A. The department shall issue an alternative level one license to a person who is at least eighteen years of age and who has:
(1) completed a baccalaureate degree at an accredited institution of higher education, including completion of a minimum of thirty credit hours at either the undergraduate or graduate level in the subject area of instruction for which the person is applying for a license;
(2) completed a master’s degree at an accredited institution of higher education, including completion of a minimum of twelve graduate credit hours in the subject area of instruction for which the person is applying for a license; or
(3) completed a doctoral or law degree at an accredited institution of higher education; and
(4) passed the New Mexico teacher assessments examination, including for elementary licensure beginning January 1, 2013, a rigorous assessment of the candidate’s knowledge of the science of teaching reading; and
(5) completed a minimum of twelve semester hours of instruction in teaching principles in a program approved by the department; or
(6) demonstrated to the department, in conjunction with the school district or state agency, that the person has met the department-approved competencies for level one teachers that correspond to the grade level that will be taught.
B. A degree referred to in Subsection A of this section shall correspond to the subject area of instruction and the particular grade level that will enable the applicant to teach in a competent manner as determined by the department.
C. An alternative level one teacher shall participate in the same mentorship, evaluation and other professional development requirements as other level one teachers.
D. A school district or state agency shall not discriminate against a teacher on the basis that the teacher holds an alternative level one license.
E. The department shall provide by rule for training and other requirements to support the use of unlicensed content area experts as resources in classrooms, team teaching, on-line instruction, curriculum development and other purposes.
HISTORY:
1978 22-10A-8, enacted by Laws 2003, ch. 153, § 39; 2007, ch. 264, § 1; 2011, ch. 36, § 1; 2011, ch. 95, § 2.
Amendment Notes.
The 2007 amendment, effective June 15, 2007, in Subsection A(6), substituted “department-approved” for “state-board approved”; and added Subsection E.
The 2011 amendments. The 2011 amendment by Laws 2011, ch. 36, § 1, approved on April 2, 2011 and effective June 17, 2011, deleted “has” following “who” in the introductory language in (A); added “has” in the beginning of (A)(1) through (A)(5); rewrote (A)(1), which formerly read: “completed a baccalaureate degree at an accredited institution of higher education, including completion of a minimum of thirty credit hours at either the undergraduate or graduate level in the subject area of instruction for which the person is applying for a license”; substituted “within two years of beginning teaching” for “completed” in the beginning of (A)(5); and added “or examination” in (B). This section was also amended by Laws 2011, ch. 95, § 2, approved April 6, 2011 and effective June 17, 2011, which added “including for elementary licensure beginning January 1, 2013, a rigorous assessment of the candidate’s knowledge of the science of teaching reading” in (A)(4).
Because Laws 2011, ch. 36, § 1 was approved on an earlier date, the section is set out as amended by Laws 2011, ch. 95, § 2. See 12-1-8 NMSA 1978.
Research References and Practice Aids
Cross references.
Department; general duties, 22-2-2 NMSA 1978.
Level one licensure, 22-10A-7 NMSA 1978.