W. Va. Code R. § 133-46-3

Current through Register Vol. XLII, No. 1, January 3, 2025

Section 133-46-3 - Standards for subject-area content preparation

3.1. Each college or university with secondary-level teacher preparation programs shall provide that its secondary-level programs (those programs emphasizing the secondary-level grades and including licensure to teach grades 10-12) in core academic areas require at least the equivalency of corresponding content majors in terms of academic rigor and credit hours completed in content areas.

3.2. Secondary-level education certification areas for which equivalency in content majors would be required are: biology, business education, chemistry, English, general science, mathematics, modern foreign languages, physics, and social studies.

3.3. Each secondary-level certification area referenced in Section 3.2 must include an equivalent number of credit hours of subject area content course work to the institution's baccalaureate major in the corresponding content field, with the following exceptions:

3.3.1. For a baccalaureate major in a content field in which the credit hours for content course work exceed 48 credit hours, the number of content credit hours in the corresponding secondary-level teacher preparation program shall not be less than 48 credit hours.

3.3.2. For secondary-level teacher preparation programs in social studies and general science, areas in which there is typically no corresponding baccalaureate degree, the minimum number of required credit hours in the content area shall not be less than 48. While the number of content hours in other secondary-level teacher preparation programs for certification areas listed in section 3.2 is to be at least the equivalent of corresponding baccalaureate degrees, in no instance shall the number of credit hours in the content area of a secondary-level teacher preparation program be less than 36.

3.4. Each secondary-level certification area referenced in Section 3.2 must meet expectations of academic rigor similar to that of the corresponding baccalaureate degree programs. While the subject-area curriculum of the teacher preparation program may vary somewhat from the subject-area curriculum of the baccalaureate degree program, it must include some form of culminating educational experience in the content area, such as a capstone course. At the discretion of the institution, the curriculum may include applied courses in the content areas as deemed appropriate.

3.5. All content course work in a secondary-level teacher preparation program must be taught by faculty with appropriate in-field academic credentials. Typically, the faculty would serve in the academic department.

3.6. At the discretion of the institution, the secondary-level teacher preparation program could be administered in the appropriate academic department or the school/college of education.

3.7. At the discretion of the institution, the degrees awarded for successful completion of the secondary-level teacher preparation program could be in the appropriate academic field or in education.

3.8. Each institution will file a copy of revised secondary-level teacher preparation curricula with the Higher Education Policy Commission office.

W. Va. Code R. § 133-46-3