AB286

Existing law creates the Commission on Professional Standards in Education and requires the Commission to adopt regulations prescribing the qualifications for licensing teachers and other educational personnel. (NRS 391.011, 391.019) Existing law additionally requires the Commission to adopt regulations governing examinations for the initial licensing of teachers and other educational personnel. (NRS 391.021) Existing regulations provide that an applicant is exempt from the requirement to pass a competency test in the principles and methods of teaching if the applicant submits to the Department of Education evidence that he or she: (1) completed the “Principles of Learning and Teaching Test” prepared and administered by the Educational Testing Service; or (2) is applying for a license with an endorsement in an area for which training in the principles and methods of teaching is not required. (NAC 391.036) Section 1 of this bill provides that the regulations adopted by the Commission must also authorize an applicant for an initial license to teach to be exempt from the requirement to pass a competency test in the principles and methods of teaching if he or she satisfactorily completes the pilot program established pursuant to section 2 of this bill. Section 2 authorizes institutions within the Nevada System of Higher Education to establish a pilot program to offer an alternative pathway for assessing the competency of prospective teachers through the use of alternative assessm