MA in Special Education

Important Information for Spring 2012 Graduates

Please see below for documents and instructions pertaining to Spring 2012 LBD graduates:

• Link for blue card
• Submission of portfolio
• Graduation Checklist for August and December 2012 graduates
• TC1 application form
• MA Exit Survey

Virtual Town Meeting Update Information

January 7, 2012

9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Click here for Virtual Town Meeting Update Information

Spring 2012 Pre-registration Information

Click here for LBD Program Information Update-Spring 2012

To confirm your registration, please click here:  Student Pre-Registered Spring 2012

If you do not see your name listed, your pre-registration was not received by the deadline.  Individual classes will not be included in the list.  At this time we are only confirming receipt of your online application.

Pleae do not call or email the LBD office prior to checking the website, as it is your individual responsibility to check the website first.  If  you see your name, please assume that you are pre-registered for the course(s) you selected on Survey Monkey.

Note that you will also be able to register for regular courses during open enrollment (Nov. 9-20).  Field placement courses however, require pre-registration and are now closed.

Pre-registration Documents:

• ECE 575A Preregistration Information-SP12
• ECE 575B Preregistration Information-SP12
• ECE 576 Preregistration Information-SP12
• Criteria for Admission to Final Clinical Practice-ECE 576

Certification to teach Special Education (LBD) is available in a separate MA program.

LBD–Initial Candidates (LBD-I). Individuals who hold a bachelor degree in a field other than education and who wish to enter the education profession for the first time to teach students with mild to moderate disabilities.

LBD–Additional Candidates (LBD-A). Individuals who already hold another teaching certificate and who wish to add an initial LBD certificate.
At this time, Georgetown does not offer advanced training in LBD for individuals already certified in LBD. Those already certified for LBD may consider a Teacher Leader program.

The Georgetown LBD Program has been approved by the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB) in two ways:

1. As a traditional preparation program with initial LBD certification, the program requires candidates to complete the program requirements, including student teaching and graduation, prior to employment as an LBD teacher.
2. Under the approval as a Program Option 6 Alternate Route to Certification, or “alt-cert” program, the Georgetown LBD Program allows individuals to be currently employed as LBD teachers under temporary provisional certification while they are enrolled in the program.

This alt-cert program arrangement with temporary provisional certification was developed by the EPSB to meet the shortage of fully certified special education teachers across the state. Despite this alternate route arrangement, LBD candidates in Option 6 must meet the same teacher standards as in the traditional program.

A curriculum contract outlines the coursework required and the projected sequence of enrollment. Any deviation of this curriculum must be approved in writing by the Program Director. This contract must be signed on-site during an advising session.

Online Blended Format

All courses required for the LBD masters degree are offered online. However, the online program is blended, meaning that there are some face-to-face components as well as requirements for practical experience in the classroom. Required face-to-face components include:

• on-campus “town meetings” held on Saturday before the beginning of each semester, including sessions for program announcements and the initial class meeting for all online courses;
• specific to some methods courses, a required Saturday face-to-face class session(s), e.g., in workshop format;
• applications of skills learned in methods classes, completed in local LBD instructional settings;
• supervised practicum experiences in approved classrooms with mentoring by a local LBD teacher and observation by Georgetown LBD faculty, for a total of 120 hours of experience (ECE 575A-B); and
• a culminating course at the end of the program that includes a minimum of 240 hours of LBD teaching experience and that is completed while employed as an LBD teacher or, through special arrangements similar to student teaching (ECE 576).

Workshops and professional development are also offered on campus on a voluntary participation basis.

Certification

Kentucky Requirements for a Teaching Certificate. Certification requirements are set by the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board.

Temporary Provisional Certification for Teaching While in the Program: Because the Georgetown College LBD Program is approved as an “alternate route to certification,” individuals who are enrolled in the program may be employed as an LBD teacher while enrolled. The Education Professional Standards Board uses the “TCTP” (Teacher Certification Temporary Provisional) form to obtain or renew your teaching certificate, including Temporary Provisional LBD certificates. Click on the link below to obtain directions on completing the TCTP to obtain or renew your teaching certificate.

Completing the TCTP

• Contact the LBD Program Director OR your school district’s human resources office for a copy of the TCTP (Teacher Certification Temporary Provisional) form. Or, print out the TCTP form.
• As a Georgetown College LBD candidate, you complete the following:
  • Page 1: Section I Parts A and C;
  • Page 3: All
  • Page 4: Section A
• Your employing school district will complete Section II.
• Mail or deliver the partially completed form with ORIGINAL signatures to the address below, where the document will be completed and submitted to the EPSB:
  • Mailing address:
    LBD Program Director
    Graduate Education
    Georgetown College
    400 East College Street
    Georgetown KY 40324

Kentucky P-12 LBD Certificate

The Kentucky P-12 LBD certificate enables a teacher to instruct students with a variety of mild to moderate disabilities, referred generally as learning and behavioral disorders (LBD), in kindergarten through Grade 12. Typically, these students participate in an academic course of study designed for receiving a regular high school diploma.

What are “learning and behavioral disorders”?

In Kentucky, the term “LBD” is the name of a teaching certificate for serving students with any of the following disabilities:

• specific learning disabilities (LD),
• emotional/behavioral disabilities (EBD),
• mild mental/cognitive disabilities (MMD),
• developmental delays (a non-categorical term that may be used with children under age 9 years), and
• low incidence disabilities based on student need (e.g., if the student has mild to moderate disabilities and is typically in an academic course of study for receiving a regular high school diploma). These disabilities may include autism, traumatic brain injury (TBI), orthopedic impairments (physical disabilities), other health impairments, and multiple disabilities.

For what kinds of classroom positions are LBD teachers prepared?

In Kentucky, LBD teachers may provide specially designed instruction as a collaborative teacher in the regular class at any grade level kindergarten through grade 12. However, to be the student’s primary teacher of core academic content areas (reading, writing, math, science, social studies) taught exclusively by the LBD teacher in a resource room or self-contained classroom, federal regulations require that the LBD teacher also be considered “highly qualified” in the content.

To be considered highly qualified to teach core academic content to LBD students in elementary resource, special class or other settings outside the general education classroom, the LBD certified person must additionally hold elementary certification OR pass the Praxis test required in Kentucky for elementary teachers on the academic content in elementary grades (#0014). For middle and high school resource and special classes, the LBD candidate must hold secondary certification in the applicable content area(s) OR pass the applicable Praxis test(s) on academic content.

In Kentucky, LBD is a stand-alone certificate that does not require dual certification with general education. Although some LBD preparation programs in Kentucky are structured for dual certification, Georgetown’s program is not. However, candidates must know about the general education curriculum since the LBD certificate prepares teachers for teaching methods rather than academic content. It is strongly recommended that LBD candidates who do not hold elementary certification take and pass the content test required of elementary teachers in Kentucky (#0014).

Who is eligible to get a teaching certificate in Kentucky?

The following are the general requirements for a teaching certificate in Kentucky:

• the candidate must complete an approved preparation program;
• the candidate must pass written tests set by the EPSB for the certificate area; and
• the candidate must complete an internship year during the first year of employment as a teacher after completing the preparation program.

In Kentucky, approved LBD preparation programs must follow the Council for Exceptional Children’s Individualized General Curriculum standards for special educators, referred to as the CEC standards. These standards are what special educators as LBD teachers must know and be able to do. Specifically for LBD, Kentucky candidates must pass two Praxis tests which are based on the CEC standards:

• Education of Exceptional Children: Core Knowledge (#0353). Kentucky passing score of 157; and
• Education of Exceptional Children: Mild to Moderate (#0542). Kentucky passing score of 172.

Can I teach while I am enrolled in the Georgetown LBD program?

Candidates who are enrolled in the Georgetown LBD program and who seek LBD teaching positions in public schools may receive a Temporary Provisional LBD Certificate while completing the program. This certificate allows the candidate’s salary to be at a Rank III, comparable to that for fully-prepared first-year teachers. Upon enrollment at Georgetown, the candidate receives a confirmation letter of enrollment and should share a copy with districts where the candidate is seeking employment. With this letter, a school seeking to employ the candidate may request that Georgetown recommend the candidate to the EPSB for Temporary Provisional LBD certification.

For more information about teacher certification in Kentucky, contact the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board

Program Director

• Dr. Anita Jones
  502-863-7081