INFORMATIONAL

  During a joint meeting of the Board and the State Council of
  Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) on February 26, 1997,
  the Board of Education received a proposal from the Advisory
  Board on Teacher Education and Licensure (ABTEL) to revise
  the licensure regulations for school personnel.  The Board
  of Education authorized the Department of Education to begin
  the required Virginia Register of Regulations' Provisions of
  the Administrative Process Act (APA).   I am attaching for
  your information a copy of ABTEL's Proposal to Revise
  Licensure Regulations for School Personnel.

  To fulfill the requirements of APA, the public comment
  period for the proposed regulations will be held during the
  period of July 1 to October 31, 1997.  (The comment period
  has been extended to October 31.)  A series of public
  hearings will be conducted in late September by the Board of
  Education.  Written comments may be submitted anytime during
  the July 1 to October 1 time frame.  After the public
  comment period, the Advisory Board will make any revisions
  needed in the proposal and submit a document to the Board of
  Education for final approval in January 1998.  It is
  anticipated that the regulations will become effective
  February 1998, with implementation dates for local school
  divisions on July 1, 1998, and institutions with approved
  programs by the fall of 2000.

  During the public comment period (July 1 to October 31,
  1997), written comments on the proposed regulations should
  be forwarded to the Department to Education, Division of
  Compliance, P. O. Box 2120, Richmond, VA 23218-2120 or E-mail
  to telliott@pen.k12.va.us.  Enclosed is a copy of the 

  Superintendent's Memorandum
  Page 2


  format to be used in submitting recommended revisions and/or
  statements of support.

  The Advisory Board on Teacher Education and Licensure
  (ABTEL) is responsible for advising the Board of Education
  on policies applicable to the qualifications, examination,
  licensure, and regulation of school personnel.  The Advisory
  Board began a process approximately two years ago to review
  the licensure regulations to reduce the number of
  endorsements and develop requirements consistent with the
  Virginia Standards of Learning.  The Advisory Board has
  worked with a variety of professional organizations, school
  personnel, institutions of higher education, Department of
  Education staff, and other individuals to develop for public
  review and comment requirements for each of the proposed
  endorsement areas.

  Major revisions contained in the proposal include the
  requirement for a concentration in the core areas of
  mathematics, science, English, or history/social science for
  the middle education endorsement; additional requirements in
  language acquisition and reading for individuals seeking
  endorsement in Early/primary PreK-3, Elementary PreK-6, and
  special education; special education endorsements in mild to
  moderate disabilities and moderate to severe disabilities; a
  combined endorsement in administration and supervision; exit
  expectation of graduates of approved teacher preparation
  programs; and a reduction in the number of endorsements
  available for licensure from the current 104 to 49.  The
  proposed regulations also expand the technical professional
  license to include individuals with or without a
  baccalaureate degree who have demonstrated academic
  proficiency and technical competency and who have completed
  occupational experience.

  Your comments will be appreciated and will be considered in
  developing the  licensure regulations for school personnel.
  Please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Thomas A. Elliott,
  Assistant Superintendent for Compliance, or Mrs. Patty
  Pitts, Associate Director for Licensure, at (804) 371-2522
  if you have any questions regarding the proposed licensure
  regulations.


  RTL:psp

  Attachments: A hard copy of this memo and its attachment
               will be sent to the superintendent's office

  c: Deans/Chairs, Institutions of Higher Education
     Licensure Contacts, Local School Divisions
     Members, Advisory Board on Teacher Education and
     Licensure