ORS 342.147: Approval of educator preparation providers and educator preparation programs; rules.

(1) The Teacher Standards and Practices Commission shall establish by rule standards for approval of educator preparation providers and educator preparation programs. (2) Standards for approval of an educator preparation provider may allow approval of an institution of higher education, a school district in this state, an education service district in this state or any other entity in this state that sponsors or provides an educator preparation program. (3)(a) Standards for approval of an educator preparation program must include: (A) Requiring an educator preparation program to be accredited by a national organization that represents teachers, policymakers and teacher educators and that provides accreditation based on nationally recognized standards and on evidence-based measures; (B) Approving a public educator preparation program of more than four years’ duration only if educator preparation programs that are reasonably attainable in a four-year period, or the equivalent, are also available in the system of higher education and are designed to culminate in a baccalaureate degree that qualifies their graduates for entry-level teaching licenses; and (C) Requiring an educator preparation program to evaluate candidates using a framework approved by the commission that: (i) Uses multiple measures to determine if a candidate’s knowledge, skills and competencies qualify the candidate for a teaching license; and (ii) Includes at least one measure that is locally determined and adopted by the educator preparation provider, and that is then approved by the commission. (b) Standards for approval of an educator preparation program for early childhood education, elementary education, special education or reading must require that: (A) The program provide instruction on dyslexia and other reading difficulties; and (B) The instruction on dyslexia be consistent with the knowledge and practice standards of an international organization on dyslexia. (4)(a) Notwithstanding subsection (3)(a)(A) of this section, standards for approval of an educator preparation program may allow an educator preparation program to operate provisionally without accreditation by a national organization if the educator preparation program is: (A) Offered by an accredited educator preparation provider; or (B) A nontraditional pathway to licensure program offered by an educator preparation provider, regardless of whether the educator preparation provider is accredited. (b) A nontraditional pathway to licensure program shall be considered an approved educator preparation program if the nontraditional pathway to licensure program complies with standards established by the commission. The commission shall establish standards for nontraditional pathway to licensure programs that: (A) Are substantially similar to the standards under subsection (3)(a) of this section; (B) Require the commission to consider the current efforts of educator preparation programs to serve the same educator workforce as the proposed nontraditional pathway to licensure program; and (C) Require the proposed nontraditional pathway to licensure program to submit to the commission a preoperational capacity review from a national accrediting organization that is approved by the commission. (c)(A) Nothing in this subsection requires a nontraditional pathway to licensure program to: (i) Culminate in the granting of a degree; or (ii) Prohibit a candidate from being employed as an educator while participating in the program. (B) Nothing in this subsection prevents an accredited educator preparation provider from offering a nontraditional pathway to licensure. (d) An approved educator preparation program that operates provisionally as provided by this subsection may not operate provisionally for more than four years from the date that the educator preparation program first received approval to operate provisionally. (5) The commission shall adopt rules that: (a) Require approved educator preparation programs for early childhood education, elementary education, special education or reading to demonstrate that candidates enrolled in the programs receive training to provide instruction that enables students to meet or exceed third-grade reading standards and become proficient readers by the end of the third grade, as designated by the State Board of Education. For the purposes of this paragraph, an approved educator preparation program may make the demonstration through course curriculum, approved textbooks or other program requirements. (b) Allow approved educator preparation programs leading to graduate degrees to commence prior to the candidate’s completion of baccalaureate degree requirements and to combine undergraduate and graduate level course work in achieving program completion. (6) Whenever any educator preparation provider or educator preparation program is denied approved status or has such status withdrawn, the denial or withdrawal must be treated as a contested case under ORS chapter 183. (7) Nothing in this section is intended to grant to the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission any authority relating to granting degrees or establishing degree requirements that are within the authority of the Higher Education Coordinating Commission or any of the public universities listed in ORS 352.002, or that are within the authority of the governing board of any private institution of higher education. [1973 c.270 §19; 1989 c.521 §2; 1989 c.690 §3; 1993 c.45 §159; 2011 c.637 §126; 2015 c.647 §§14,41,42; 2015 c.756 §8; 2015 c.767 §§106,236,237,238,239; 2017 c.317 §§1,2; 2021 c.518 §9; 2021 c.637 §§1,2]