The rule amendment is proposed to provide for acceptance of written and oral proficiency scores earned from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) as one option for satisfying the foreign language specialization ...

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
State Board of Education

RULE NO: RULE TITLE
6A-4.0243: Specialization Requirements for Certification in Foreign Language (Grades K-12) - Academic Class
PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The rule amendment is proposed to provide for acceptance of written and oral proficiency scores earned from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) as one option for satisfying the foreign language specialization requirements for foreign languages for which there are no Florida developed subject area exams. It is also proposed that the languages for which certification is offered be expanded to add Arabic, Hindi, Farsi, and Haitian Creole.
SUMMARY: The rule is amended to propose that a score above the intermediate level on the ACTFL oral proficiency interview and the written proficiency test for the specific foreign language for which there is no Florida developed subject area exam be accepted to establish subject area specialization requirements for initial certification in the foreign language.
SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS: No Statement of Estimated Regulatory Cost was prepared.
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.
SPECIFIC AUTHORITY: 1001.02, 1012.55, 1012.56 FS.
LAW IMPLEMENTED: 1001.02, 1012.54, 1012.55, 1012.56 FS.
A HEARING WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW:
DATE AND TIME: February 19, 2008, 8:30 a.m.
PLACE: 400 South Monroe Street, Room LL03, The Capitol, Tallahassee, Florida 32399
THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Beverly Gregory, Chief, Bureau of Educator Certification, Department of Education, 325 West Gaines Street, Room 201, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400; [phone]

THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

6A-4.0243 Specialization Requirements for Certification in Foreign Language (Grades K-12) – Academic Class.

(1) Specialization requirements for the following world modern languages: Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

(a) Plan One. A bachelor’s or higher degree with an undergraduate or graduate major in one of the world modern languages listed in subsection (1) of this rule, or

(b) Plan Two. A bachelor’s or higher degree with thirty (30) semester hours in one of the world modern languages listed in subsection (1) of this rule to include credit in the areas specified below:

1. History or culture of the people who speak the language as their native language,

2. Literature in the language, and

3. Applied linguistics or second language acquisition, or

(c) Plan Three. A bachelor’s or higher degree with specialization requirements completed in one (1) of the world modern languages as specified in paragraph (1)(a) or (b) of this rule, and twenty-one (21) semester hours in another one of the modern languages listed in subsection (1) of this rule to include credit in the areas specified below:

1. History or culture of the people who speak the language as their native language, and

2. Literature in the language, or

(d) Plan Four. A bachelor’s or higher degree and official documentation of successful completion of the Basic Program of the Defense Language Institute of the United States Department of Defense in one of the world modern languages listed in subsection (1) of this rule or,.

(e) Plan Five. A bachelor’s or higher degree and official documentation of an American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) oral proficiency interview score earned above the intermediate level and a written proficiency test score earned above the intermediate level in one of the world languages for which there is no Florida developed certification subject area examination.

(2) Specialization requirements for Latin.

(a) Plan One. A bachelor’s or higher degree with an undergraduate or graduate major in Latin, or

(b) Plan Two. A bachelor’s or higher degree with thirty (30) semester hours in Latin to include credit in the areas specified below:

1. Latin vocabulary, grammar, and composition,

2. Latin literature, and

3. Roman culture, or

(c) Plan Three. A bachelor’s or higher degree with specialization requirements completed in one (1) of the modern languages as specified in paragraph (1)(a) or (b) of this rule, and twenty-one (21) semester hours in Latin to include credit in the areas specified below:

1. Latin vocabulary, grammar, and composition,

2. Latin literature, and

3. Roman culture.

Specific Authority 1001.02, 1012.55, 1012.56 FS. Law Implemented 1001.02, 1012.54, 1012.55, 1012.56 FS. History–New 7-1-90, Amended 7-17-00, 4-17-02, 6-20-07,________.

NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Beverly Gregory, Chief, Bureau of Educator Certification, Department of Education
NAME OF SUPERVISOR OR PERSON WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Pamela Stewart, Deputy Chancellor, K-12 Educator Quality, Department of Education
DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: January 7, 2008
DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAW: November 16, 2007