EmR2010 Rule Text

Agency contact person: (including email and telephone)

Carl Bryan

Administrative Rules Coordinator Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction [e-mail]

[phone]

Place where comments are to be submitted and deadline for submission:

Comments should be submitted to Carl Bryan, Department of Public Instruction, 125 S. Webster Street, P.O. Box 7841, Madison, WI 53707-7841 or at [e-mail]. The Department will publish a hearing notice in the Administrative Register which will provide information on the deadline for the submission of comments.

(See PDF for image)

SECTION 1. PI 34.021 (1) (f) is created to read:

(See PDF for image)PI 34.021 (1) (f) Reading. For candidates for special education licensure, the assessment of reading shall be demonstrated by the student meeting one of the following requirements:

1.

Earning a passing score on the examination required under s. 118.19 (14) (a), Stats.

2.

Completing a course of study under s. 118.19 (14) (b), Stats., that includes the following:

a.

Instruction in the teaching of phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and fluency.

b.

Feedback and coaching from an expert of reading instruction. In this subdivision, an expert of reading instruction is an individual employed by a school district or an approved program with a master’s degree or higher in reading, literacy, curriculum and instruction with a concentration in literacy, or special education with a concentration in literacy, or an individual who holds a reading specialist license under s. PI 34.070.

c.

A portfolio of work that demonstrates competence in phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and fluency.

SECTION 2. FINDING OF EMERGENCY

The Department of Public Instruction finds an emergency exists and that a rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public welfare. A statement of the facts constituting the emergency is:

2019 Wisconsin Act 44 made changes to the statutes governing the issuance of teaching licenses. The department is required by statute to promulgate rules in order to administer the licensure of all educators in the state and provide an alternative to the requirement that a candidate special education licensure must achieve a passing score to pass the FORT. Many testing centers that would otherwise administer the FORT have closed due to COVID-19. Unless the rule is modified to reflect changes in the statute as a result of 2019 Act 44, the department may be prevented from efficiently issuing teaching licenses and candidates for special education licensure would not have an option to obtain their license. The promulgation of emergency rules will ensure that the issuance of teaching licenses remains consistent with the changes in statute as a result of 2019 Act 44, while the associated permanent rule completes the promulgation process, as well as provide certainty for candidates for special education licensure during the COVID-19 emergency.

SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE:

The rules contained in this order shall take effect upon publication as emergency rules pursuant to the authority granted by s. 227.24, Stats.