The State Board of Education adopted changes that affect all of PA’s teacher certification programs. The changes as noted on PDE's website (http://www.pde.state.pa.us/chapter49/site/default.asp)are below.
Chapter 49-2 Final Form Regulations Approved by the State Board of Education
The State Board of Education, at its May 17, 2007 meeting, approved an amended version of Chapter 49-2. Prior to presenting the final form regulations to the Board for approval, the Chapter 49 Committee made several changes which had been recommended during the review process. Substantive changes to the final form regulations are summarized below.
1. The effective date for the new instructional certificates was changed from January 1, 2012, to January 1, 2013, in order to give teacher education programs substantial time to make necessary changes.
2. The Early Childhood Education certificate was expanded to include grade 4 in order to create an overlap between ECE and the Elementary/Middle level certificate.
3. The new certificates issued after January 1, 2013, will be:
a. Early Childhood (PK through grade 4, or ages 3 through 9).
b. Elementary/Middle (grades 4 through 8, or ages 9 through 14).
c. Secondary (grades 7 through 12, or ages 11 through 21).
d. Specialized areas (PK through grade 12 or up through age 21).
e. Special Education PK-8 (PK through grade 8 or ages 3 through 14) with a dual certificate in one of the following:
i. Early Childhood
ii. Elementary/Middle
iii. Reading Specialist
f. Special Education 7-12 (Grades 7 through 12 or ages 11 through 21) with a dual certificate in one of the following:
i. Secondary
ii. Reading Specialist
4. The definition of Pre-kindergarten was amended to include Early Intervention agencies.
5. Additional technical changes were made for clarification of the Board’s intent.
In summary, teacher education students who are enrolled at SRU and majoring in Elementary Education will be eligible for a grade K - 6 teaching certificate (the current certificate) as long as they graduate from the program by August, 2012. The typical teacher education student who started at SRU as a freshman during the fall 2009 semester or before should graduate with a K - 6 teaching certificate.
Teacher education students who enroll at SRU as a freshman subsequent to the fall 2009 semester will most likely graduate under the new guidelines and receive the new pre K - 4 teaching certificate described by PDE.
The SRU Elementary Education/Early Childhood Education Department has submitted a proposed curriculum to accommodate the new requirements of the pre K - 4 certification. You can view the Curriculum Guide and 4-year course layout below. Also, visit the PDE Chapter 49-2 websitefor additional questions. Additional documents from PDE are also available below.
Please contact the Elementary Education/ Early Childhood Education Department with additional questions.