Administrative Rules of the State of Montana

BEFORE THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION

OF THE STATE OF MONTANA

In the matter of the amendment of ARM 10.57.412 and 10.58.527 pertaining to mentor teachers

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NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED AMENDMENT

TO: All Concerned Persons

1. On June 22, 2009, at 9:00 a.m., the Board of Public Education will hold a public hearing in the conference room at 1300 11^th Avenue, Helena, Montana, to consider the proposed amendment of the above-stated rules.

2. The Board of Public Education will make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities who wish to participate in this rulemaking process or need an alternative accessible format of this notice. If you require an accommodation, contact the Board of Public Education no later than 5:00 p.m. on June 8, 2009, to advise us of the nature of the accommodation that you need. Please contact Steve Meloy, P.O. Box 200601, Helena, Montana, 59620-0601, telephone (406) 444-6576; fax (406) 444-0847; or e-mail [email protected].

3. The rules as proposed to be amended provide as follows, new matter underlined, deleted matter interlined:

ARM 10.57.412 CLASS 1 AND 2 ENDORSEMENTS (1) and (2) remain the same.

(3) A license holder may qualify for a statement of specialized competency by the completion of a minimum of 20 semester college credit hours or equivalency in a specific academic area as approved by the Board of Public Education. Approved areas of permissive specialized competency are: early childhood education, gifted and talented education, ~~and~~ technology in education, and mentor teacher.

(4) through (7) remain the same.

AUTH: 20-4-102, MCA

IMP: 20-4-103, 20-4-106, 20-4-108, MCA

10.58.527 AREAS OF PERMISSIVE SPECIALIZED COMPETENCY (1) through (6) remain the same.

(7) The mentor teacher permissive specialized competency program requires that successful candidates demonstrate knowledge of:

(a) the role and benefits of serving as a teacher mentor;

(b) the needs of initial educators and educator standards;

(d) the characteristics and behaviors of effective mentors in providing observation, support, and assistance;

(e) the characteristics and behaviors of effective mentors in providing feedback during observing and conferencing;

(f) the potential problems that can occur in a mentoring relationship and define effective responses to these problems; and

(g) best practices for creating and maintaining a safe environment for the mentee to attain and sustain a mastery level of teaching with an active and positive learning environment that supports school, district, and state curricula, including:

(i) supporting new teacher growth toward meeting the learning needs of every child; and

(ii) supporting new teacher growth toward incorporating Indian Education for All into their curricular offerings.

AUTH: 20-2-114, MCA

IMP: 20-1-501, 20-2-121, MCA

4. Statement of Reasonable Necessity: The proposed amendments to establish an Area of Specialized Permissive Competency for mentor teachers originated from research conducted by the Certification Standards and Practices Advisory Council (CSPAC). The CSPAC, as created by 2-15-1522, MCA, conducts research and makes recommendations to the Board of Public Education as authorized in 20-4-133, MCA. The proposed rules would permit individuals with a minimum of 20 semester college credits in teacher mentoring to request a statement of specialized competency to be added to their educator licenses.

5. Concerned persons may submit their data, views, or arguments either orally or in writing at the hearing. Written data, views, or arguments may also be submitted to: Steve Meloy, Board of Public Education, P.O. Box 200601, Helena, MT 59620-0601; telephone (406) 444-6576; fax (406) 444-0847; or e-mail [email protected], and must be received no later than 5:00 p.m., June 25, 2009.

6. Steve Meloy, Executive Secretary of the Board of Public Education, has been designated to preside over and conduct this hearing.

7. The board maintains a list of interested persons who wish to receive notices of rulemaking actions proposed by this agency. Persons who wish to have their name added to the list shall make a written request that includes the name, e-mail, and mailing address of the person to receive notices and specifies for which program the person wishes to receive notices. Notices will be sent by e-mail unless a mailing preference is noted in the request. Such written request may be mailed or delivered to the contact person in 5 above or may be made by completing a request form at any rules hearing held by the board.

8. An electronic copy of this Proposal Notice is available through the Secretary of State's web site at http://sos.mt.gov/ARM/Register. The Secretary of State strives to make the electronic copy of the Notice conform to the official version of the Notice, as printed in the Montana Administrative Register, but advises all concerned persons that in the event of a discrepancy between the official printed text of the Notice and the electronic version of the Notice, only the official printed text will be considered. In addition, although the Secretary of State works to keep its web site accessible at all times, concerned persons should be aware that the web site may be unavailable during some periods, due to system maintenance or technical problems.

9. The bill sponsor contact requirements of 2-4-302, MCA, do not apply.

/s/ Steve Meloy /s/ Patty Myers

Steve Meloy Patty Myers, Chairperson

Rule Reviewer Board of Public Education

Certified to the Secretary of State May 18, 2009.