Report of Regents Higher Education Committee to The Board of Regents

Regents Committee on Higher Education Members
Regent Ferrer, Co-Chair, Regent Rivera, Co-Chair, Vice Chancellor Chin, Regent Norwood, Regent Wills, Regent Catania, Regent Hale, Regent Pratts, Regent Krist, Regent Wiley

The Higher Education Committee held its scheduled meeting on January 12, 2026. All members were present except Regent Aramina Vega Ferrer and Regent Wade S. Norwood, who were excused. Chancellor Lester Young, Regent Roger Tilles, Regent Christine D. Cea, Regent Susan W. Mittler, Regent Shino Tanikawa, Regent Patrick A. Mannion, and Regent Felicia Thomas-Williams also attended the meeting.

MATTERS NOT REQUIRING BOARD ACTION

A Proposed Amendment of Section 52.21 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to Establishing a State-Level Program Review Process (HE (D) 1) - Department staff presented a proposed regulatory amendment to establish a state-level program review process for registered teacher preparation programs, ensuring that they are continually aligned with the pedagogical core requirements in the program registration regulations.

Section 52.21 of the Commissioner’s regulations sets forth the standards and expectations for all registered teacher preparation programs leading to classroom teacher certification. Currently, teacher preparation programs are reviewed by the Department at the time of initial registration and again only when a program undergoes a substantial change that meets a defined threshold. As a result, programs may go unreviewed for extended periods of time, limiting opportunities to verify alignment with the regulations, including those enacted after the program is registered to address emerging priorities.

To strengthen quality assurance of teacher preparation programs, the proposed amendment establishes a new program review process that would determine if the programs continue to meet the pedagogical core requirements, including clinical experiences, in section 52.21 of the Commissioner’s regulations.

Beginning September 1, 2027, this formal process would require institutions to submit information about their teacher preparation programs to the Department on a prescribed form. Additionally, Department staff would participate in the institutions’ accreditation site visit. The Department would then review information gathered through the submitted materials and site visit.

Deputy Commissioner William Murphy reviewed the items on the Consent Agenda.