortages. Seven bills related to teacher certification and shortages have been signed into law in 2016 with themes such as expanding scholarships for teacher candidates and offering loan forgiveness for teachers. Five state bills have been signed into law related to teacher licensure standards.

Resources Available on Using AACTE Policy Tracker

Last week, I hosted a webinar demonstrating the AACTE State Policy Tracker, an online tool that provides an interactive and user-friendly way for member institutions and state chapters to be more informed on state legislation and regulations related to educator preparation.

The webinar’s video recording and presentation slides are now available here.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the online policy tracker, contact me at agoldstein@aacte.org or (202) 478-4504.

March 2016 State Policy Recap

Ed Prep Matters is pleased to bring you this special feature on policy and AACTE chapter activity in the states. For a summary of February’s state activity, see this article; January’s state activity is available here.

Overview of State Policy Activity

In March, at least 30 state legislatures met as part of their 2016 legislative sessions. At least 184 state bills were introduced related to educator preparation. Since the New Year, approximately 300 bills have been introduced, of which seven have been signed into law.