March 19 the Professional Educators Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) approved a resolution providing Tier 3 and 4 science teachers and their schools greater flexibility to support the implementation of the new state science standards in science.
The flexibility recognizes the 2019 state science standards shift the teaching of earth and space science from 8th grade to 6th grade, and physical science classes from high school to 8th grade. This poses challenges for some teachers and schools depending on the teacher’s exact licensure. The PELSB resolution allows for out of field permission for teachers to teach in a science content area or grade outside the scope of their current licensure. These out of field placements do not require the position posting normally required of schools and do not count towards a teacher’s lifetime maximum out of field placements.
Examples of the application of this flexibility provided by PELSB include
This resolution will remain in effect while the board develops new rules in response to changes driven by the new science standards. PELSB can be found online at https://mn.gov/pelsb/ and questions regarding this resolution can be submitted at pelsb@state.mn.us. |