Sec.10-220a-2. Responsibilities of employing agents

Each employing agent shall:

(1) appoint a district facilitator;

(2) form a district committee;

(3) ensure that the district facilitator orients district committee members to all facets of the cooperating teacher and beginning educator programs, to include, but not be limited to, the goals of the programs; the application and selection process for cooperating teachers, mentors, and teacher assessors; the responsibilities of cooperating teachers, mentors, and assessors; and the process for annually reviewing the work of the district committee;

(4) ensure that the process for nominating and selecting individuals for training as cooperating teachers, mentors, and teacher assessors is implemented;

(5) develop a process for nominating and selecting administrators to be trained as assessors;

(6) notify, at such time and in such manner as the Commissioner shall prescribe, teachers and administrators about professional opportunities to serve as cooperating teachers, mentors, and assessors, and about the selection criteria and the selection processes;

(7) ensure that each beginning teacher is placed with a mentor or mentor team;

(8) report to the Department no later than 10 days after the beginning teacher is assigned to a school building, in such manner as the Commissioner shall prescribe, data for each beginning teacher including, but not limited to, name of the beginning teacher, school assignment, date of hire, and teaching assignment;

(9) ensure that times and locations for pre-observation and post-observation interviews are arranged between beginning teachers and their assessors;

(10) ensure that, during the time when an assessor is observing the beginning teacher, neither the mentor of the beginning teacher, any board of education administrator, nor other adult whose presence is not required in the delivery of instruction or assistance of students is present, and that the classroom is not audio- or video-taped;

(11) provide released time for beginning teachers to observe and be observed by their mentors or members of the mentor team and assessors;

(12) provide released time for assessors to conduct assessments;

(13) submit to the Department local school calendars, at such time and in such manner as the Commissioner shall prescribe;

(14) develop and implement a special plan for supervision of alternate route beginning teachers and submit, upon Department request, documentation of such plan to the Department;

(15) develop and make available to college and university placement coordinators written procedures for placing student teachers with cooperating teachers;

(16) require, at such time and in such manner as the Commissioner shall prescribe, attestation by district committee members of service on the district committee;

(17) provide to the Department a list of names of cooperating teachers and mentors who have not successfully met their responsibilities pursuant to Section 10-220a-6 and who shall be removed from the list of individuals eligible for placement as cooperating teachers and mentors;

(18) annually review and, as necessary, revise procedures as specified in this section for the operation of the cooperating teacher program and support component of the beginning educator program;

(19) ensure conformance with applicable provisions of these regulations; and,

(20) secure the applications of teachers and administrators to participate as assessors in accordance with the department's assessor recruitment goals. In the event that the commissioner determines that a shortage of assessors exists, the commissioner shall require that districts make available during each school year a minimum number of trained assessors as follows:

(A) For boards of education with fewer than 50 certified professional employees, a minimum of one assessor;

(B) For boards of education with at least 50, but fewer than 100 certified professional employees, a minimum of two trained assessors;

(C) For boards of education with at least 100, but fewer than 200 certified professional employees, a minimum of three trained assessors;

(D) For boards of education with at least 200, but fewer than 400 certified professional employees, a minimum of five trained assessors;

(E) For boards of education with at least 400, but fewer than 700 certified professional employees, a minimum of seven trained assessors; or

(F) For boards of education with at least 700 certified professional employees, a minimum of ten trained assessors.

(21) support the commitment of mentors, cooperating teachers, and assessors to participate in those roles for a minimum of two years following successful completion of initial training. In the event that mentors, cooperating teachers, or assessors are unable to meet the two year participation commitment, the employing agent shall recruit additional teachers and administrators to serve in those roles.

(Effective July 24, 1992)