| (a) Each educator preparation program (EPP) must develop
and implement a calendar of program activities that must include a
deadline for accepting candidates into a program cycle to assure adequate
time for admission, coursework, training, and field-based experience
requirements prior to a clinical teaching or internship experience.
If an EPP accepts candidates after the deadline, the EPP must develop
and implement a calendar of program activities to assure adequate
time for admission, coursework, training, and field-based experience
requirements prior to a clinical teaching experience or internship
or, if a late hire, by the specified deadline in the late hire provision.
(b) All EPPs shall have a published exit policy for
dismissal of candidates that is reviewed and signed by candidates
upon admission. The exit policy must identify a point of dismissal
for inactive candidates after no more than two years of inactivity,
or university-based EPPs may adopt their institution's policy. An
inactive candidate is one who is no longer completing coursework,
training, and testing requirements with an EPP and is not a completer
of the EPP.
(c) To ensure that a candidate for educator certification
is prepared to receive a standard or enhanced standard certificate,
the EPP shall establish benchmarks and structured assessments of the
candidate's progress throughout the EPP and provide support and interventions
to each candidate based on the benchmark and structured assessment
results.
(d) An EPP is responsible for ensuring that each candidate
is adequately prepared to pass the appropriate examination(s) required
for certification. An EPP shall determine the readiness of each candidate
to take the appropriate certification examination of content, pedagogy,
and professional responsibilities, including professional ethics and
standards of conduct.
(e) The EPP shall grant test approval when the EPP
determines the candidate is ready, or if the candidate is a completer.
An EPP may make test approval contingent on a candidate completing
additional coursework and/or training to show that the candidate is
prepared to pass the test if the candidate is seeking test approval
from the EPP in an area where the standards and/or test changed since
the candidate completed all requirements of the EPP or if the candidate
has returned to the EPP for test approval one or more years following
the academic year of completion of all program requirements.
(f) Upon the written request of the candidate, an EPP
may prepare a candidate and grant test approval for a classroom teacher
certificate category other than the category for which the candidate
was initially admitted to the EPP only if:
(1) the candidate would meet the requirements for admission
under §227.10 of this title (relating to Admission Criteria)
in the requested certificate category;
(2) the EPP provides coursework and training in the
educator standards and test framework competencies related to the
requested certificate category; and
(3) the EPP ensures that the candidate is adequately
prepared to pass the appropriate content pedagogy examination(s) required
for the requested certificate category.
(g) An EPP shall not grant test approval for a certification
examination until a candidate has met all of the requirements for
admission to the EPP and has been contingently or formally admitted
into the EPP.
(h) An EPP shall ensure that candidates complete all
coursework and training and complete a successful clinical experience
prior to identifying the candidate as a completer and recommending
standard or enhanced standard certification. Candidates for teacher
certification that meet one of the requirements in §228.79 of
this title (relating to Exemptions from Required Clinical Experiences
for Classroom Teacher Candidates) are exempt from completing the required
field-based experience and clinical experience.
(i) An EPP shall retain documents that evidence a candidate's
eligibility for admission to the program and evidence of completion
of all program requirements for a period of five years after a candidate
completes, withdraws from, or is discharged or released from the program.
(j) During the period of preparation, the EPP shall
ensure that the individuals preparing candidates and the candidates
themselves understand and adhere to Chapter 247 of this title (relating
to Educators' Code of Ethics).
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