Panel approves new teacher-certification rules
HARRISBURG - A state panel approved new teacher-certification rules yesterday that Pennsylvania's top education official said would improve teaching in the early elementary grades and middle schools.
HARRISBURG - A state panel approved new teacher-certification rules yesterday that Pennsylvania's top education official said would improve teaching in the early elementary grades and middle schools.
The new rules establish an early-childhood education certificate for teachers of students in pre-kindergarten through fourth grade, and a combined elementary-middle school certificate for grades four through eight.
The certificates will replace the state's current elementary education certificate, which covers kindergarten through sixth grade. They will be required for newly certified teachers beginning in January 2013.
The rules, approved by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission, will ensure that teachers are better versed in child development and can instruct students with a wide range of academic abilities, Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak said.
The regulations must be reviewed by the state Attorney General's Office and will take effect when they are published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. - AP
























