Licensure commission approves drone endorsement, opens rulemaking on educator-prep guidelines and signs off on several university program changes

Jackson, Miss. — The Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification, Licensure and Development voted July 12 to create a new career-pathway teacher endorsement in unmanned aircraft systems and to begin rulemaking to revise state guidelines for educator preparation providers.

The commission approved the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) endorsement after hearing from Brett Robertson of the Office of Career and Talent Education and Workforce Development, who said the state piloted the program in three school districts and expects the endorsement to be active in five districts next school year. Robertson said the initial endorsement would be issued for three years with a later conversion to a five-year endorsement once required criteria are met. ‘‘We piloted this in 3 school districts last year,’’ he said.

Commissioners also voted to begin the Administrative Procedures Act process to revise Mississippi Administrative Code Title 7, Part 107, the educator preparation provider process and performance review guidelines. Dr. Berson, who presented the proposed revisions, said the package would add clearer criteria for federal Title II reporting (identifying EPPs that are at risk or low performing), create explicit procedures for onboarding new providers and closing programs, and move procedural appendices into a separate program-review workbook to keep the codified rule shorter and policy focused. ‘‘Weare requesting to revise our current state review processes ... and establish new sections for establishing new EPP approval,’’ Berson said.

The commission also approved a set of university program and endorsement changes: Mississippi State University was authorized to allow certain graduate-level coursework to count as equivalents toward supplemental special-education endorsements (K–8 and 7–12); Alcorn State Universitywas approved to offer a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) K–6 licensure track and to add a childhood development (pre-K–K) supplemental endorsement; and Mississippi University for Women received approval to add a graduate-level reading K–12 supplemental endorsement.

MDE updates preceded the votes. Dr. Corey Murphy thanked staff and partners for the recent Elevate Teachers Conference, calling it an opportunity to celebrate and support the teacher workforce. ‘‘Itwas a great thing for teachers,’’ he said.

All of the items in this package were moved, seconded, and carried by voice votes during the meeting. Commissioners noted the revisions aim to streamline program review, align state processes with federal reporting needs, and expand teacher-preparation pathways for emergent workforce needs.

Votes at a glance: establishment of UAS endorsement (motion moved by Mary Hill Taylor; second Dylan Baldwin; outcome: approved); begin APA process revising Title 7, Part 107 (moved by Dr. Berson; second recorded in the minutes; outcome: approved); Mississippi State University modifications for K–8 and 7–12 special-education supplemental endorsements (moved William Murphy; second John Howard; outcome: approved); Alcorn State MAT K–6 program and childhood development endorsement (motion and seconds recorded; outcome: approved); Mississippi University for Women reading K–12 endorsement (outcome: approved).

What this means: The UAS endorsement adds a new CTE-aligned pathway for teachers to support drone-related curricula at the secondary level; the Title 7, Part 107 rulemaking could change how educator preparation providers are reviewed, how low-performing programs are identified under federal Title II metrics, and formalize the processes for approving, onboarding, and closing EPPs. The university approvals expand options for candidates to complete licensure or supplemental endorsements using graduate-course equivalents or new graduate sequences.

Next steps: The Title 7, Part 107 changes will be posted for public comment under the APA process; implementation timelines and any fiscal impacts will be determined during the rulemaking and subsequent administrative work.

Sources: presentation and motions recorded July 12, 2024, in the public meeting of the commission. All direct quotes are taken from speakers in the meeting record.