Senate Bill S7080

                                BILL NUMBER:S7080

TITLE OF BILL:  An act in relation to certain candidates for an
initial teaching certificate

PURPOSE:  To provide teacher candidates with an alternate route to
certification if the edTPA is required and a candidate fails the
assessment on his or her first attempt.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one would permit a new teacher candidate who meets all
requirements for initial teacher certification by August 31, 2014,
except for attaining a passing score on his or her first attempt on
the teacher performance assessment (edTPA), to complete the elementary
or secondary written assessment of teaching skills (ATS-W) examination
in lieu of the edTPA.

Section two provides for an immediate effective date retroactive to
May 1, 2014.

JUSTIFICATION:  The Educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA)
is a new assessment that the Board of Regents is requiring for teacher
certification beginning May 1, 2014. Concerns have been expressed over
the State Education Department's (SED) implementation of this new
requirement, which it has already delayed one year. Other legislation
              

has been introduced that would require the continued use of the
current exam for certification - the ATS-W - until July 1, 2015, but
permit candidates with passing scores on the edTPA to submit those
scores in place of the ATS-W, thereby providing teacher candidates
with the option of taking either exam for an additional year.

This legislation would neither require that teacher candidates take
the edTPA, nor prohibit the Board of Regents from requiring that
students take the edTPA, but allow those who fail the edTPA on their
first attempt to take and submit passing scores from the ATS-W in its
place. This "safety net" approach is designed to address the concerns
of those who believe that the pace at which the requirement is being
implemented has undermined preparation for, and consequently,
performance on, the edTPA.

There are significant benefits to having all teacher candidates take
the edTPA this year. First, this would mean that a full cohort of
candidates will have taken the assessment, instead of a partial,
self-selected group. Second, it would allow teacher preparation
programs to receive more reliable feedback on how their students fared
on the assessment, given that the results would be reflective of a
full cohort. Third, it would allow teacher preparation programs to
begin making programmatic adjustments based on the scores and feedback
provided.

Creating a safety net for students who fail the edTPA in their first
attempt, without eliminating the Board of Regents' requirement that
students take the edTPA, will ensure that candidates harmed by the
rushed implementation of the edTPA requirement have an alternative
route to certification. It will also assist teacher preparation
programs in the coming months as they seek to improve the quality of


teachers entering the profession by using data and feedback from the
initial cohort of edTPA test takers.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New bill

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None

EFFECTIVE DATE:  Immediately and shall be deemed to have been in
effect on and after May 1, 2014