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SBEC COVID-19 News
Educator preparation programs (EPP) will be able to conduct required observations of their students in virtual settings for the upcoming academic year — if the assigned campus is operating under a virtual format — under terms of a rule tentatively approved (for public comment) during a brief (June 11) virtual meeting of SBEC’s governing board. (agenda/webcast)
The TEA’s SBEC staff said they wanted to have a permanent rule in place once the governor’s waiver expires because without the rule change, SBEC would be powerless to allow the required ed-prep observations of their candidates to occur virtually if face-to-face instruction is not occurring in the ed-prep student’s assigned campus.
The rule, once adopted, will automatically expire at the end of the 2020-21 academic year.
Synchronous Only
Although praising the rules, two UT Austin education professors (in testimony) cautioned that because the proposed rule allows the virtual observations to be “synchronous” only — as in occurring in real time so that the observer can provide immediate feedback to the candidate.
The professors worried about issues such as lack of broadband capabilities that could hinder real time observations and districts that might not give EPPs permission to view students receiving instruction virtually in the students’ homes.
They asked that the rules be tweaked to allow the performance of the EPP candidates to be video recorded for later playback and feedback between the observer and the candidate.
Mark Olofson, the TEA administrator responsible for drafting the rules, said the intent of the requirement for “synchronous” virtual observations is to mirror requirements for in-classroom, face-to-face observations to occur in real time, to provide immediate feedback to the candidate before and after the activity being observed.
But Olofson conceded that he is not an expert on how every district is going to be doing education this fall.
The official public comment period on the proposed rule spans from June 26 to July 27, and additional written and public testimony will be heard by the board at its July 31 special meeting, when it is scheduled to formally adopt the rule. When available, info about commenting on the proposed rule will be posted here.
Unless the SBOE unexpectedly vetoes the rule on Sept., 11, the rule takes effect on Oct. 15.
In related news, the TEA recently revised its educator certification section of its coronavirus info page to reflect updated info (see June 9 updates here, here and here).