Arts steering committee to seek statewide input on K–12 license changes; findings due to board in November

The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board received a follow-up report from the Arts Steering Committee on July 18 that recommended changes to K–12 arts licensure and outlined a plan to collect statewide input before the board considers formal action.

Debbie O’Dell, the board’s Licensing and Operations Manager, reported that the steering committee’s recommendations include discontinuing the existing K–12 classroom and K–12 instrumental/classroom licenses in favor of a single K–12 arts license, creating a separate K–12 media arts license, and retaining existing K–12 dance and theater licenses alongside separate dance and theater credentials. The committee framed the media-arts proposal around specific Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) standards for media arts; the committee said those standards prompted the consideration of a distinct license, though it also flagged concerns about whether there are enough assignments to support a full-time…