Section R7-2-607. General Certification Provisions

A.      The evaluation to determine qualification for certification shall not begin until an institutional recommendation or application for certification and official transcripts, and the appropriate fees have been received by the Department. Course descrip- tions, verification of employment, and other documents may also be required for the evaluation.

B.       The effective date of a new certificate shall be the date the evaluation is completed by the Department. The effective date of a renewed certificate shall be the date the evaluation for renewal is completed by the Department.

C.      All one-year certificates shall expire one year from the date of issuance. All certificates issued for more than one year shall expire on the date of issuance in the year of expiration.

D.      If an applicant has not met all the requirements for the certifi- cate or endorsement at the time of evaluation, the applicant shall have a maximum of 60 days to complete those require- ments and request re-evaluation.

E.       Only those degrees awarded by an accredited institution shall be considered to satisfy the requirements for certification.

F.       Professional preparation programs, courses, practica, and examinations required for certification shall be taken at an accredited institution or a Board-approved teacher preparation program.

G.      Only those courses in which the applicant received a passing grade or credit shall be considered to satisfy the requirements for certification.

H.      All certificates issued by the Board before the effective date of this Article are considered to have been issued in conformance with these rules.

I.        The Board shall issue a comparable Arizona certificate, if one has been established by R7-2-608, R7-2-609, R7-2-610, R7-2- 611, R7-2-612, or R7-2-613, and shall waive the requirements for passing the comparable professional knowledge, subject knowledge, and performance portions of the Arizona Teacher Proficiency Assessment, to an applicant who holds current comparable certification from the National Board for Profes- sional Teaching Standards.

J.        Teachers in grades six through 12 whose primary assignment is in an academic subject required pursuant to R7-2-301, R7-2- 302, R7-302.01 and R7-302.02 shall demonstrate proficiency by passing the appropriate subject area portion of the Arizona Teacher Proficiency Assessment. The subject areas of demon- strated proficiency shall be specified on the certificate. If a proficiency assessment is not offered in a subject area, an approved area shall consist of a minimum of 24 semester hours of courses in the subject.

K.      If a language assessment is not offered through the Arizona Teacher Proficiency Assessment, a passing score on a nation-

ally accredited test of a foreign language approved by the Board may demonstrate proficiency of that foreign language in lieu of the 24 semester hours of courses in that subject.

L.       A teacher’s language proficiency in a Native American lan- guage shall be verified by a person, persons, or entity desig- nated by the appropriate tribe in lieu of the 24 semester hours of courses in that subject.

M.     Teachers of homebound students shall hold the same certifi- cate that is required of a classroom teacher.

N.      Fingerprint clearance cards shall be issued by the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

O.      A person who surrenders their teaching certificate for any rea- son shall not submit an application for certification with the Board for a period of five years. A person re-applying after the five-year ban must apply under the current rules at the time of re-application.

Historical Note

Adopted effective December 5, 1977 (Supp. 77-6).

Repealed effective December 4, 1978 (Supp. 78-6). New

Section adopted effective May 3, 1993 (Supp. 93-2).

Amended effective March 6, 1997 (Supp. 97-1). Section repealed; new Section adopted effective December 4, 1998 (Supp. 98-4). Amended by final rulemaking at 6

A.A.R. 1132, effective March 10, 2000 (Supp. 00-1). Amended by exempt rulemaking at 16 A.A.R. 102, effec-

tive May 1, 2009 (Supp. 10-1). Amended by exempt

rulemaking at 16 A.A.R. 160, effective October 26, 2009 (Supp. 10-2). Amended by exempt rulemaking at 16

A.A.R. 324, effective January 25, 2010 (Supp. 10-3). Amended by exempt rulemaking at 16 A.A.R. 1249,

effective May 24, 2010 (Supp. 10-4). Amended by final exempt rulemaking at 21 A.A.R. 2054, effective Decem- ber 8, 2014 (Supp. 15-3).