Meeting of the Board of Regents | December 2007

THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:
FROM:	Johanna Duncan-Poitier
SUBJECT:	Proposed Amendment to the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to the Accreditation of Teacher Education Programs
DATE:	November 16, 2007
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 2 and  3
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

SUMMARY

 

Issue for Decision

 

Should the Board of Regents amend section 52.21(b)(2)(iv)(c)(3)(i) and (ii) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education to extend by six months, until June 30, 2008, the date by which certain teacher education programs awaiting accreditation decisions must achieve accreditation, and to extend the period of eligibility for certain teacher education programs, initially denied accreditation, to request from the Department of Education a deferral of the date by which they must be accredited?

 

Reason(s) for Consideration

              Review of Policy.

 

Proposed Handling

 

The proposed amendment will come before the Higher Education and Professional Practice Committee as an emergency measure at the December 2007 Regents meeting.

 

Procedural History

 

In 1998, the Board of Regents adopted a new teaching policy, "Teaching to Higher Standards: New York’s Commitment”.  As a result of that policy, in 1999, the Board adopted section 52.21(b)(2)(iv)(c) of the Commissioner’s Regulations, which requires registered New York State programs leading to certification in teacher education (“teacher education programs”) to become accredited by an acceptable accrediting organization or by the Board of Regents by December 31, 2006.  In September 2005, the Board of Regents, upon the recommendation of the Higher Education and Professional Practice Committee, adopted an amendment to section 52.21(b)(2)(iv)(c), which established an exception to this requirement for certain teacher education programs requiring additional time beyond December 31, 2006 to receive an accreditation decision or to resolve deficiencies that resulted in a denial of accreditation.

 

Supporting materials for the proposed amendment are available upon request from the Secretary to the Board of Regents.  A Notice of Proposed Rule Making will be published in the State Register on November 28, 2007.

 

Background Information

 

                The proposed amendment applies to teacher education programs registered before September 1, 2001 that are awaiting an accreditation decision following an accreditation review that included a site visit conducted by December 31, 2006.   The amendment also applies to certain teacher education programs denied accreditation who seek a deferral of the date by which they must become accredited.

 

                In 1999, the Board of Regents adopted section 52.21(b)(2)(iv)(c) of the Commissioner’s Regulations which requires registered New York State teacher education programs to become accredited by an acceptable accrediting organization or by the Board of Regents by December 31, 2006, in order to maintain registration status.  In September 2005, however, the Board of Regents adopted an amendment to section 52.21(b)(2)(iv)(c), which established an exception to this requirement for certain teacher education programs requiring additional time beyond December 31, 2006 to receive an accreditation decision or to resolve deficiencies that resulted in an initial denial of accreditation.  Under existing regulations, programs eligible for this exception must achieve accreditation by December 31, 2007 to maintain registration status.   Moreover, under current regulations, certain teacher education programs, initially denied accreditation during a limited time period, January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2007, may apply for a deferral of the date by which they must earn accreditation. 

 

           Due to circumstances beyond the control of the institutions awaiting accreditation decisions, it seems unlikely that a small number of colleges will complete their respective accrediting organization’s accreditation process by the December 31, 2007 deadline.  The additional deferral will provide accreditors with the requisite time to complete the accreditation process and render decisions on their late-2006 accreditation reviews.  New York's 114 active teacher education programs must be accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC), or the Regents (Regents Accreditation of Teacher Education [RATE]).  To date, 100 institutions have earned accreditation of their teacher education programs for some period of time.  Eleven (11) institutions have had a site visit as part of their accreditation review and are awaiting a decision.  The three remaining institutions have newer programs that are subject to a later accreditation deadline.  Accordingly, 11 institutions will be unable to meet the December 31, 2007 accreditation deadline.  

 

              Staff believe it is necessary to give teacher education programs additional time to achieve accreditation, under limited conditions.  Due to the demands of scheduling over 100 accreditation visits and the challenges programs face in preparing for accreditation, the schedule of site visits extended through the fall 2006 semester.  At least one Department representative participated in every accreditation site visit to a teacher education institution, regardless of the program's chosen accreditor. The increasing demands on accrediting organizations to complete an ever increasing number of accreditation reviews has significantly impacted their ability to meet the demand.  Due to this impact, some New York State institutions may not have an accreditation decision by December 31, 2007, or will have little time to respond to a denial of accreditation and may be negatively impacted by the current accreditation deadline. 

 

Given that some teacher education programs will not have received accreditation decisions by December 31, 2007, they may further not have sufficient time to respond to a denial of accreditation if initially denied accrediation and may be negatively impacted by the current accreditation deadline. The current cycle of accreditation reviews represents the first time many teacher education programs have sought accreditation.  Often, institutions must change and formalize their procedures and address resource issues to satisfy accreditation standards.  Institutions ultimately benefit from the accreditation review, but the time needed to prepare for and respond to such reviews and the time needed for accreditation decisions to be made, will force some quality programs past the accreditation deadline.  As a result, some programs may need additional time to resolve first-time accreditation issues that led to an initial denial of accreditation.

 

The proposed amendment will enable certain teacher education programs to complete the accreditation process.  The amendment extends by six moths, until June 30, 2008, the date by which teacher education programs registered prior to September 1, 2001 that are awaiting accreditation decision following an accreditation review that included a site visit conducted by December 31, 2006  must achieve accreditation.  In addition, the proposed amendment will extend by six months the period of eligibility in which certain teacher education programs denied accreditation may request a deferral of the date for accreditation.  Specifically, the amendment will permit teacher education programs initially denied accreditation between July 13, 2006 and June 30, 2008 to submit to the Department of Education a request for such deferral within 15 days from their receipt of written notice of the determination denying accreditation, provided the programs submit a corrective action plan acceptable to the Department.

 

To note, the proposed amendment will not change any other accreditation requirement.  Programs, initially denied accreditation, must still submit a request for a deferral of the date by which they must be accredited within 15 days from receipt of the notice of determination denying accreditation. To qualify for such deferral, programs must still submit to the Department a corrective action plan addressing the deficiencies identified by the chosen accreditor within 60 days from their submission of the deferral request. The plans must be reviewed and approved by the Department.  If the Department approves the plan, it will defer the institution's accreditation deadline by up to three years. 

 

Without this amendment, programs may be subject to de-registration for not meeting the accreditation requirement by December 31, 2007.  By providing for deferral of the accreditation deadline under the described conditions, the amendment allows programs to address deficiencies, thereby limiting disruptions to students while helping to ensure improvements in program quality.

 

Recommendation

 

Staff recommends the Board of Regents take the following action:

 

VOTED: That items (i) and (ii) of subclause (3) of clause (c) of subparagraph (iv) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of section 52.21 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education be amended, as submitted, effective December 31, 2007, as an emergency action, upon a finding by the Board of Regents that such action is necessary for the preservation of the general welfare in order to enable certain teacher education programs to complete the accreditation process, and accordingly, achieve accreditation, and to extend the period of eligibility for certain teacher education programs, initially denied accreditation, to request a deferral of the date by which they must be accredited, providing these programs additional time to address deficiencies that lead to the determination denying accreditation, and thereby, limiting disruption to students while helping to ensure improvements in program quality.

 

Timetable for Implementation

 

              The emergency adoption will take effect on December 31, 2007 and will remain in effect for 90 days.  It is anticipated that the proposed amendment will be presented for adoption as a permanent rule at the February 2008 Regents meeting.

 

 

Attachment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AMENDMENT TO THE REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION

              Pursuant to sections 207, 210, 215, 305, 3001, and 3004 of the Education Law.

Items (i) and (ii) of subclause (3) of clause (c) of subparagraph (iv) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of section 52.21 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education are amended, effective December 31, 2007, as follows:

(i) Deferral for programs awaiting accreditation decision.  Programs registered on or before September 1, 2001 that are awaiting an accreditation decision from their chosen accreditor following an accreditation review which included a site visit conducted on or before December 31, 2006, shall meet the accreditation requirement in subclause (2) of this clause by [December 31, 2007] June 30, 2008.

(ii) Deferral for programs under corrective action plan.    Programs registered on or before September 1, 2001 that have been denied accreditation between January 1, 2005 and [December 31, 2007] June 30, 2008, may request from the department a deferral of the date by which they must be accredited in accordance with the requirements of this item.

(A) Such programs denied accreditation between January 1, 2005 and July 12, 2006 must submit a written request to the department for the deferral of the date for accreditation by September 1, 2006.  Such programs denied accreditation between July 13, 2006 and [December 31, 2007] June 30, 2008 must submit to the department a written request for such deferral within 15 days of receiving written notice of the determination denying accreditation. 

(B) Such programs may be granted by the department a deferral of the date by which they must be accredited, provided that the programs submit a corrective action plan that is acceptable to the department.  Such corrective action plan must be submitted to the department within 60 days of the programs' submission of the request for the deferral of the date for accreditation.  The corrective action plan must adequately address the deficiencies identified by the accreditor and establish an acceptable date by which the programs will be accredited based upon a plan to remedy such deficiencies.   The department shall review the corrective action plan to determine whether to grant the deferral of the date for accreditation.

 (C) Where the deferral of the date for accreditation is granted, the department shall determine the date by which the programs must be accredited.  Such date shall be stated in the corrective action plan and shall not exceed three years from the date of the department's written notice to the programs of the determination to grant the deferral of the date for accreditation.   During the period of the implementation of the corrective action plan, the programs shall demonstrate to the department that the programs are making adequate progress toward meeting the chosen accreditor's standards.  Any determination denying re-registration of the programs based upon the initial accreditation review shall be held in abeyance and the programs shall continue to be registered during the period of the review by the department of the programs' request for accreditation deferral and the implementation of an acceptable corrective action plan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO SECTION 52.21(b)(2)(iv)(c)(3)(i) AND (ii) OF THE REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION PURSUANT TO SECTIONS 207, 210, 215, 305, 3001, AND 3004 OF THE EDUCATION LAW RELATING TO THE ACCREDITATION OF TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS

STATEMENT OF FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH NECESSITATE EMERGENCY ADOPTION

The proposed amendment in needed to enable certain teacher education programs to complete the accreditation process.  Under existing regulations, certain teacher education programs are eligible for a deferral of the date by which they must be accredited.  Currently, teacher education programs registered prior to September 1, 2001 that are awaiting an accreditation decision, provided they had a site visit as part of their accreditation review by December 31, 2006, must complete the accreditation process and become accredited by an acceptable professional education accrediting association or the Board of Regents by December 31, 2007 in order to maintain their registration status.  Teacher education programs denied accreditation during a limited period of time, January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2007, may request deferral of the date for accreditation, provided the programs submit a corrective action plan acceptable to the Department of Education. 

              The proposed amendment will extend by six months, until June 30, 2008, the date by which teacher education programs registered prior to September 1, 2001 that are awaiting an accreditation decision following an accreditation review which included a site visit conducted on or before December 31, 2006, must achieve accreditation.   Accordingly, the proposed amendment will extend by six months the period of eligibility in which certain teacher education programs denied accreditation may request a deferral of the date for accreditation.  Specifically, the amendment will permit teacher education programs initially denied accreditation between July 13, 2006 and June 30, 2008 to submit to the Department of Education a request for such deferral within 15 days from their receipt of written notice of the determination denying accreditation, provided the programs submit a corrective action plan acceptable to the Department.  The amendment will not change any other accreditation requirement.  

              Because the Board of Regents meets at fixed intervals, the earliest the proposed amendment could be presented for regular adoption, after publication in the State Register and expiration of the 45-day public comment period, is the January 2008 Regents meeting.  Pursuant to the State Administrative Procedure Act, the earliest effective date of the proposed amendment, if adopted at the January 14-15 meeting, would be February 7, 2007, the date a Notice of Adoption would be published in the State Register. 

Emergency action to adopt the proposed amendment is necessary for the preservation of the general welfare in order to prevent the de-registration of certain teacher education programs unable to meet the accreditation requirement by the current deadline date of December 31, 2007.  By providing for a deferral of the accreditation deadline under the described conditions, the amendment will allow programs additional time to address accreditation deficiencies identified by their chosen accreditor which lead to the denial of accreditation, thereby limiting the disruption to students attending these programs, and helping to ensure improvement in program quality.

              It is anticipated that the proposed amendment will be presented to the Board of Regents for adoption/confirmation as a permanent rule at the January 14-15, 2007 meeting of the Board of Regents, which is the first scheduled meeting after expiration of the 45-day public comment period mandated by the State Administrative Procedure Act.