ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

OUT-OF-FIELD TRAINING REQUIREMENTS:

If you have been identified as teaching out-of-field in Elementary Education (this includes ESE teachers teaching through access courses), you are mandated to satisfy out-of-field training requirements by one of the following methods:

completion of a minimum of six semester hours of (new) college coursework in Elementary Education

NOTE: Completion of six semester hours of college credit will serve only to meet state-mandated training for the current school year; you will be required to again satisfy out-of-field training during subsequent school years. Only passing the subject area exam OR submission of an approved infield rubric (where applicable) will completely close the out-of-field record for the subject area.

passing (all portions of) the Elementary Education subject area exam

documenting 100 points through the Infield Status Rubric

One of the above methods must be completed prior to the end of April in the school year in which you were placed out-of-field. You must continue to complete out-of-field training each school year or until you have obtained certification in Elementary Education or have passed the subject area exam, or have documented infield status via the rubric.  Note that failure to comply will impact your future placement/assignments up to including non-renewal of your contract.

Your out-of-field record will remain open until you have added Elementary Education to your certificate or have passed the subject area exam, or have documented infield status. Parent notification will be required to be sent home to the parents of the affected students while you are considered out-of-field. If you obtain the certificate reflecting Elementary Education (for those passing the subject area exam who add the subject to their certificate), be sure to notify certificationrequests@browardschools.com so your out-of-field record can be closed.  Note: no money is saved by waiting to add a certification area to your certificate when you submit your application for renewal and/or your initial professional certificate.  You are urged to apply immediately for the addition once you have met and can document the subject area requirements

REQUIREMENTS TO ADD ELEMENTARY EDUCATION:

Pass all portions of the Elementary Education subject area exam and add the subject to your certificate. Information and registration for the subject area exam is found at the Florida Teacher Certification Exams web site.

Once you have passed the Elementary Education subject area exam you will need to submit an application and fee to the Florida Department of Education and fee (paid through the district) for the addition. For complete steps on submitting the addition application and fee go to Talent Acquisition and Operations, Instructional (click on "Florida Certificate Additions).

INFIELD STATUS OPTION

Board Policy 4003.4 establishes the infield designation option for teachers out-of-field in bachelor-level subject areas (excludes Athletic Coaching, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Driver Education, ESOL, Orientation and Mobility, Prek Disabilities, Severe and Profound Disabilities, Reading, School Psychologist, School Social Worker, and Speech-Language Impaired).

Teachers may use the Infield Status Rubric  to document experience and training in Elementary Education. A minimum of 100 points must be achieved with documented experience and a classroom observation rating of effective or higher required. Additional points may be obtained in professional development (district in-service) and college coursework in Elementary Education. Lesson plans in the areas of math, science, ELA (Modeled Interactive Read Aloud), and social studies are mandatory as well. One set of plans for each content area will suffice for years of experience.

Resources:

Access the Elementary Learning Curriculum in Canvas under "Standards" or grade level pages to gain a better perspective on content, standards, lesson plans, and activities for ELA, Science, Math, and/or Social Studies, or "Balanced Literacy" for examples of IRAs.

For ELA IRAs, review additional information on Strategic Actions

Lesson plan activities must be aligned to the K-6 General Education standards

Submissions must include all criteria on the lesson plan template

Submissions must be an original developed by you

May not submit an lesson plan created by the district or an adopted materials vendor (i.e., Go Math, STEMscopes, etc.) or that another colleague has written and/or submitted or that was created by or for a College/University

Templates for math, science, English language arts/reading, and social studies are available to guide you.  Access the Elementary Learning Curriculum in Canvas under "Standards" or grade level pages to gain a better perspective on content, standards, lesson plans, and activities for ELA, Science, Math, and/or Social Studies, or "Balanced Literacy" for examples of IRAs.  Request access for the Elementary Learning Canvas course.

IMPORTANT:

Lesson plans must be your original work and provided on the templates provided

Lesson plans may not be copied from the district examples provided

Lesson plans may not be copied from a colleague's lesson plan

Lesson plans must include all criteria indicated on the lesson plan example

If remediation is required, only one (1) opportunity will be provided for you to remedy; and it must be done within five (5) business days - failure to remediate within the provided timeline will result in you having to select an alternate method to satisfy mandated out of field requirements

DO NOT fill in the points on the rubric. Just complete the top portion to include your name, PN and the subject area. TAO will complete the points awarded section.

IMPORTANT:  if you have passed any portion(s) of the Kindergarten-6 subject area exam within the last 10 years, you will not be required to submit a lesson plan for that area(s).  You must, however, attach a copy of your passing score(s) to the documentation you submit.

It is strongly recommended that you submit the documentation as early as possible in the event you are asked to make modifications or in the event you are not approved. If approval is not granted, you will need to comply with mandated training using another option.

NOTE: Approval of an Infield Status Rubric in Elementary Education does not enable you to add the subject of Elementary Education to your certificate, however, it is sufficient for documentation of infield status in Elementary Education and for satisfaction of out-of-field requirements in Elementary Education. A Broward County Public Schools Infield Status Rubric is acceptable in Broward County only.

Submit attached to an Infield Status Rubric to: elementaryinfield@browardschools.com