Board to ask legislators to remove 3-credit standalone ELL course requirement, favor embedding competencies

The Professional Standards and Teacher Education Board voted to ask MSDE staff to draft a letter to the sponsor of HB 807 recommending changes to the bill’s language that would remove a required standalone 3-credit course on English-language-learner instruction and instead embed required competencies across teacher-preparation coursework.

The board discussed the bill at length. Multiple members said they support the goal of strengthening teacher preparation for multilingual learners but are concerned a required 3-credit course would be difficult for many four-year undergraduate and graduate MAT programs to integrate. "It's not the content that I'm opposed to. It's the 3 credit hours," said Jenny, who coordinates an MAT program and described the challenge of adding another course to an already full year for graduate students.

Members suggested alternative approaches including strengthening existing coursework, clarifying terminology to use "multilingual learners," and identifying induction and renewal points where competencies could be reinforced rather than adding a standalone course. Kelly Meadows, MSDE staff, proposed specific amendment language: support the competencies language that integrates instruction across courses (removing the word "other") and strike the section that would mandate a 3-credit course beginning in the 2028–29 academic year.

A motion to have staff draft a letter reflecting those recommendations was moved by Jenny and seconded by Dr. Taylor; the board approved the motion. MSDE staff will prepare a draft letter that outlines suggested amendments and the board’s rationale and will circulate it to board leaders for signature.

Next steps: MSDE staff will draft the letter for review and provide it to the named board members and leadership to finalize before submission to the sponsor’s office.