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Arizona Administrative Code (Last Updated: November 17, 2016) |
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Title 7. EDUCATION |
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Chapter 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION |
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Article 6. CERTIFICATION |
Section R7-2-608. Early Childhood Teaching Certificates
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A. By July 1, 2012, either a provisional or a standard early child- hood education certificate shall be required for individuals teaching in public school early childhood education programs, except as provided in R7-2-611 or in R7-2-615(L). For indi- viduals teaching in grades one through three, this certificate is optional. An Early Childhood Special Education certificate as described in R7-2-611 is not required for individuals who hold the Early Childhood Teaching Certificate as described in this Section in combination with an Arizona cross-categorical, spe- cialized special education, or severe and profound teaching certificate as described in R7-2-611.
B. For the purposes of this rule, public school early childhood education programs are defined as education programs pro- vided by local education agencies, including their sub-grantees and contracted providers, for children birth through age 8 for the purpose of providing academically and developmentally appropriate learning opportunities that are standards-based with defined curriculum and comprehensive in content to include all appropriate developmental and academic areas as defined by the Arizona Early Childhood Education Standards or the Arizona K-12 Academic Standards approved by the Board. The Arizona Early Childhood Education Standards: Arizona Department of Education, 1535 West Jefferson Street, Phoenix, AZ 85007, were adopted by the State Board of Edu- cation in June 2003 and the Arizona K-12 Academic Stan- dards: Arizona Department of Education, 1535 West Jefferson Street, Phoenix, AZ 85007, were adopted by the State Board of Education as follows: Arts, April 1997; Comprehensive Health/PE, April 1997; Foreign and Native Language, April 1997; Mathematics, March 2003; Reading, March 2003; Sci- ence, May 2004; Social Studies, March 2000; Technology,
September 2000; Workplace Skills, March 1997; and Writing, June 2004, are incorporated by reference and are on file with the Arizona Department of Education. This incorporation by reference contains no further editions or amendments. Copies of the incorporated material are available for review at Ari- zona Department of Education, 1535 West Jefferson Street, Phoenix, AZ 85007 or on the Arizona Department of Educa- tion web site at www.ade.az.gov/standards. Public school early childhood education programs include, but are not limited to, half-day and full-day kindergarten programs, Early 2 Child- hood Block Grant programs pursuant to A.R.S. § 15-1251, Family Literacy Programs for preschool children pursuant to
A.R.S. § 15-191.01, and public school-administered early childhood education programs funded in whole or part with federal funds, such as the Head Start or Even Start programs, provided nothing in these rules conflicts with the terms of the federal grant. Extended day child care programs provided by local educational agencies are not considered early childhood education programs for purposes of this rule unless the pro- gram meets the definition of a public school early childhood education program set forth above.
C. Except as noted, all certificates are subject to the general certi- fication provisions in R7-2-607 and the renewal requirements in R7-2-619.
D. Provisional Early Childhood Education Certificate – birth through age 8 or through grade three.
1. This certificate is valid for three years and is not renew- able but may be extended once for two years, upon writ- ten request of the holder to the Department, if the requirements in subsection (E)(3) have not been met.
2. The requirements are:
a. A bachelor’s degree, and
b. One of the following:
i. Completion of a teacher preparation program in early childhood education from an accredited institution or a teacher preparation program approved by the Board, or
ii. Early childhood education coursework and practicum experience which teaches the knowl- edge and skills described in R7-2-602 and includes both of the following:
(1) Thirty-seven semester hours of early childhood education courses to include all of the following areas of study:
(a) Foundations of early childhood edu- cation;
(b) Child guidance and classroom man- agement;
(c) Characteristics and quality practices for typical and atypical behaviors of young children;
(d) Child growth and development, including health, safety and nutrition;
(e) Child, family, cultural and commu- nity relationships;
(f) Developmentally appropriate instruc- tional methodologies for teaching language, math, science, social stud- ies and the arts;
(g) Early language and literacy develop- ment;
(h) Assessing, monitoring and reporting progress of young children; and
(2) A minimum of eight semester hours of practicum, including:
(a) A minimum of four semester hours in
a supervised field experience, practi- cum, internship or student teaching setting serving children birth through preschool. One year of full-time veri- fied teaching experience with chil- dren in birth through preschool may substitute for this student teaching experience. This verification may come from a school-based education program or center-based program licensed by the Department of Health Services or regulated by tribal or mil- itary authorities; and
(b) A minimum of four semester hours in a supervised student teaching setting serving children in kindergarten through grade three. One year of full- time verified teaching experience with children in kindergarten through grade three in an accredited school may substitute for this student teach- ing experience; or
iii. A valid early childhood education certificate from another state.
c. A valid Fingerprint Clearance Card issued by the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and
d. A passing score on the professional knowledge por- tion of the Arizona Educator Proficiency Assess- ment once that portion of the AEPA is adopted by the Board, and
e. A passing score on the early childhood subject knowledge portion of the Arizona Educator Profi- ciency Assessment once that portion of the AEPA is adopted by the Board.
E. Standard Early Childhood Education Certificate – birth through age 8 or through grade three.
1. By July 1, 2012, either a provisional or a standard early childhood education certificate shall be required for indi- viduals teaching in public school early childhood educa- tion programs, except as provided in R7-2-611 or in R7- 2-615(L). For individuals teaching in grades one through three, this certificate is optional.
2. This certificate is valid for six years.
3. The requirements are:
a. Qualification for the Provisional Early Childhood Education Certificate; and
b. Two years of verified teaching experience, during the valid period of the Provisional Early Childhood Education Certificate, with children birth through age 8 or grade three in a school-based education pro- gram or center-based program licensed by the Department of Health Services or regulated by Tribal or military authorities; and
c. A valid fingerprint clearance card issued by the Ari- zona Department of Public Safety.
4. An individual may also qualify for a Standard Early Childhood Education Certificate if the individual:
a. Holds current National Board Certification in Early Childhood, and
b. Holds a valid fingerprint Clearance Card issued by the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
Historical Note
Adopted effective May 20, 1994 (Supp. 94-2). 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).
Section R7-2-608 amended by emergency rulemaking under A.R.S. § 41-1026 at 8 A.A.R. 2562, effective May 23, 2002 for a period of 180 days (Supp. 02-2). May 23, 2002 emergency rulemaking renewed under A.R.S. § 41- 1026 at 8 A.A.R. 5132, effective November 19, 2002 (Supp. 02-4). Amended by final rulemaking at 9 A.A.R.
1605, effective May 5, 2003 (Supp. 03-2). Former Sec- tion R7-2-608 recodified to R7-2-609 at 16 A.A.R. 68, effective December 8, 2008 (Supp. 10-1). New Section R7-2-608 made by exempt rulemaking at 16 A.A.R. 52, effective December 8, 2008 (Supp. 10-1). Amended by exempt rulemaking at 16 A.A.R. 119, effective Septem- ber 21, 2009 (Supp. 10-2). Amended by exempt rulemak-
ing at 16 A.A.R. 235, effective December 7, 2009 (Supp.
10-3).