Members of the Professional Educator Preparation and Standards Commission (PEPSC) approved this week their final recommendations for future principal licensure requirements, to be further discussed by the State Board of Education (SBE) during its scheduled March meeting. After it was discovered early last year that most principals receiving state licensure over the past decade had not technically met all of the statutory requirements, the legislature passed a temporary waiver for these licenses, set to expire on August 30, 2022. As a result, PEPSC and the Principal Licensure Subcommittee have worked over the past few months to collect stakeholder feedback and form recommendations to send to the SBE for final approval. Unlike typical policy recommendations, these recommendations would ultimately be sent to the state legislature to consider in revising the principal licensure statute during the 2022 short session.
During this week’s PEPSC meeting, the Principal Licensure Subcommittee presented feedback it had received and synthesized from the Teacher Recruitment & Retention Task Force, the Principal Advisory Group, and the NC Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (NCACTE). Based on this feedback, the subcommittee made the following recommendations in respect to each aspect of the current principal licensure requirements:
- Licensure Exam — Discontinue the licensure exam requirement, and instead have a performance-based assessment in a school setting. This assessment would then be included as a piece of the applicant’s portfolio.
- Yearlong Internship — Require a “yearlong” internship defined as no less than 300-500 hours up to 1,000 hours. NOTE: PEPSC members ultimately approved a definition of “no less than 500 hours.”
- Teaching Experience — Require four years of experience within licensure area for certified personnel in school setting; includes teachers and support service personnel, such as counselors and social workers.
- Masters of School Administration (MSA) — Require a MSA degree or Masters degree in another field; require an add-on licensure program if holding a Masters in another field.
In addition to approving the licensure recommendations above, PEPSC also discussed experience credit for Masters of school administration (MSA) interns, NC PreK teachers in non-public settings, lifetime licensure, and the EPP approval process. The entire agenda and related documents can be found HERE.
