Rachel Norman, speaking for the Louisiana Department of Education’s certification team, described several policy updates and approvals affecting teacher certification and educator preparation.

"The change that was brought to BESE actually removed the clause in the properly certified area of" the educational diagnostician rules, Norman said, adding that the revision acknowledges professional experience and "provided expanded opportunities for educational diagnostician certification endorsement." She said educators must still have at least one year of special education teaching experience and that the amendment is currently out for notice of intent with likely adoption in 2026.

Norman also announced two additional third-party entities approved at a recent BESE meeting: Northwestern State University’s College of Education and K12 Learning Academy (identified in the call as Stride Incorporated). She said the department will notify the field when those approvals complete their notice-of-intent steps and are formally published.

On administrative pathways, Norman summarized an August BESE action updating the educational leader (EDL) policy. The change allows individuals holding an ancillary teaching certificate (excluding ancillary early childhood) to apply for educational leader certification without completing a teacher preparation program or appealing to the Teacher Certification Appeals Council. Norman said the underlying requirements for EDL pathways—such as graduate-degree requirements, completion of boot camp pathways, or other criteria—did not change.

Why it matters: The diagnostician adjustment and the ancillary-to-EDL clarification expand formal routes into specialized and leadership credentials, which department staff said could affect candidate pipelines and district staffing decisions. The department asked districts and preparation providers to watch TeachLouisiana.net and its bulletins for formal notices and to plan for any downstream credentialing or hiring impacts.

Department staff directed questions about timing and implementation to the teacher certification help portal and said they will use the same communication channels they use for other certification bulletins.

The call did not include a formal vote or effective date beyond the department’s estimate that the diagnostician changes would likely be adopted in 2026; the department will publish exact dates and rule text once the notice-of-intent and adoption processes conclude.