OAR 584-200-0130: Oregon Licensure Expense Reimbursement Program

(1) Pursuant to ORS 342.437, the Commission may disburse moneys to increase the percentage, through recruitment and retention, of licensed educators in this state who are linguistically diverse or who enhance linguistic inclusion, in accordance with the requirements set forth in this rule, through reimbursement from the TSPC General Program Fund to eligible recipients for the direct costs of seeking and obtaining Oregon teacher, administrator, and personnel service licensure or renewal, as well as assessment fees leading to licensure, registration, or certification. (2) Eligible Recipients: To be eligible for reimbursement of licensure expenses, a teacher, administrator, or personnel service license applicant must meet one of the following criteria: (a) Enhance Oregon access to linguistic inclusion through: (A) Speaker of a language that aligns with a TSPC-approved World Language endorsement or (B) Holding or having applied for an Oregon American Indian Languages Teaching License; or (C) Holding or having applied for an Oregon English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) endorsement; or (D) Holding or having applied for an Oregon World Language endorsement; or (E) Holding or having applied for an Oregon American Sign Language, Bilingual, or Dual Language Specialization; or (F) Holding a degree or minor in a subject area that aligns with a TSPC-approved World Language Endorsement, and (b) Have applied for or been issued any teacher, administrator or personnel service license, registration, certificate, or to add an endorsement or specialization or renewal under ORS 342.125, ORS 342.144, or ORS 342.475 on or after July 1 of the current biennium. (3) Timing of Eligible Expenses. (a) Eligible teachers, administrators and personnel service licensees may be reimbursed for eligible expenses that occurred prior to July 1 of the current biennium, if the licensure or renewal associated with the expenses was granted on or after July 1 of the current biennium. (b) Expenses incurred prior to meeting a qualifying criterion may be eligible for reimbursement only if they are directly associated with a licensure, endorsement, specialization, or renewal that was issued or applied for after the qualifying criterion was met. (c) An applicant who has applied for, but has not yet been issued, an eligible Oregon license, endorsement, or specialization must have sufficient documentation on file verifying that all requirements for issuance have been met. The Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC) may withhold reimbursement if licensure eligibility is unclear or inadequately documented. (d) Applicants who meet a qualifying criterion under subsection (2)(a) and apply for or are issued an eligible license, endorsement, specialization, or renewal during the final 90 days of the biennium may submit reimbursement requests within the period established by the Commission, in accordance with available funding and internal administrative deadlines. (4) Eligible Reimbursement Costs: For each reimbursement application, the applicant may receive a reimbursement subject to the approval of the Executive Director for the following actual, direct, and eligible expenses incurred for TSPC licensure or renewal and assessment leading to licensure: (a) The total license application fees for TSPC licensure, license endorsement, license specialization, and renewal, including fingerprint costs assessed through the e-Licensing Portal. (b) The charges for fingerprinting through Fieldprint or other approved vendor. (c) The total expenses for assessment costs associated with the approved license, see section (5) below. Pre-paid assessment fees provided by TSPC under section (6) of this rule may not be included in the licensee reimbursement application. (d) Expenses to obtain a transcript and other official documents required by TSPC for licensure, including foreign transcript evaluation. (e) Reasonable tuition for tutoring or remedial courses not otherwise eligible for financial aid that are necessary to achieve teacher, administrator, or personnel service candidacy for licensure, as determined by the educator preparation program. (f) Travel expenses: IRS-reimbursable mileage costs from residence to testing center and back, as well as from the applicant’s residence to the Fieldprint center and return. (g) Other expenses as approved by Executive Director. (h) An application for a Clinical Practices Clearance is not an application for a license and does not qualify as an eligible expense until an application for licensure has been submitted. (5) Assessment Costs: To be eligible for reimbursement of the direct costs of an assessment leading to licensure, the applicant must provide evidence acceptable to the Commission that the assessment was approved by the Commission or NASDTEC jurisdiction. (6) Pre-Paid Fees: Assessment reimbursement may be provided through an arrangement between TSPC and testing providers, such as assessment vouchers or direct billing. TSPC may provide testing vouchers or other prepaid resources to TSPC-approved EPPs for distribution. (7) Ineligible Expenses: An applicant may not be reimbursed for all Teacher Licensure expenses. Ineligible expenses include but are not limited to: (a) Returned check fees; (b) Any fees refunded or waived by TSPC, ETS, Pearson, EPPs, School Districts, and ESDs; (c) Any expenses not actually incurred by the applicant or reimbursed by any other entity; and (d) Any expenses reimbursed or covered by another entity. (8) Documentation of Expenses: Claimed expenses will not be reimbursed without adequate documentation, such as appropriate receipts, as approved by the Executive Director.