North Carolina § 115C-269 - 25. Clinical partnerships and practice in educator preparation programs.

§ 115C-269. 25. Clinical partnerships and practice in educator preparation programs.

Collaborative Partnerships With Elementary and Secondary Schools. - EPPs shall establish and maintain collaborative, formalized partnerships with elementary and secondary partner schools that are focused on student achievement, continuous school improvement, and the professional development of elementary and secondary educators, as well as those preparing educators. Memorandum of Understanding With Local School Administrative Units. - EPPs shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with the local school administrative unit or the partner school where students are placed or employed. In the memorandum, the EPP and the local school administrative unit or partner school, as applicable, shall: Define the collaborative relationship between the EPP and the local school administrative unit or partner school and how this partnership will be focused on continuous school improvement and student achievement. Adopt a plan for collaborative clinical educator or mentor selection, orientation, and student placement. Determine how information will be shared and verified between the EPP and the local school administrative unit or partner school. Field Experience Requirements. - To the extent practicable, EPPs shall require, in all programs leading to initial professional licensure, the following: Field experiences in every semester that include organized and sequenced engagement of students in settings that provide them with opportunities to observe, practice, and demonstrate knowledge and skills. The experiences shall be systematically designed and sequenced to increase the complexity and levels of engagement with which students apply, reflect upon, and expand their knowledge and skills, and to increase in each semester prior to the student's internship the number of hours spent in field experiences. A minimum of two hours of field experience in the first semester of the program and a cumulative total of at least 12 hours of field experiences prior to the student's internship. At least one field experience in a low-performing school. Clinical Practice Requirements. - EPPs shall require clinical practice in the form of one of the following: Internship that lasts for a minimum of 16 weeks. Internships may be over the course of two semesters and shall, to the extent practicable, provide field experiences at both the beginning and ending of the school year. It shall be the responsibility of a clinical educator, in cooperation with the principal and the representative of the EPP, to assign to the intern responsibilities and duties that will provide adequate preparation for teaching. Residency that meets the following criteria: The residency lasts for a minimum of one year. The EPP provides ongoing support to a student for the full term of the residency. The EPP assigns a clinical mentor to the resident. The resident completes field experiences and training required by the State Board prior to the residency. Clinical Educator Requirements. - The EPP shall ensure clinical educators who supervise students in internships meet the following requirements: Be professionally licensed in the field of licensure sought by the student. Have a minimum of three years of experience in a teaching role. Have been rated, through the educator's most recent formal evaluations, at least at the "proficient" level as part of the North Carolina Teacher Evaluation System, or the equivalent on an evaluation system utilized by another state or partner school, as applicable, in the field of licensure sought by the student. The principal shall determine which clinical educator best meets the needs of each intern and shall assign the most appropriate clinical educator to that intern, with priority consideration for those clinical educators rated as "distinguished" and "accomplished." If a principal determines that a teacher rated as "proficient" is the most appropriate clinical educator for an intern, the principal shall maintain records of the reasons for that determination. Legal Protection of Interns. - An intern under the supervision of a clinical educator or principal shall have the protection of the laws accorded to a licensed educator. Pedagogy Assessment. - EPPs shall require, in addition to a content assessment, a nationally normed and valid pedagogy assessment to determine clinical practice performance. Passing scores and mastery criteria shall be determined by the State Board. History (2017-189, ss. 2(i), 6(p).) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2017-189, s. 7(a) made this section effective July 27, 2017, and applicable beginning with the 2017-2018 school year. Session Laws 2017-189, s. 6(p), was contingent upon Senate Bill 257, 2017 Regular Session, becoming law. Senate Bill 257 was enacted as Session Laws 2017-57. Session Laws 2018-135, 3rd Ex. Sess., s. 2.1, provides: "Notwithstanding G.S. 115C-269.25(d)(1) , a student who is enrolled in an educator preparation program (EPP) that is assigned the status of initially authorized or authorized by the State Board of Education pursuant to G.S. 115C-269.5 may have the clinical internship requirement set forth in G.S. 115C-269.25(d)(1) deemed completed if the student meets the following conditions: "(1) The student meets at least one of the following: "a. Is enrolled in an EPP that is located in a county declared a major disaster by the President of the United States under the Stafford Act (P.L. 93-288) as a result of Hurricane Florence. "b. Has been placed with an elementary or secondary partner school, as defined in G.S. 115C-269.1(14) , that is located in a county declared a major disaster by the President of the United States under the Stafford Act (P.L. 93-288) as a result of Hurricane Florence. "(2) The student has completed as much time in a clinical internship as practicable during the 2018 fall academic semester. "(3) The student cannot graduate in December 2018 from the EPP without the clinical internship requirement being deemed completed pursuant to this section." Session Laws 2018-135, 3rd Ex. Sess., s. 2.2, provides: "By February 1, 2019, any EPP with an enrolled student who has his or her clinical internship requirement deemed completed pursuant to Section 2.1 of this act shall report to the State Board of Education with the following information: "(1) Number of students who had the clinical internship requirement deemed completed. "(2) Reasons for a clinical internship requirement being deemed completed. "(3) Amount of time completed for a clinical internship. "(4) Any other information required by the State Board. "By March 15, 2019, the State Board of Education shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the information reported to the State Board by EPPs under this section." Session Laws 2020-3, s. 2.1, as amended by Session Laws 2020-49, s. 3(a), provides: "For the purposes of this Part, the following definitions apply: "(1) Authority. - State Education Assistance Authority. "(2) Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency. - The period beginning March 10, 2020, and continuing until the Governor signs an executive order rescinding Executive Order No. 116 (Declaration of a State of Emergency to Coordinate Response and Protective Actions to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19). "(3) Federal testing waiver. - The testing waiver granted to the State Board of Education by the United States Department of Education for the 2019-2020 school year, pursuant to section 8401(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended, which, pursuant to G.S. 115C-174.11 , eliminated the collection of certain student assessment data for the 2019-2020 school year. "(4) Modified calendar school. - A school that a local board designated as having a modified calendar for the 2003-2004 school year or any school that was part of a planned program in the 2003-2004 school year for a system of modified calendar schools, so long as the school operates under a modified calendar. "(5) State Board. - The State Board of Education. "(6) Year-round school. - A school with a single or multi-track instructional calendar that was adopted prior to March 1, 2020, and provides instructional days in compliance with Section 2.11(b)(1) of this Part throughout the entire school calendar year, beginning July 1 and ending June 30, by utilizing at least one of the following plans: "a. A plan dividing students into four groups and requiring each group to be in school for assigned and staggered quarters each school calendar year. "b. A plan providing students be scheduled to attend an average of between 44 and 46 instructional days followed by an average of between 15 and 20 days of vacation, repeated throughout the school calendar year. "c. A plan dividing the school calendar year into five nine-week sessions of classes and requiring each student to attend four assigned and staggered sessions out of the five nine-week sessions to complete the student's instructional year." Session Laws 2020-3, s. 2.2, provides: "The purpose of this Part is to clarify or modify certain requirements in consideration of actions and circumstances related to the COVID-19 emergency, including, but not limited to, the federal testing waiver and the closure of schools for in-person instruction during the 2019-2020 school year." Session Laws 2020-3, s. 2.22(b), (c), provides: "(b) Clinical Internships. - Notwithstanding G.S. 115C-269.25(d)(1) , a student who is enrolled in a recognized EPP pursuant to G.S. 115C-269.5 may have the clinical internship requirement set forth in G.S. 115C-269.25(d)(1) deemed completed for the 2019-2020 academic year under the following conditions: "(1) The student has completed as much time in a clinical internship as practicable prior to March 10, 2020. "(2) The student would be unable to complete the EPP by August 15, 2020, unless the clinical internship is deemed completed pursuant to this section. "(3) The student has been engaged in remote instruction as practicable while the school is closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. "(4) The student has otherwise met the descriptors identified on the certification of teacher capacity utilized by the EPP and the elementary or secondary school partner. "(c) Pedagogy Assessments. - Notwithstanding G.S. 115C-269.25(g) , for individuals who have their clinical internship deemed completed pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the following shall apply: "(1) The State Board shall not require EPPs to require these individuals for the 2019-2020 academic year to complete a nationally normed and valid pedagogy assessment to determine clinical practice performance. "(2) The State Board shall not require these individuals for the 2019-2020 academic year to complete the pedagogy assessment as a condition of EPP completion. "(3) These individuals shall attempt the pedagogy assessment by the end of their first year of licensure and shall pass the assessment by the end of their third year of licensure." Session Laws 2020-3, s. 5, is a severability clause. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2017-189, s. 6(p), effective July 27, 2017, deleted "and have met expectations as part of a student growth assessment system used by a school" following "another state or partner school, as applicable," in subdivision (e)(3).