Eligibility to Submit a New Educator Preparation Program First Requires Initial Institutional Approval if the institution is not yet Commission-approved.
*Note: PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction credential: The regulations for the PK-3 Early Childhood Education (ECE) Specialist Instruction credential were approved by the Office of Administrative Law on February 7, 2024, and will go into effect on April 1, 2024. Commission staff is working to update all related information across this site and continues to accept IPR Intent to Submit Forms and IPR program proposals for the PK-3 Early Childhood Education (ECE) credential. Please be sure to follow Evidence Requirement and IPR Submission Instructions carefully when preparing proposals. The estimated timeline for review and approval of PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction program proposals is six to twelve months from receipt of the program proposal and will vary depending on various factors such as those noted on this webpage.
Initial Program Approval Process for New Educator Preparation Programs
A Commission-approved institution seeking to add a new educator preparation program must do so through the Initial Program Review (IPR) process.The Initial Program Review process can take 6-12 months, or more, to complete depending on various factors including, but not limited to, availability of reviewers and Committee on Accreditation scheduled meetings.
This webpage page includes all the information required to prepare and submit an Initial Program Proposal for a new educator preparation program by a Commission-approved program sponsor.
Steps to Follow When Submitting a Program Proposal
Step 1: IPR Intent to Submit Form
Step 2: IPR Institutional Verification Form
Once IPR staff receives an institution’s IPR Intent to Submit Form, a confirmation email will be sent to the program contact(s) provided on the IPR Intent to Submit Form along with an IPR Institutional Verification Form. The IPR Institutional Verification Form must be signed by the Unit Head* and returned to the IPR team via email.
*The Unit Head is an individual whom the institution has granted the authority to manage the human and fiscal resources needed to meet all educator preparation program goals. The Unit Head is usually, but not always, limited to the dean at an IHE, or an associate superintendent/director of a local education agency.
Step 3: Preparing the IPR Proposal
Three IPR Proposal Components | Submission Requirements |
A. Preconditions |
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B. Common Standards During Initial Program Review, institutions are required to submit an Initial Program Common Standards response demonstrating how the proposed program will integrate into the existing education unit. Please note that the template includes some, but not all, of the elements from the full Common Standards. Please review the Submission Requirements as specific evidence is required for elements of the Common Standards. | |
C. Program Standards Required Exhibits and Elements The proposed program must address the full language of the program standards. Program Standards can be found on the Commission’s Program Standards webpage. Provide the required exhibits and elements addressing the full language of the Program Standards for the proposed program using the corresponding submission instructions: |
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Step 3a: Literacy Standard and TPEs:
At the October 2022 Commission meeting (Agenda Item 4A), the Commission took action to adopt a revised literacy program standard and Teaching Performance Expectations (TPEs) for Preliminary Multiple Subject, Single Subject, and Education Specialist programs. With the adoption of the literacy program standard and TPEs, the Commission also took action to require demonstration of alignment with the newly adopted literacy standard and TPEs prior to approval of new Preliminary Multiple Subject, Single Subject, and/or Education Specialist program(s). If you are planning to submit an IPR program proposal for one or more of these programs, please review the respective literacy standard evidence guide below to include information in your IPR proposal.
- Preliminary Multiple and Single Subject Program Standard 7: Effective Literacy Instruction for All Students Evidence Guide - Download template (Word)
- Course Matrices for Domains 1-7 available on Program Review page
- Preliminary Education Specialist: Mild to Moderate Support Needs and Extensive Support Needs Program Standard 7: Effective Literacy Instruction for Students with Disabilities Evidence Guide - Download template (Word)
- Course Matrices for Domains 1-7 available on Program Review page
- Course Matrices for Domains 1-7 available on Program Review page
Step 4: Submitting the IPR Proposal
IPR proposals are due on the date identified in the IPR Intent to Submit form. If the planned submission date for the proposal changes, please notify the IPR team by contacting IPR@ctc.ca.gov.
IPR proposals must be posted to the institution’s accreditation website. Institutions must test all links to make sure they are working. It is strongly suggested that the links be tested from outside your institution to ensure that they will work beyond your institution’s network. It is not acceptable to require reviewers to create or use personal email accounts for access. Reviewers must be able to access the proposal anonymously. To help protect the confidentiality of the review process, programs are encouraged to build a webpage organized with all required evidence that is accessible to reviewers without requiring login.
Please complete the IPR Proposal Submission Form on the IPR webpage to submit the IPR proposal. When completing the IPR Proposal Submission Form, please include a contact person in case there are technical issues. If it is absolutely necessary for the IPR proposal to be accessed via a login, please provide the login information when completing the form. Please test the username and password outside of your institution’s network to ensure accessibility.
Step 5: Submit Payment of Cost Recovery Fees
Review and Approval Process
Review Process
Once submitted, IPR proposals are checked by staff for completeness and accessibility. IPR proposals with missing exhibits and/or issues with access will be returned to the institution. All issues must be resolved before a review team is assigned.
After the IPR proposal is ready to continue in the review process, Commission staff will review the Preconditions and the Initial Program Common Standards Response and pairs of reviewers with program expertise are convened to review the exhibits and elements component. The program reviewers will review the exhibits and elements included in the IPR proposal and will provide feedback standard-by-standard. Reviewers will reach consensus as to whether each program standard is Aligned or Needs More Information and will indicate this in their feedback. If a standard is deemed to Need More Information, reviewers will provide guidance as to what additional information is required. Commission staff will review the feedback and forward the feedback to the program contact at the institution. If the reviewers have questions, or need additional information to complete their review, staff will contact the program sponsor for more information.
Institutions must provide additional information and documentation for any standards that the reviewers did not find to be Aligned. As with the review of the IPR Common Standards Response and relevant preconditions that are a part of the IPR proposal, this process is iterative until the reviewers find all program standards for the proposed program to be Aligned.
The review process can be quite lengthy, especially for lower incidence programs, as the review process depends entirely on the participation of volunteer experts from the field. As noted above, the typical time for programs to go through review and be approved can take at least 6-12 months from the time the IPR Team receives your IPR proposal. This timeline is dependent on the receipt of a IPR proposal that follows the IPR steps noted above as the review process could be delayed if the submission does not include direct links to evidence that are accessible without restrictions. The Commission asks that each institution, when completing the Intent to Submit form, identify one prospective reviewer for each proposed program to participate in the review of an IPR proposal to keep the review process moving as quickly as possible. It is highly recommended that institutions interested in the IPR process have their staff volunteer to review a proposal prior to submission of their own proposal in order to gain the most in-depth understanding of the entire IPR process.
Approval Process
Once the review process is completed, all proposal components (preconditions, common standards, program standard exhibits and elements) are found to be aligned, and cost-recovery fees are paid, formal action will be taken by the Committee on Accreditation (COA) at their next regularly scheduled meeting to approve or deny the program.
The final feedback forms must be added to the institution’s IPR proposal website with the IPR proposal no later than 10 days prior to the COA meeting for which the proposal is being considered. The COA agenda item will include a link to the institution’s IPR program proposal which will include all proposal components. The institution must make the IPR program proposal available and accessible for public view and COA approval.
During the COA meeting for which an institution’s program is placed on the agenda for approval, at least one representative from the proposed program must be available (either through technology or in-person) during the COA meeting in which the program is being recommended in order to answer any questions asked by the COA. If the COA takes action to approve the proposed program, the institution will be subsequently provided a letter from the Commission indicating that the program is approved. he proposed program must receive Initial Program Approval from the COA to begin operation.
Adding an Intern Pathway to an Existing Approved Program
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Contact Us
All correspondence and submissions must be emailed to IPR@ctc.ca.gov. Questions related to specific programs will be routed to the appropriate staff.
IPR Office Hours:
First and Third Wednesdays of the month from 11:00am – noon
Please visit the Accreditation Technical Assistance page for links.