Section 4 AAC 12.305 - Teacher certificate (initial, professional, master)(a) Except as provided in AS 14.20, the department will issue an initial teacher certificate, valid for up to five years from the issue date or for a period described under (d) of this section, to an applicant who (1) has satisfied a baccalaureate degree requirement under AS 14.20;(2) for purposes of competency examination requirements under AS 14.20.020 or 14.20.022, meets or exceeds the qualifying scores for this state on one of the competency examinations designated in 4 AAC 12.310;(3) has met or will meet within two years the requirements of AS 14.20.020(h);(4) meets the certification requirements of AS 14.20.015, 14.20.017, 14.20.020, or 14.20.022;(5) if the applicant seeks to qualify for certification under AS 14.20.020 or 14.20.022, provides (A) a recommendation or proof of program enrollment from an approved preparation program accepted under 4 AAC 12.307(a); and(B) for each endorsement area listed on the recommendation or proof of program enrollment provided under (A) of this paragraph, a score that meets or exceeds the required score on a content area examination for any endorsement area designated in 4 AAC 12.407 or each equivalent content area examination required by a certifying state agency for an endorsement on a comparable certificate held by the applicant;(6) if the applicant has completed an approved program accepted under 4 AAC 12.307(a)(2), provides evidence of a comparable certificate issued by the certifying state agency with jurisdiction over the program or an assurance by the certifying state agency or preparing institution that all requirements, including testing required by the jurisdiction, have been satisfied by the applicant and that the applicant is eligible to gain the comparable certification in the state where the preparing institution is located;(7) has met the requirements of 4 AAC 12.397(a);(8) satisfies the requirements for an initial teacher certificate under AS 14.20.020; and(9) if the applicant seeks to qualify for certification under AS 14.20.020 to teach students in grades K - 3, has met the requirements of 4 AAC 12.393(a).(b) The department will issue a professional teacher certificate, valid for five years to an applicant who has (1) met the requirements of (a) of this section for an initial teacher certificate;(2) passed (A) the competency examination by achieving qualifying scores as described in (a)(2) of this section, if under AS 14.20.015, 14.20.017, or 14.20.022 the applicant had not yet met competency examination requirements as of the date of the initial teacher certificate; and(B) a content area examination for any requested endorsement area designated in 4 AAC 12.407 by meeting or exceeding the required score, or each equivalent content area examination required by a certifying state agency for a comparable endorsement held by the applicant;(3) completed three semester hours in Alaska studies and three semester hours in multicultural education or cross cultural communications;(4) completed a teacher education program, or an alternate teacher preparation program accepted by the commissioner under 4 AAC 12.307 or (e) of this section, and from which the applicant has obtained a recommendation for certification;(5) completed any academic or other training that the department designated, at the time of application, as necessary for professional development, based on student achievement data;(6) within the five years immediately preceding application, earned at least(A) six semester hours of college credit;(B) 90 hours of continuing education units; or(C) equivalent microcredentials (i) aligned with one of the statewide goals adopted by the board under AS 14.07.165;(ii) approved by the department; and(iii) based on a completed application form submitted to the department by a district or an educational organization(7) had at least two years of employment as a teacher while holding a valid teacher certificate issued by a state with an evaluation under the state's evaluation system indicating the applicant's performance is proficient or exemplary on the state's standards for teachers; and(8) met the requirements of 4 AAC 12.397(a).(c) The department will issue a master teacher certificate, valid for five years, to an applicant who has met (1) the requirements of (a) and (b) of this section for a professional teacher certificate;(2) one of the following requirements: (A) national board certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; or(B) master certification from a recognized national certification program as approved by the department; and(3) the requirements of 4 AAC 12.397(a).(d) An initial teacher certificate is valid for five years, or for the period set in AS 14.20.015, 14.20.017, 14.20.020(h), or 14.20.022 if the initial teacher certificate is issued under one of those provisions.(e) In addition to programs accepted under (b)(4) of this section, the commissioner will approve an alternate teacher preparation program if the program meets standards that are substantially equivalent to the standards met by programs accepted under (b)(4) of this section.(g) A teacher who has not met the qualifications for a professional teacher certificate under (b) of this section when the teacher's initial teacher certificate issued under AS 14.20.020 expires under (d) of this section may apply for renewal of the initial teacher certificate.(i) To maintain an initial teacher certificate issued under (a) of this section, a teacher who is enrolled in but has not completed a teacher preparation program, must, at the beginning of each school year, provide evidence to the department from the teacher preparation program that the teacher continues to be enrolled in and is making satisfactory progress in the teacher preparation program. If the teacher terminates enrollment in the teacher preparation program, the teacher must notify the department immediately. A teacher who terminates enrollment in a teacher preparation program is no longer certified to teach in the state and must surrender the teacher's certificate.Eff. 9/29/2005, Register 175; am 9/30/2005, Register 175; am 8/15/2008, Register 187; am 10/31/2008, Register 188; am 9/17/2011, Register 199; am 9/7/2012, Register 203; am 6/27/2014, Register 210, July 2014; am 4/24/2016, Register 218; am 2/5/2017, Register 221, April 2017; am 10/26/2022, Register 244, January 2023; am 7/1/2023, Register 247, October 2023Authority:AS 14.07.060
AS 14.20.015
AS 14.20.017
AS 14.20.020
AS 14.20.022