School of Education, Health and Human Behavior

The Department of Teaching and Learning-offers teacher education programs that prepare students for teaching positions in:

• Early Childhood Education (Grade levels: birth-2^nd) (degree program: BS)
• Elementary Education (Grade levels: 1^{st –} 6^th) (degree program: BS or MAT)
• Secondary Education (Grade levels: 9-12) (degree program: BS or MAT)
• Special Education (Grades: PreK-Age 22) (degree program: BS or MAT)

 The Department of Psychology (BA, BS) offers a comprehensive major that prepares students for a wide variety of careers and graduate programs.

 The Department of Exercise, Sport, and Nutrition Sciences (BS) offers options for students interested in exercise science, exercise physiology, nutrition and dietetics.

 The Department of Public Health and Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology offers the following programs:

• The Public Health program (BS) equips students with knowledge and skills needed to improve and protect the health of communities.
• The Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology program (BA, BS) provides students scientific background for understanding communication disorders.

Admission and Advisement

Procedures vary for admission to different programs in the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior. Therefore, students should consult with the appropriate program academic advisor for specific information.

Teacher Education

All teacher education programs at SIUE are authorized under the State of Illinois Board of Education (ISBE) and accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Education Preparation (CAEP) or another accrediting body (World Languages and Theater Education are accredited by a separate body). The table below summarizes the timeline for Teacher Education programs.

Gateways 1 & 2 (Admissions and Advisement). Students may apply to be a teacher education major through direct entry as a freshman or any time before the spring of their sophomore year. For admission into any program in teacher education, a student must meet Gateway 1 & 2 program eligibility requirements and have received a decision letter from the Major Program Director. Attaining the minimum criteria does not guarantee admission and program-specific criteria may change due to state policies, program resources, and the size of an applicant pool. Junior and senior transfer students should contact an advisor for application information during or before orientation. Students can contact the Student Services Office at 618-650-3940 to schedule an appointment with an SEHHB advisor.

Gateway 3 & 4 (Eligibility for Student Teaching and Educator Licensure). Upon successful completion of Gateways 1 & 2, teacher candidates must pass the appropriate content tests (required for the student teaching placement), the CPAST and other applicable tests, to qualify students for a teaching license in the State of Illinois and may apply for teaching licensure in other states. To be recommended for licensure, the State of Illinois does not allow grades lower than C in any professional education, endorsement, or specified general education courses to count towards licensure.  The licensure officer verifies each student has completed all requirements and recommends the student for licensure.

Please note that programs are subject to change to reflect the current state licensure requirements and could result in revised standards, programs, testing requirements, and teaching licenses.  It is important that all prospective and current candidates work closely with their advisors to remain current about course and curriculum changes affecting progress through the programs.

Criminal Background Checks. Prior to any field placements, candidates must pass a criminal background check and be free of any offenses which would prohibit one from receiving licensure from the Illinois State Board of Education. Illinois law requires Illinois school boards to conduct a criminal background investigation on applicants for employment. This law prohibits the employment of any person who has been convicted of committing or attempting to commit any one or more of a number of offenses. At present, offenses include, but are not limited to, first degree murder, any Class X felony; juvenile pimping, soliciting for a juvenile prostitute; exploitation of a child; obscenity; child pornography; harmful material; criminal sexual assault; aggravated criminal sexual assault; criminal sexual abuse; aggravated criminal sexual abuse; offenses set forth in the Cannabis Control Act; and crimes defined in the Illinois Controlled Substances Act. Employment must be denied whether the offenses and /or conviction occurred inside or outside Illinois.

 Clinical Experiences – Level 3 & 4. Clinical experience is required in the area for which a student seeks licensure. Students must pass the criminal background check and complete Illinois requirements for safety education before they start Clinical Experiences. There may also be additional district requirements with associated costs to be covered by the student. The School of Education, Health and Human Behavior Educator Preparation office will notify candidates of these requirements.  Students should contact their advisor or SEHHB-EdPrep@siue.edu for deadlines and additional information about the student teaching application process.

 Student teaching is the culminating experience in professional teacher education programs and generally occurs in the Spring semester. Student teaching is required to complete the licensure requirements of Illinois as well as accreditation standards. Student teaching requires full-day involvement in a public school. Accordingly, students should plan to treat the student teaching semester as a full-time job with as few outside obligations as possible. Student teaching is not available during the summer term.

 The School of Education, Health and Human Behavior Educator Preparation office maintains the responsibility for Clinical Assignments. Most pre-student teaching clinical assignments and student teaching placements are identified partner schools and school districts within 40 miles of the university. Pre-student teaching clinical experiences and student teaching will provide teacher candidates with a breadth of experiences in diverse settings. Teacher candidates must provide their own transportation to and from assigned placement locations for pre-student teaching and student teaching clinical experiences. In general, students may not be placed in a school from which they attended, regardless of the date of their last attendance. Students may not be placed in a school where a potential conflict of interest might exist.

Exceptions to the above requirements are only made by disclosing hardship during the clinical placement application process, filing an Appeal or special approval through the Self-Placement process. Students must disclose any of the following hardships when filling out their Field Placement Observation application:

• Transportation
• Medical (must be registered with the ACCESS department at SIUE)
• Family obligations
• Change of Address
• Work/Financial
• Dual Major/Course conflict
• Job opportunity
• Differences in perspective between student and cooperating teacher

Student teaching assignments begin and end on the dates indicated on the student teacher’s official confirmation letter. Students who are student teaching in the fall semester are expected to attend all start of the school year district and school meetings/workshops with their cooperating teachers prior to the start of the first day of student attendance. Students who are student teaching in the spring semester are expected to begin their student teaching experience on the first day of student attendance after the winter break of their host school. The student teaching experience will end the week prior to finals. Students wishing to continue in their host classroom during or after finals week should consult with the cooperating teacher and SIUE supervisor. During the SIUE student teaching semester, all SIUE student teachers must adhere to the school calendar (i.e. vacations, school holidays, etc.) of the school to which the student has been assigned to student teach.

Self-Placement – Job Embedded Placements – applies only to students enrolled in a traditional undergraduate program. For Traditional undergraduate students who are either already employed in a school district or will be employed in a school district, and requesting exemption to the following policies

• Cannot be placed in a district they attended or relative is employed
• And must meet the following criteria:
  • Already employed in a school district as a paraprofessional, teacher assistant or coach
  • Employment pending for a future semester (i.e. currently spring but will be employed beginning Fall)
  • Completion of the Self-Placement Form signed by school administrator and major Program Director for approval
  • Current IL State Police Background Check on file with the school district

Permission to Short-Term or Long-Term Substitute Teach. For any student interested in being a short-term substitute while student teaching must meet the following

• ISBE issued substitute license
• Complete substitute form and file with the Director of Placements, Educator Preparation Office
• Signatures are required by cooperating teacher and placement supervisor

Long-term substitution must include a letter of support from the building principal which includes

• Start and end date of long-term substitution assignment
• Name of cooperating teacher who will mentor teacher candidate during long term substitution assignment
• Include how student will be in a supportive environment and receive consistent feedback and evaluation
• Meet weekly (at a minimum), with cooperating teacher
• Signatures on form required by cooperating teacher, placement supervisor and building Principal.

School of Education, Health and Human Behavior Denial of Recommendation for Teacher Licensure Grievance Policy: In compliance with the Illinois School Code (105 ILCS 5/21-21.1), no SIUE student shall be denied the opportunity to receive the institutional recommendation for teacher licensure for reasons which are not directly related to the candidate’s anticipated performance as a licensed employee. Any SIUE candidate who has completed a teacher education program and who is denied teacher licensure shall be afforded a means for grieving the denial by the following procedure.

• Within 10 days of the denial, the program director shall notify the candidate, in writing, of the reasons for the denial of recommendation for licensure using the disposition alert form.
• Within 30 days of notification of the denial, the candidate may request the licensure officer review the denial. This request shall be in writing and should be directed to the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior Licensure Officer.
• After an additional 30 days to complete the review, the candidate shall be notified in writing of the decision to uphold or change the denial.
• Within 10 days of notification, the candidate may appeal the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior's decision to the Illinois State Teacher Licensure Board.

This SIUE teacher licensure grievance policy applies only to denial of licensure for candidates within the approved School of Education, Health and Human Behavior teacher licensure programs. All other grievances should proceed through the SIUE Student Grievance Code. SIUE’s current Student Grievance Code provides all students with a grievance procedure as a means for students to grieve faculty and staff members for violations of their student rights as set forth in the SIUE Student Grievance Code.

 Appeal Process: Students wishing to appeal a pre-student teaching and/or student teaching placement decision are expected to follow the steps outlined below, in accordance with University policy:

• The student has the option to file an appeal to the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior Educator Preparation Director of Field Placements. The School of Education, Health and Human Behavior Director of Field Placements will consult with the appropriate departmental faculty, supervisors, and/or PK-12 school personnel to make a final recommendation about the placement. This decision will be made within 10 business days of receipt of the student's appeal form.
• Students have the right to formally appeal the decision rendered by following the SIUE Student Grievance Code as outlined in the Student Rights and Conduct.

General Education Waiver: Undergraduate programs leading to initial licensure of early childhood education, elementary education, special education, and mathematics education have agreed to accept an associate’s degree (associate of arts, associate of science, associate of science and arts, and associate of arts in teaching) from an approved community college in accordance with SIUE’s general waiver policy (please refer to SIUE catalog for current policy). The completion of any degrees specified above will waive general education requirements for early childhood, special education, and secondary mathematics education program. However, it must be noted that the candidate cannot be licensed in Illinois unless all professional education courses and courses required by the major are earned with a grade of C or better. Students receiving a general education waiver must complete all university requirements for graduation. Please see graduation requirements for more information.