To adopt new Florida Teacher Certification Examinations (FTCE) passing scores, effective January 1, 2023, for the following FTCE subject areas: Deaf or Hard of Hearing K–12, School Counseling PK–12, School Psychologist PK–12, ....

 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

State Board of Education

RULE NO.:RULE TITLE:

6A-4.0021Florida Teacher Certification Examinations

PURPOSE AND EFFECT: To adopt new Florida Teacher Certification Examinations (FTCE) passing scores, effective January 1, 2023, for the following FTCE subject areas: Deaf or Hard of Hearing K–12, School Counseling PK–12, School Psychologist PK–12, and Visually Impaired K–12. Secondly, this rule amendment serves to adopt and incorporate new FTCE competencies and skills, effective January 1, 2023, for the following examinations: the General Knowledge Test (GK) Mathematics subtest; Elementary Education K–6 Subtest 4: Mathematics; Mathematics 6–12; Middle Grades Mathematics 5–9; and Prekindergarten/Primary PK–3 Subtest 3: Mathematics. Lastly, to align the rule with changes made during the 2022 Legislative session, the rule amends FTCE eligibility requirements for military testing fee waivers.

SUMMARY: First, to reflect expectations of examinee performance with respect to SBE-approved FTCE competencies and skills adopted and incorporated into Rule 6A-4.0021, F.A.C., on March 19, 2019, the proposed rule will adopt and incorporate new passing scores for the following four (4) examinations: Deaf or Hard of Hearing K–12, School Counseling PK–12, School Psychologist PK–12, and Visually Impaired K–12. Second, the proposed rule incorporates the “Competencies and Skills Required for Teacher Certification in Florida, Twenty-Seventh Edition” to align the content of the following five (5) examinations with the Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.) Student Performance Standards in Mathematics, adopted and incorporated in Rule 6A-1.09401, F.A.C.: the General Knowledge Test (GK), Elementary Education K–6, Mathematics 6–12, Middle Grades Mathematics 5–9, and Prekindergarten/Primary PK–3. Lastly, the proposed rule amendment will waive initial FTCE examination fees for current members of a reserve component of the United States Armed Forces and for honorably discharged veterans of reserves, and the spouse or surviving spouse of such a service member, regardless of whether the service member has served on active duty.

SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS AND LEGISLATIVE RATIFICATION:

The Agency has determined that this will not have an adverse impact on small business or likely increase directly or indirectly regulatory costs in excess of $200,000 in the aggregate within one year after the implementation of the rule. A SERC has not been prepared by the Agency.

The Agency has determined that the proposed rule is not expected to require legislative ratification based on the statement of estimated regulatory costs or if no SERC is required, the information expressly relied upon and described herein: The proposed rule is not expected to have any adverse impact on economic growth or business competitiveness or increase regulatory costs or any other factor set forth in section 120.54(2), F.S. It will not require ratification. This is based on the nature of the changes.

Any person who wishes to provide information regarding a statement of estimated regulatory costs, or provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY: 1001.02(1), (2)(n), 1012.55(1), 1012.56, 1012.59, F.S.

LAW IMPLEMENTED: 1012.55, 1012.56, 1012.59, F.S.

A HEARING WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW:

DATE AND TIME: October 20, 2022, 9:00 a.m.

PLACE: Caribe Royale, 8101 World Center Drive, Orlando, FL 32821.

THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Phil Canto, Bureau Chief, Bureau of Postsecondary Assessment, Office of Assessment, Division of Accountability, Research, and Measurement, [phone].

 

THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

 

6A-4.0021 Florida Teacher Certification Examinations.

(1) No change.

(2) Description of the examinations and competencies to be demonstrated.

(a) and (b) No change.

(c) The following competencies are to be demonstrated by means of the written examinations:

1. Between October 1, 2020, and May 31, 2022, the general knowledge competencies and skills contained in the publication “Competencies and Skills Required for Teacher Certification in Florida, Twenty-Fifth Edition,” (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-10344), which is incorporated by reference and made part of this rule effective October 1, 2020. Beginning June 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022, the general knowledge competencies and skills contained in the publication “Competencies and Skills Required for Teacher Certification in Florida, Twenty’Sixth Edition,” (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-14164), which wich is incorporated by reference and made part of this rule effective June 1, 2022. Beginning January 1, 2023,  the general knowledge competencies and skills contained in the publication “Competencies and Skills Required for Teacher Certification in Florida, Twenty-Seventh Edition,” (DOS Link), which is incorporated by reference and made part of this rule effective January 1, 2023. These publications may be obtained by contacting the Division of Accountability, Research and Measurement, Department of Education, 325 West Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400.

2. Between October 1, 2020, and May 31, 2022, the professional education competencies and skills contained in the publication “Competencies and Skills Required for Teacher Certification in Florida, Twenty-Fifth Edition,” (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-10344), which is incorporated by reference and made part of this rule effective October 1, 2020. Beginning June 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022, the professional education competencies and skills contained in the publication “Competencies and Skills Required for Teacher Certification in Florida, Twenty-Sixth Edition,” (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-14164), which is incorporated by reference and made part of this rule effective June 1, 2022. Beginning January 1, 2023, the professional education competencies and skills contained in the publication “Competencies and Skills Required for Teacher Certification in Florida, Twenty-Seventh Edition,” (DOS Link), which is incorporated by reference and made part of this rule effective January 1, 2023. These publications may be obtained by contacting the Division of Accountability, Research and Measurement, Department of Education, 325 West Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400.

3. Between October 1, 2020, and May 31, 2022, the subject area competencies and skills contained in the publication “Competencies and Skills Required for Teacher Certification in Florida, Twenty-Fifth Edition,” (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-10344), which is incorporated by reference and made part of this rule effective October 1, 2020. Beginning June 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022, the subject area competencies and skills contained in the publication “Competencies and Skills Required for Teacher Certification in Florida, Twenty-Sixth Edition,” (http://www.rules.org/Gateway/reference/asp?No=Ref-14164), which is incorporated by reference and made part of this rule effective June 1, 2022. Beginning January 1, 2023, the subject area competencies and skills contained in the publication “Competencies and Skills Required for Teacher Certification in Florida, Twenty-Seventh Edition,” (DOS Link), which is incorporated by reference and made part of this rule effective January 1, 2023. These publications may be obtained by contacting the Division of Accountability, Research and Measurement, Department of Education, 325 West Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400.

(3) Administration of the examinations.

(a) through (d) No change.

(e) An examinee may not retake a passed examination, subtest, or section unless:

1. through 2. No change.

3. The examinee has applied for reinstatement of an expired professional certification, pursuant to subsection 6A-4.0051(8)(7), F.A.C.

(4) through (8) No change.

(9) Scoring of the subject area specialty examinations.

(a) through (aa) No change.

(bb) Effective January 1, 2023, the passing score for the subject area specialty examinations listed below shall be a scaled score of at least two hundred (200). This scaled score shall be equivalent to the following raw scores on the test forms used for standard setting and administered between September 2021 and March 2022:

SUBJECT	SCORE
Deaf or Hard of Hearing K–12	60 correct items
School Counseling PK–12	66 correct items
School Psychologist PK–12	70 correct items
Visually Impaired K–12	71 correct items

 

 

 

 

 

 

(cc) (bb) The Commissioner of Education shall review the passing score for each of the General Knowledge Subtests, each of the subject area specialty examinations, and the professional education test not less than once every five (5) years and determine whether to recommend to the State Board of Education to maintain or change the existing passing scores.

(10) through (12) No change.

(13) Military Testing Fee Waivers.

(a) An individual is eligible for a waiver from the department for the first-time testing fees prescribed in paragraphs (4)(a)-(e) of this rule if he or she:

1. Is a member of the U.S. Armed Forces or a reserve component thereof who is serving, or has served, on active duty or is the spouse of such a service member;

2. Is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces or an honorably discharged veteran of a reserve component thereof who served on active duty or is the spouse or surviving spouse of such a service member; or

3. Is the surviving spouse of a member of the U.S. Armed Forces or a reserve component thereof who was serving on active duty at the time of death.

(b) To apply for a testing fee waiver, a request must be submitted via the Department of Education, Educator Certification website at http://www.fldoe.org/teaching/certification/military/ along with documentation establishing that the applicant meets the requirements for a testing fee waiver per paragraph (13)(a) of this rule. The following chart lists the required documentation.

BASIS FOR WAIVER OF FEE	DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED
Member of Armed Forces	Military ID card
Spouse of member of Armed Forces	Military dependent ID card (DD Form 1173)
Member of reserves, serving or served active duty	Military ID card or NGB22 Form or DD 256A Form and Activity Duty Report (DD Form 220) or Military ID card and orders for active duty
Spouse of member of reserves, serving or served active duty	Military dependent ID card (DD Form 1173) or Military dependent ID card (DD Form 1173-1) and spouse’s DD Form 220 or spouse’s orders for active duty
Honorably discharged veteran	Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214 Member 4)
Spouse or surviving spouse of honorably discharged veteran	DD Form 214 Member 4 of spouse and marriage certificate
Honorably discharged veteran of reserves, served active duty	DD Form 214 Member 4, NGB22 Form or DD 256A Form
Spouse of honorably discharged veteran of reserves, served active duty	DD Form 214 Member 4, NGB22 Form or DD 256A Form of spouse and marriage certificate
Surviving spouse of member of armed forces on active duty at time of death	Official documentation from Department of Defense
Surviving spouse of member of reserves on active duty at time of death	Official documentation from Department of Defense

(c) through (e) No change.

Rulemaking Authority 1012.55(1), 1012.56, 1012.59 FS. Law Implemented 1012.55, 1012.56, 1012.59 FS. History–New 8-27-80, Amended 1-11-82, 1-6-83, 5-3-83, 10-5-83, 10-15-84, Formerly 6A-4.021, Amended 12-25-86, 4-26-89, 4-16-90, 7-10-90, 4-22-91, 10-3-91, 8-10-92, 11-28-93, 4-12-95, 7-1-96, 9-30-96, 10-1-99, 7-17-00, 7-16-01, 3-24-02, 7-16-02, 3-24-03, 7-21-03, 12-23-03, 7-13-04, 5-24-05, 5-23-06, 5-21-07, 5-19-08, 7-21-08, 7-9-09, 6-22-10, 6-21-11, 11-22-11, 8-23-12, 5-21-13, 10-22-13, 2-25-14, 12-23-14, 7-28-15, 10-26-15, 7-26-16, 2-20-17, 8-20-17, 6-19-18, 11-28-18, 4-22-19, 5-3-22,

 

NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Phil Canto, Bureau Chief, Bureau of Postsecondary Assessment, Office of Assessment, Division of Accountability, Research, and Measurement.

NAME OF AGENCY HEAD WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Manny Diaz Jr., Commissioner, Department of Education.

DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: September 7, 2022

DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAR: August 4, 2022