The Rule Modification may apply to:

• CEAS candidates who were enrolled in the program as of September 1, 2020 and complete the clinical practice requirement during a semester that began during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
• CE candidates who were enrolled in the program as of September 1, 2020 and complete the program during a semester that began during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
• Provisional teachers holding a Certificate of Eligibility through Reciprocity (CE-R) and applying for a standard certificate who meet all other standard certification requirements shall be exempt from the performance assessment requirement during the COVID-19 public health emergency and must demonstrate readiness to teach via teacher evaluations completed pursuant to J.A.C. 6A:9B-8.6.

Educator preparation providers will determine alternative measures of readiness to teach for eligible candidates seeking initial or standard teaching certification during the 2020-2021 school year.

The state-approved educator preparation provider shall determine a candidate’s eligibility for an alternative measure approved by NJDOE in lieu of edTPA.

No. Educator preparation providers will submit a single plan for the alternative measure that will be applied to all eligible candidates within the preparation program during the effective dates of the approved plan. Providers offering both CE and CEAS programs may submit a different plan for each.

Any CE or CEAS educator preparation provider utilizing the rule modification flexibilities described above (locally evaluated edTPA or compilation of other evidence) must submit a plan to the NJDOE for review and approval prior to recommending candidates for certification.

Yes. CE and CEAS educator preparation providers must submit to the NJDOE a plan to determine how each candidate recommended for certification who was unable to complete edTPA has otherwise demonstrated preparedness to teach. Providers offering both CE and CEAS programs may submit a different plan for each. Plans must be submitted to and approved by the NJDOE prior to recommending candidates for certification.

Educator preparation providers may update their plans but must receive approval of the updated plan from the NJDOE prior to implementation and recommendation of  candidates for certification utilizing a revised alternative measure.

The Notice of Rule Modification pursuant to Executive Order No. 103 (2020) is effective as of November 30, 2020 and expires upon the termination of the Public Health Emergency Declaration made pursuant to Executive Order No. 103 (2020). These flexibilities will be available to eligible candidates until the end of the semester in which the public health emergency ends.

CEAS candidates whose educator preparation program does not require edTPA or an alternative measure outlined above, but meet all other requirements, can earn a Certificate of Eligibility. This initial certification option allows candidates to begin teaching and requires candidates to complete edTPA before earning their standard certificate.

Yes. Educator preparation programs may accept multiple forms of evidence from candidates through a series of lessons/activities to demonstrate interactions with students. Some examples include prerecorded videos with follow-up assignments, discussion boards, chat logs, feedback provided on student work, emails, etc. The amount of evidence required should be comparable to the amount of evidence candidates would have had to provide for nationally-scored edTPA.

According to the Title II definition, a program completer is “a person who has met all the requirements of a state-approved teacher preparation program. Program completers include all those who are documented as having met such requirements. Documentation may take the form of a degree, institutional certificate, program credential, transcript or other written proof of having met the program’s requirements. In applying this definition, the fact that an individual has or has not been recommended to the state for an initial teaching credential may not be used as a criterion for determining who is a program completer.”

A candidate who meets all program requirements is considered a program completer. Educator preparation providers may include CE candidates as program completers for Title II if edTPA is not a program completion requirement.

No, educator preparation providers may recommend successful program completers for the CE through TLAP by selecting CE in the dropdown menu that lists certification types.

CEAS candidates must be recommended for certification online through the New Jersey Teacher Licensing for Approved Programs (TLAP) batch submission process. The results of alternative measures will not be reported through TLAP but submitted via e-mail to each educator preparation provider’s assigned examiner by way of the NJDOE Office of Certification in the spreadsheets that accompany batch submissions. Spreadsheets should include two additional columns indicating whether candidates completed edTPA or an alternative measure and confirming that candidates met the established minimum standard.

CE candidates must be recommended for standard certification using the Verification of Program Completion (VOPC) Form. In the “Performance Assessment” section, educator preparation providers will indicate whether the candidate completed edTPA or an alternative measure and confirm that the candidate met the established minimum standard.

Educator preparation providers that opt to locally evaluate retakes may do so, including evaluating only those tasks for which the candidate was unable to meet national scoring requirements. This process should be reflected in the submission of alternative measures to demonstrate a teacher candidate’s readiness to teach.

It is recommended that those individuals evaluating edTPA portfolios underwent edTPA’s Local Evaluation Training within the last three years. However, training for evaluators is at the discretion of the educator preparation provider. Educator preparation providers must explain their evaluator training decisions in the plan submitted to the NJDOE.

Educator preparation providers have the discretion to determine the cost of local evaluation and candidate fee protocols.

Yes, educator preparation providers have the discretion to locally evaluate retakes.