2012 Arkansas Code
Title 6 - Education
Subtitle 2 - Elementary And Secondary Education Generally
Chapter 17 - Personnel
Subchapter 4 - -- Licensure Generally
§ 6-17-409 - Nontraditional licensure.

(a) The State Board of Education may offer and operate a nontraditional licensure program.

(b) (1) The Department of Education may provide grants of financial assistance to entities that train individuals seeking to obtain nontraditional licensure through the nontraditional licensure process administered by the department.

(2) The department shall pay the grants from funds appropriated by the General Assembly to the department for such purpose.

(c) The state board shall promulgate rules and regulations to determine eligibility for and amount of awards of the grants concerning the operation of the nontraditional licensure program authorized by this section and for such other purposes as may be necessary in carrying out the intent of this section.

(d) If the state board requires an applicant for nontraditional licensure to complete one (1) or more additional college-level courses and the applicant has obtained a bachelor's degree, the required course or courses shall meet one (1) or more of the following conditions:

(1) (A) Each course shall be offered at every state-supported, two-year institution of higher education.

(B) If more than one (1) course is required, all courses shall be offered in a one-semester block; or

(2) Each course shall be available as an online course, a traditional face-to-face course, or a hybrid course that is part online instruction and part face-to-face instruction, as approved by the department.

(e) (1) The state board shall issue a standard five-year teaching license to an applicant if the applicant has:

(A) Either:

(i) Successfully completed the two-year Teach for America program; or

(ii) Been awarded a master's degree in teaching from an accredited program at an institution of higher education; and

(B) Successfully completed the criminal records checks and Child Maltreatment Central Registry check under § 6-17-410.

(2) The state board shall issue to an applicant who is in the Teach for America program a provisional teaching license valid for the entire two-year period that the applicant is:

(A) In the Teach for America program; and

(B) Teaching in an Arkansas public school.

(3) The state board may require an applicant who meets the criteria of subdivision (e)(1) of this section to submit proof of the following academic eligibility:

(A) A passing score, as set by the state board, on a state-required pedagogical and content-area assessment; and

(B) (i) If required by the grade level and content area for which the applicant seeks licensure, successful completion of courses in Arkansas History or Methods of Teaching Reading, or both.

(ii) An applicant who has successfully completed the two-year Teach for America program is exempt from the Methods of Teaching Reading requirement;

(4) No academic or experience requirements for obtaining an Arkansas teaching license in addition to those identified in this subsection (e) shall be imposed on an applicant who otherwise meets the requirements of this subsection (e) by:

(A) The state board;

(B) The department; or

(C) An Arkansas state-funded college or university.

(f) (1) The state board shall issue a three-year provisional professional teaching license to an applicant who submits to the department the following:

(A) Higher education transcripts evidencing the award of at least a baccalaureate degree;

(B) Evidence of a minimum of three (3) years of employment experience in the content area that the applicant seeks to teach;

(C) Evidence of an offer of employment to teach classes for credit in an Arkansas public school;

(D) A statement of justification from the applicant relating the applicant's experience to teaching in the content area in which the applicant seeks to teach;

(E) Two (2) professional letters of recommendation submitted by the applicant's references;

(F) A passing score on the content knowledge and pedagogical tests for the content area in which the applicant seeks to teach; and

(G) Successful completion of the criminal background checks and Child Maltreatment Central Registry check under § 6-17-410.

(2) (A) (i) An individual who receives a three-year provisional teaching license under this subsection shall pass the Praxis II Pedagogy Assessment or have thirty (30) hours of training in pedagogy.

(ii) The thirty (30) hours of training in pedagogy are in addition to and not considered a part of the sixty (60) hours of professional development required for teachers by their employing school district or public school.

(3) At the end of three (3) years of provisional licensure, the licensee shall undergo a summative evaluation as required by Arkansas law.

(4) (A) The state board shall issue a standard five-year teaching license to the licensee if the licensee successfully completes a performance-based assessment that includes student achievement.

(B) The performance-based assessment shall be:

(i) Approved by the state board;

(ii) Paid for by the state; and

(iii) Administered no earlier than the completion of the first academic school year of teaching and before the expiration of the three-year provisional license.