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Board approves permission to publish COMAR updates on educator prep, licensure and background checks
Summary
MSDE presented five proposed COMAR amendments aligning regulations with recent legislation and the school‑psychology licensure compact; the board voted to publish the regulations for public comment.
MSDE staff reviewed a package of proposed COMAR amendments covering teacher preparation program approval, pathways to teacher licensure, school psychologist licensure (to implement compact requirements), military and foreign service reciprocity, and criminal history records checks.
Miss Meadows, MSDE’s presenter, told the board four of the five proposed regulations result from recent legislative changes that realign regulation with statute and implement an Office of Legislative Audits recommendation to improve local background‑check monitoring. "Four out of the five regulations that I'll discuss today are a direct result of the last legislative session," she said.
Key changes include allowing Maryland‑approved teacher preparation programs to offer program‑specific portfolio assessments in lieu of the edTPA and recognizing a new MSDE teacher apprenticeship completion pathway; clarifying school‑psychology internship hour requirements to meet national compact minimums (1,200 hours, with 600 in schools); and creating a regulatory pathway for military and foreign‑service reciprocity for licenses. The board voted to grant permission to publish all five items for public comment after Ed Policy’s recommendation.
Board action was a permission‑to‑publish vote, not final adoption; MSDE staff will collect public comment and return to the board before any final regulatory adoption.
