MEMBER ADVISORY

December 23, 2014

U.S Department of Education Proposes New Teacher Preparation Program Regulations; HACU to Submit Comments

On December 3, 2014, the Secretary of Education proposed new regulations to implement requirements for the Teacher Preparation Program Accountability System under Title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). The Secretary also proposed to amend the regulations governing the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program under Title IV of the HEA so as to condition TEACH Grant program funding on teacher preparation program quality.  Public comments must be submitted to the Department of Education by February 2, 2015. The Department’s goal is to issue final regulations in the summer of 2015.  The following link to the December 3 Notice of Proposed Rule Making provides the proposed regulations.

Commonly referred to as “teacher prep regs,” the Department of Education’s proposal would create a rating system on a scale of 1-4 that, if implemented, will impact the way traditional and non-traditional teacher preparation programs across the country are evaluated and the manner they accomplish their missions.  In its review, HACU will look at the entirety of the regulations and will place a special focus on their impact on Hispanic-Serving Institutions and the recruitment and certification of minority teacher candidates, particularly Hispanics as they only represent 7% of the national teaching profession, while 25% of students in PK-12 schools are Hispanic.

We invite you to share your thoughts, ideas, concerns and general comments about the regulations with the Government Relations staff by the extended deadline of Wed. January 21, 2015, so that your views may be reflected in HACU’s final comments.

For questions or to submit comments, please contact HACU Government Relations staff in Washington, DC via email or at 202-833-8361.

HACU Member Advisories are a service of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities