LDOE expands educational leader pathway to most ancillary certificates; removes literacy requirement for secondary noncore add-on

The Louisiana Department of Education said on its certification call that updates to Bulletin 7 46 will expand eligibility for the educational leader Level I pathway to holders of most ancillary teaching certificates and remove a literacy requirement for secondary noncore add-on certifications.

"This update did expand the administrative pipeline to allow individuals now holding this type of ancillary to enroll in and complete any of the state approved pathways," Rachel Norman, director of certification, said. She added that the change was presented to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in August and is expected to come off notice of intent in December or January before being added to Bulletin 7 46.

Scope and exclusions: The expansion covers ancillary certificates such as talented, JROTC, counselor, and librarian certificates, Norman said, but specifically excludes the early childhood ancillary certificate (ECAC). "The one ancillary teaching that it does not allow is the ECAC, the early childhood ancillary certificate," she said.

Separately, Norman said the department has removed a literacy requirement for educators adding a secondary noncore area; the change applies to add-on certifications, not initial certificates. Checklist updates on teachlouisiana.net have been updated to reflect the change.

Why it matters: The ancillary change reduces barriers for current ancillary-certificate holders to enter administrative pathways without enrolling in a teacher-preparation program. The literacy removal affects educators seeking to add secondary noncore endorsements by removing a prior testing or coursework requirement for add-on applications.

Timing: Norman said the ancillary update was on notice of intent and she is hopeful it will be finalized around December or January; the literacy-removal change has been adopted and the department has updated online checklists to reflect that adopted policy.

Ending: LDOE staff said they will notify stakeholders through existing channels once Bulletin 7 46 language is fully adopted and posted on teachlouisiana.net.