§ 20-28-5-12.5 — Alternative certification teaching license

Indiana § 20-28-5-12.5

• Jurisdiction: Indiana
• Title 20: EDUCATION
• Art. 28: SCHOOL TEACHERS
• Ch. 5: Licenses

Text

Note: This version of section amended by P.L.201-2025, SEC.3. See
also following version of this section amended by P.L.214-2025,
SEC.114.
Sec. 12.5. (a) The department shall grant an initial
practitioner license to an individual who:
(1) possesses a bachelor's degree from an accredited
postsecondary four (4) year institution;
(2) successfully completes an alternative teacher certification
program that includes:
(A) the required content training in the area in which the
individual seeks to be licensed;
(B) pedagogy training and an examination that is in substantive
alignment with nationally recognized pedagogical standards
and teaches effective:
(i) instructional delivery;
(ii) classroom management and organization;
(iii) assessment;
(iv) instructional design; and
(v) professional learning and leadership;
(C) successful demonstration of content area proficiency in an
examination that includes content area material in substantive
alignment with nationally recognized content area standards in
the areas that the individual is required to have a license to
teach;
(D) verification from a third party that regularly reviews
educational and professional examinations that the alternative
certification examination is equal to or greater in rigor than the
written examination under section 12 of this chapter;
(E) content within the curriculum that prepares teacher
candidates to use evidence based trauma informed classroom
instruction, including instruction in evidence based social
emotional learning classroom practices that are conducive to
supporting students who have experienced trauma that may
interfere with a student's academic functioning; and
(F) content within the curriculum that:
(i) beginning July 1, 2024, is aligned to the science of
reading; and
(ii) beginning July 1, 2024, prepares teacher candidates or
program participants who seek to obtain an elementary
generalist license that is valid for teaching in kindergarten
through grade 5 or an early childhood license that is valid for
teaching prekindergarten through grade 3 to obtain the
literacy endorsement required under section 19.7 of this
chapter;
(3) successfully completes an applicable teacher licensing exam
as approved by the state board;
(4) holds a valid cardiopulmonary resuscitation certification from
a provider approved by the department; and
(5) has attended youth suicide awareness and prevention training.
(b) The individual must complete a one (1) year practical experience
program during the individual's first year in the classroom when the
individual is employed as a full-time teacher. The provider must:
(1) provide the practical experience program at no cost to the state
or to the school corporation, charter school, or state accredited
nonpublic school; and
(2) as part of the practical instruction program, provide
instruction in:
(A) instructional design and planning;
(B) effective instructional delivery;
(C) classroom management and organization;
(D) effective use of assessment data;
(E) content in federal and Indiana special education laws; and
(F) required awareness, preparation, and understanding of:
(i) individualized education programs;
(ii) service plans developed under 511 IAC 7-34;
(iii) choice special education plans developed under 511 IAC
7-49; and
(iv) plans developed under Section 504 of the federal
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 794.
(c) An in-state alternative teacher certification program under
subsection (a)(2) must operate in accordance with the procedures and
program approval standards and requirements set by the department
and the state board for teacher education programs for the licensure of
teachers.
(d) An out-of-state alternative teacher certification program under
subsection (a)(2) must:
(1) currently operate in at least five (5) states; and
(2) have operated an alternative teacher certification program for
at least ten (10) years.
(e) An individual who receives an alternative teacher certification
under subsection (a)(2) is authorized to teach the subject and
educational level that the individual has successfully completed.
(f) An individual who receives an initial practitioner license under
this section shall be treated in the same manner as an individual who
receives an initial practitioner license after completing a traditional
teacher preparation program.
(g) An individual who graduates from an alternative teacher
certification program must be treated in the same manner as a
traditional teacher preparation program graduate during the transition
from an initial practitioner license to a practitioner license.
(h) An individual who receives an initial practitioner license under
this section may not teach a special education course for a special
education student for the period the individual maintains a license
under this section unless the individual is at least twenty-six (26) years
of age and employed in a school setting or with another community
organization, including a for-profit or nonprofit organization, to
provide care or instruction for a student with a physical, intellectual, or
developmental disability. However, an individual who receives an
initial practitioner license under this section may not be a teacher of
record for a special education student for the period the individual
maintains the initial practitioner license.
(i) A school corporation, charter school, or state accredited
nonpublic school shall submit a plan to the department if the school
corporation, charter school, or state accredited nonpublic school hires
one (1) or more individuals who have received an initial practitioner
license under this section. The plan must be submitted in a manner
prescribed by the department and must include a description of how the
school corporation, charter school, or state accredited nonpublic school
will, excluding the practical experience program described in
subsection (b), provide an individual who receives an initial
practitioner license under this section opportunities to obtain exposure
to classroom management and instructional techniques, including
meaningful exposure to special education. The plan is a public record.
(j) Not later than July 1, 2024, the department shall prepare a report
that shall be submitted to the general assembly in an electronic format
under IC 5-14-6. The report must contain the following information:
(1) Data showing how many teachers obtained an initial
practitioner license under this section.
(2) A description of the number of teachers who received an
initial practitioner license under this section who are currently
employed as a teacher by each:
(A) school corporation;
(B) charter school; or
(C) state accredited nonpublic school.
The description must include a breakdown of the subjects taught
by teachers who receive an initial practitioner license under this
section.
(3) A comparison of the Praxis Subject Assessment pass rates for
individuals who receive an initial practitioner license under this
section in comparison with the Praxis Subject Assessment pass
rates for teachers who obtained an initial practitioner license
using a different pathway to licensure.
(4) A description of how many teachers who received an initial
practitioner license under this section are rated as effective or
highly effective.

Legislative History

As added by P.L.96-2021, SEC.2. Amended by P.L.134-2022, SEC.1; P.L.243-2023, SEC.11; P.L.201-2025, SEC.3.