OAR 584-210-0160: License for Conditional Assignment

(1) Purpose of License Conditional Assignment: An Oregon school district may request a License for Conditional Assignment (LCA) for any educator holding a Preliminary, Professional, Teacher Leader, Legacy or Reciprocal teaching license. The purpose of a LCA is to allow a school district to request mis-assignment for an educator to teach in an out-of-field subject-matter endorsement area or serve in another license area for which the educator is not authorized, while the educator completes requirements necessary either to add the subject-matter endorsement to the underlying license or to obtain a new license type. (2) Scope of LCA requirement: The LCA is required when teaching or working out-of-field, as provided: (a) Teaching assignments that exceed 10 hours per week in one subject-matter area without the appropriate subject-matter endorsement. This provision does not apply to teaching assignments in ODE-approved CTE programs; EXAMPLE: A physical education teacher without a math endorsement teaching in a math assignment that exceeds 10 hours per week would require a LCA for math. If the physical education teacher is teaching math fewer than 10 hours a week, the teacher would not require a LCA. (b) Teaching in more than one unendorsed subject-matter endorsement area for any amount of time; EXAMPLE: If the physical education teacher is teaching hour of math and one hour of science; then a LCA would be required for both areas regardless of the 10 hours per week rule. The 10 hours per week rule applies to one subject only. (c) Moving from one license to another; or EXAMPLE: A teacher moving to administration, a teacher moving to school counselor, or a teacher moving to school psychology. (d) Teaching in a CTE area or program that requires a CTE endorsement; EXAMPLE: An advanced math teacher without a CTE endorsement teaching mechanical engineering in an ODE-approved CTE program would require a LCA for the CTE endorsement. (3) Term of LCA: The LCA provides conditional approval to teach out-of-field, as provided: (a) All LCAs will expire on June 30 following the date the LCA is issued; (b) The LCA is not renewable, but may be reauthorized as provided in subsections (9) and (10). (c) The LCA will not be “back dated.” Time spent on assignments where the district failed to request the LCA will be deducted from the allowable LCA total. (d) The LCA may not exceed more than three academic years in total. (e) The LCA is not a stand-alone or independent license. The underlying license must be kept current in order for the LCA to remain active. (4) District Sponsorship: A LCA requires sponsorship by the employing school district, as provided: (a) A district must apply for a LCA by October 31 for the fall term; or thereafter, apply for the LCA within two weeks after the assignment has begun; (b) A district must provide professional assistance specific to the assignment for the educator during the first year of the conditional assignment; (c) The district applying for a LCA is assumed to have informed the educator for which the LCA is being requested. Failure to inform the educator may result in an invalid LCA upon a finding by the Commission that the educator did not grant the district permission to add the LCA to the educator's license; and (d) The LCA is restricted to use within the sponsoring district. The LCA may be transferred to a new district unless the eligibility for the LCA has expired. EXAMPLE: A teacher has held a LCA for special education for two years sponsored by District A. The LCA may be transferred for one more year to a different sponsoring district. (5) Ineligible Licenses: Licenses not eligible for a LCA include, but are not limited to, the following licenses: (a) Any Restricted License; (b) Limited Teaching License; (c) American Indian Language; (d) Teaching Associate License; (e) Substitute Teaching License; (f) Restricted Substitute Teaching License; (g) Limited Student Services License; (h) Exceptional Administrator License; (i) International Visiting Teaching License; or (j) Any CTE Teaching License. (This restriction only applies to non-CTE endorsements.) (6) Other Special LCA Limitations: (a) An administrator, school counselor, or school psychologist, or school social worker who has never held a non-provisional teaching license in any state may not be issued a LCA to teach; (b) Applicants must never have held a restricted license or conditional assignment permit endorsed in the subject-matter area or licensure areas in which the educator is seeking to work out-of- field. (7) Applying for the first LCA: To be eligible to apply for a LCA, an applicant must: (a) Hold an active and valid qualifying non-provisional Oregon license; (b) Provide a statement from sponsoring district that (A) Requests the LCA be authorized; and (B) Assures the district will provide professional assistance to the educator; and (c) Submit a complete and correct application in the form and manner required by the Commission, including payment of all required fees as provided in OAR 584-200-0050. (8) No reauthorizations: For endorsements that require only a test, experience, or nine quarter hours or less of coursework, the applicant must complete all endorsement requirements by June 30th following the date the first LCA is issued. NOTE: After expiration of the final LCA, the applicant is subject to the requirements for subsequent authorization, as provided in subsection (11). (9) First Reauthorization (2nd LCA): To be eligible to apply for the first reauthorization of the LCA , an applicant must: (a) Hold an active and valid qualifying non-provisional Oregon license; (b) Provide a statement from sponsoring district that: (A) Requests the LCA be reauthorized; (B) Assures the district will continue to provide professional assistance to the educator; (C) Assures the educator is on target to meet the qualifications for the endorsement or license by the end of the educator’s eligibility for LCA authorizations. (c) Submit a complete and correct application in the form and manner required by the Commission, including payment of all required fees as provided in OAR 584-200-0050. NOTE: The 2nd LCA will expire on June 30th following the date the 2nd LCA is issued. After expiration of the 2nd LCA, the applicant must meet the requirements for the second reauthorization as provided in subsection (10) or subsequent authorization as provided in subsection (11). (10) Second Reauthorization (3rd and final LCA): To be eligible to apply for the second reauthorization of the LCA , an applicant must: (a) Hold an active and valid qualifying non-provisional Oregon license; (b) Provide a statement from sponsoring district requesting the LCA; (c) Provide a statement from sponsoring district that: (A) Requests the LCA be reauthorized; (B) Assures the district will continue to provide professional assistance to the educator; (C) Assures the educator is on target to meet the qualifications for the endorsement or license by the end of the educator’s eligibility for LCA authorizations. (d) Submit a complete and correct application in the form and manner required by the Commission, including payment of all required fees as provided in OAR 584-200-0050. NOTE: The 3rd LCA will expire on June 30th following the date the 3rd LCA is issued. After expiration of the final LCA, the applicant is subject to the requirements for subsequent authorization, as provided in subsection (11). (11) After the final LCA has expired, the educator must have completed all requirements necessary to add the appropriate endorsement or license in order to continue working in the area in which the educator held the LCA. Continuing to work in an out-of-field position on an expired LCA is a violation of licensure law and is unauthorized. In these cases, the license-holder or the assigning administrator or both may be subject to sanctions for gross neglect of duty by the Commission pursuant to 584-020-0040(4), Grounds for Disciplinary Action .