Certification

Teacher Education and Licensure Standards

In 1992, the State Board of Education established a thirty-four member Standards Review Committee, broadly representative of the education and lay communities, to consider needed revisions to develop a new system of teacher licensure that would be both performance-based and grounded in the knowledge and skills necessary for effective practice.

Two years later, the Standards Review Committee and the Ohio Teacher Education and Certification Advisory Commission finalized their work and submitted recommended standards to the State Board of Education. The State Board accepted the standards in principle by resolution in July 1994, and sought needed legislative changes from the General Assembly, enacted in Senate Bill 230.

After receiving written and oral public testimony on the proposed teacher standards, the board passed a resolution to adopt the standards in October 1996. The General Assembly passed a concurrent resolution of the standards in November 1996. The legislative adoption of the resolution established the effective date of January 1, 1998, for Chapter 3301-24 of the Administrative Code (Teacher Education and Licensure Standards).

These new standards ensure that only those teachers who can perform the work will do the work. The standards emphasize performance – from the time a teacher enters the classroom throughout his or her career. The ultimate benefit of this new direction is better education for Ohio's students.

These standards increase the rigor in the teaching profession because they:

• Strengthen Ohio's teacher preparation programs. Colleges and universities will improve their teacher preparation programs by developing programs focused on what teachers should know and be able to do.
• Require successful performance of beginning teachers. The Entry Year Program will provide direct assistance to Ohio's beginning teachers via mentors, who will offer the support necessary to successfully transition into "real-world," full-time classroom challenges. Teachers must pass performance-based assessments to qualify for a five-year professional license.
• Achieve higher standards through licensure. Licenses will be given in the broad categories of early, middle and adolescent to young adult education – with other licenses for multi-age, intervention specialist, vocational education, pupil personnel and administration.
• Intensify professional development. With a renewable, five-year license system, the state will no longer award permanent certificates. To renew a license, a teacher must develop a professional  development plan that is then approved by a local professional development committee. Coursework, continuing education units, or other equivalent activities related to the license areas or to classroom teaching will also be required - as well as a master's degree or 30 semester hours of graduate credit to renew a  license the second time or after 10 years. The requirement of a master's degree or 30 semester hours pertains to any individual who is admitted to a licensure program at an approved college or university after July 1, 1998, and to any individual who is admitted to a licensure program prior to January 1, 1998, and who completes said program after July 1, 2002.

Believing that higher standards are needed for both schools and educators in order to provide an excellent education for every student, the State Board of Education established the legal guidelines for teacher education and licensure in Ohio that are described in the Teacher Education and Licensure Standards publication.

Ohio Department of Education
March 1997