Educator Education Requirements Special Education

For renewal of an educator license, the act requires teachers, special services providers, principals, and administrators to complete 10 clock hours of the professional development required during the term of the license relating to increasing awareness of laws and practices relating to the education of students with disabilities in the classroom, including educating students with behavioral concerns or behavioral disabilities. The laws and practices include but are not limited to child find and inclusive learning environments. A licensee who has less than 3 years left in the license renewal period on June 30, 2020, has until the end of the next license renewal period to complete the professional development content requirement and may use classes and activities completed during a 5-year look-back period to comply with the content requirement. Nothing in the act prevents the licensee from applying a single professional development course to one or more content or hour requirements established in law.

The act also requires each educator preparation program, alternative teacher program, and alternative principal preparation program to include course work that provides educator candidates or alternative teachers or principals with an overview of federal laws relating to the education of students with disabilities, individualized education programs, and child find and that teaches educators effective special education classroom practices, including but not limited to inclusive learning environments.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)