SUMMARY OF TERMS

Registered Students with Disabilities (All Grades) Programs:
The Department proposes to amend section 52.21 of the Commissioner’s regulations to create registration requirements for programs leading to the Initial and/or Professional SWD (All Grades) certificates. The Department would no longer register programs leading to the current SWD (Grades 1-6) and SWD (Grades 7-12) certificates on or after October 1, 2022, and would begin registering SWD (All Grades) programs on the effective date of the proposed amendment.
For institutions that currently have registered SWD (Grades 1-6) and SWD (Grades 7-12) programs, the programs would no longer be registered with the Department on or after September 1, 2029. The deadline of September 1, 2029, provides a sufficient transition period for institutions to register SWD (All Grades) programs and allows candidates to complete their current students with disabilities programs.
All registered teacher preparation programs leading to initial certification include a content core and a pedagogical core. The content core requirement for registered programs leading to the proposed SWD (All Grades) certificate is the same as the content core requirement for programs leading to the current SWD (Grades 7-12) certificate. Specifically, programs would require candidates to complete a major, concentration, or the equivalent in one or more of the liberal arts and sciences. In addition, they would complete a minimum of six semester hours in each of the subject areas of mathematics, English language arts, social studies, and science (total of 24 semester hours) and have sufficient pedagogical skills to teach these subject areas.
The pedagogical core requirements for registered programs leading to the proposed SWD (All Grades) certificate would focus on developing the same comprehensive knowledge, understanding, and skills for teaching students with disabilities in current SWD programs, but cover the broader student developmental level of the certificate (pre-Kindergarten to grade 12) and include teaching students with disabilities who are culturally and linguistically diverse.
Candidates who begin a proposed SWD (All Grades) program prior to the fall 2023 semester would complete field experiences and student teaching experiences across the age/grade range of the student developmental level of the certificate, and if they are in a program with at least two student teaching experiences, would student teach in two settings: pre-kindergarten through grade 6 and grades 7 through 12. For candidates who begin in the fall 2023 semester and thereafter, the program would require a combination of clinical experiences across the age/grade range of the student developmental level of the certificate, including pre-kindergarten through grade 6 and grades 7 through 12.
Students with Disabilities (All Grades) Certificate:
The Department proposes to amend section 80-3.2 of the Commissioner’s regulations to add the Students with Disabilities (All Grades) certificate to the list of certificate titles in the classroom teaching service, allowing candidates to be issued such certificate on the effective date of the proposed amendment.
The proposed amendment to section 80-1.2 of the Commissioner’s regulations provides that the Department will not issue certificates in the SWD (Grades 1-6) and SWD (Grades 7-12) certificate titles, other than for the Professional certificate and reissuance of an Initial certificate, with an effective date that begins after September 1, 2030.
In addition, the Department may extend the effective date of such certificates, as applicable, after September 1, 2030, pursuant to the time extension requirements for certificates in section 80-1.6 of the Commissioner’s regulations. The Professional certificate and reissuance of an Initial certificate in these certificate titles will continue to be issued, holding harmless candidates who have a valid or expired Initial SWD (Grades 1-6) and/or SWD (Grades 7-12) certificate.
The Department also proposes to amend section 80-3.7 of the Commissioner’s regulations to allow candidates to apply for a SWD (All Grades) certificate through the individual evaluation pathway on the effective date of the proposed amendment. Candidates will continue to be able to apply for the SWD (Grades 1-6) and/or SWD (Grades 7-12) certificates through the individual evaluation pathway prior to September 1, 2023, and will be eligible for such certificates, provided that they meet all requirement(s) for the certificate prior to September 1, 2026. This timeline provides candidates with at least one year to apply and qualify for these current certificates through the individual evaluation pathway.
The content core requirement for the proposed SWD (All Grades) certificate is the same as the content core requirement for the SWD (Grades 7-12) certificate in the individual pathway to certification. Specifically, candidates would complete 30 semester hours of coursework in one or more of the liberal arts and sciences and six semester hours in each of the subject areas of mathematics, science, social studies, and English language arts within such content core.
The pedagogical coursework requirement for the proposed SWD (All Grades) certificate is the same as the pedagogical coursework requirements for the current SWD certificates in the individual evaluation pathway, except that six semester hours of coursework at a specified developmental level will no longer be required.
One of the exams required for the current SWD certificates is a multi-subject Content Specialty Test that assesses knowledge and skills in literacy and English language arts, mathematics, and arts and sciences. The multi-subject tests are tailored to the age/grade range of the current SWD certificates (e.g., Multi-subject: Secondary Teachers (Grade 7-Grade 12)), and candidates must pass the multi-subject test at the age/grade range of the certificate sought.
Since a multi-subject test that spans all grades currently does not exist, the Department proposes to amend section 80-1.5 of the Commissioner’s regulations to require candidates to pass any one of the following tests for the proposed SWD (All Grades) certificate until a multi-subject content specialty test for such certificate title is developed and available: Multi-Subject, Multi-subject: Teachers of Childhood (Grade 1-Grade 6), Multi-subject: Teachers of Middle Childhood (Grade 5-Grade 9), or Multi-subject: Secondary Teachers (Grade 7-Grade 12) content specialty tests. Having options for the multi-subject test allows the proposed certificate to be accessible to candidates who passed one of these multi-subject tests for their current certificate or will graduate from a SWD (Grades 1-6) and SWD (Grades 7-12) program in the future.
Extensions:
Currently, institutions may register a program leading to an extension for the SWD (Grades 7-12) certificate that authorizes candidates to teach students with disabilities in certain subjects in grades 7-12. In addition, teachers who hold a SWD (Grades 5-9) or SWD (Grades 7-12) generalist or content specialist certificate, or a Permanent Special Education certificate, may obtain an extension to teach students with disabilities in certain subjects in grades 5-9 or grades 7-12. With this extension, special education teachers can teach a special class in a subject area in the grade level of the extension.
The Department proposes to amend section 52.21 of the Commissioner’s regulations to allow SWD (All Grades) programs to lead to such extension and to reduce the number of semester hours required in the subject area of the extension from 18 to 12. Similarly, the proposal amends section 80-4.3(n) of the Commissioner’s regulations to enable teachers who hold the SWD (All Grades) certificate to be eligible for such extension. In addition, the current extension requirements of 18 semester hours in the subject area of the extension and passing the content specialty test in the subject area of the extension would be replaced with 12 semester hours in the subject area of the extension or passing the content specialty test in the subject area of the extension.
Reducing the number of semester hours required in the subject area of the extension will permit candidates who are enrolled in the current SWD (Grades 7-12) program or proposed SWD (All Grades) program to efficiently complete the extension program, likely resulting in more candidates seeking the extension. This will, in turn, address the need for more special education teachers who are qualified to teach a special class in a subject area in grades 7-12. Further, permitting eligible special education teachers to obtain the extension by passing the content specialty test in the subject area of the extension, instead of requiring such eligible teachers to complete coursework, gives them an option for demonstrating their content knowledge while removing a potential financial barrier to certification.
The limited extension also enables teachers who hold a SWD (Grades 5-9) or SWD (Grades 7-12) generalist or content specialist certificate, or a Permanent Special Education certificate, to teach students with disabilities in certain subjects in grades 7-12, but only for a limited period of time. One of the options for obtaining the limited extension is to pass the content specialty test in the subject area of the limited extension. The Department proposes to amend section 80-4.3(t) of the Commissioner’s regulations to remove this option for obtaining the limited extension because passing the content specialty test in the subject area will become an option for the extension to teach students with disabilities in certain subjects in grades 5-9 or grades 7-12, as described above. In addition, the proposed amendment will allow teachers who hold the SWD (All Grades) certificate to be eligible for the limited extension.

Additional Amendments:
Since SWD (Birth-Grade 2) programs would continue, the proposed amendment revises this program’s pedagogical core requirement such that these programs will focus on developing comprehensive knowledge, understanding, and skills for teaching students with disabilities, including students with disabilities who are culturally and linguistically diverse. The addition of “students with disabilities who are culturally and linguistically diverse” is consistent with the proposed pedagogical core requirement for the SWD (All Grades) program. SWD (Birth-Grade 2) programs would need to include this new requirement by September 1, 2024, or at the time a new program is registered, whichever occurs first.
Additionally, the proposed amendment removes regulations relating to programs leading to teaching students with disabilities in middle childhood and the individual evaluation pathway for SWD (Grades 5-9) certification since these options no longer exist. The proposed amendment also adds the SWD (All Grades) certificate, or programs leading to this certificate, to regulations that list one or more special education certificates or programs in sections 52.21, 57-3.1, 57-3.7, 80-1.12, 80-4.4, and 200.20 of the Commissioner’s regulations, as appropriate.
Finally, the proposed amendment includes technical revisions to internal citations to align the proposed amendment with the proposed Literacy (All Grades) certificate, which was proposed at the February 2022 meeting as an addition to section 80-3.7(a)(2) of the Commissioner’s regulations.