Maryland panel reviews sweeping educator licensure rewrite, MSDE urges adoption with non‑substantive fixes

Kelly Meadows, the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) designee to the board, led a detailed review of proposed changes to the state’s educator licensure regulations, saying the package is the product of multi‑year work to replace a cumbersome, hard‑to‑navigate set of rules.

Meadows told the Professional Standards Board the draft repeals and replaces multiple linked COMAR chapters and that the boards previously voted to publish the language and solicit public comment. She described the current session as a second round of feedback after the rules appeared in the Maryland Register and said MSDE recommends adoption with only non‑substantive corrections at this time.

Why it matters: The rewrite reorganizes licensure into clearer chapters for teachers, specialists, administrators and disciplinary procedures, and introduces new pathways and renewal mechanisms intended to increase flexibility while preserving rigor. MSDE said further changes that would be substantive will be postponed to a second phase of rulemaking.

What MSDE recommended and why: Meadows summarized several of MSDE’s responses to public commenters. Among the department’s positions:

- Conditional special‑education licenses remain limited to three years to comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which restricts waivers for special‑education credentials unless rigorous, sustained professional development and supervised practice are provided.

- Renewal will shift to a 90‑professional‑development‑point (PDP) model (1 PDP = 1 clock hour) that expands accepted activities beyond semester credits and MSDE‑approved continuing professional development. The PDP framework includes required categories (for example, content/pedagogy and strategies for students with disabilities) to ensure renewal aligns with classroom needs.

- Maryland will accept nationally recognized portfolio performance assessments adopted under the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future (edTPA and PPAT) for program completers and allow certain out‑of‑state or employed applicants to use an effective year‑end evaluation in lieu of paid portfolio tests where the law permits.

- MSDE defended the new in‑district training program pathway as a rigorous, employer‑based route for career changers that requires (1) employment with an LEA or approved nonpublic or state program, (2) demonstration of content knowledge, (3) enrollment in a comprehensive induction with on‑site coaching, and (4) a department‑approved sequence of pedagogical coursework plus attestations from an LEA/principal and any partnering educator‑preparation program.

Quotes from the meeting: "We are going to study all of the pathways to licensure," Meadows said, describing MSDE’s plan to evaluate attestations and other alternatives to pencil‑and‑paper tests. On the special‑education time limit, she added, "that is federal law" and explained why the three‑year limit remains.

Next steps and caveats: MSDE recommended the board adopt the current drafts but flagged multiple items for later technical cleanup or phase‑2 attention, including administrator and specialist chapters, clearer language around the science‑of‑reading terminology, and implementation guidance for the in‑district pathway and PDP administration. The board agreed to take the package forward while scheduling follow‑up work and implementation discussions for the October meeting.

Ending: The board tabled deeper program approval items to the next meeting, approved procedural minutes and adjourned after setting an October session to continue implementation planning.