Board of TeachingTeacher Support :

Minnesota Board of Teaching

The Board of Teaching, created in 1973, provides leadership for improvements in teacher education programs in order to assure that the state has well-qualified, professional teachers.

The Governor appoints eleven members to the Board of Teaching: six classroom teachers, one higher education faculty member, one school administrator and three members of the public, two of whom must have spent some time on a local school board. The board determines the standards and practices that will serve the state's teachers and teacher preparation institutions.  View the list of current board members.

Proposed Permanent Rules Relating to Paraprofessional Credential

In accordance with Minnesota Statutes section 120B.363 and Minnesota Session Laws 2007, the Board of Teaching has proposed Minnesota Rule 8710.9000 to establish a voluntary credential for Minnesota paraprofessionals. A Dual Notice was published in the January 25, 2010, edition of the Minnesota State Register.  View the Dual Notice and Proposed Rule.

Stand-alone Elementary Licenses

Application for stand-alone K-6 license: Individuals who can verify that they have successfully completed all K-6 licensure requirements and who have made at least one attempt at passing a specialty area test may apply for a stand-alone K-6 license beginning July 1, 2010. Read the complete memo on the BOT Website.

Free Mentor Training Opportunities

The Minnesota Board of Teaching awarded Alexandria School District 206 a mentor training grant to provide free training to other Minnesota districts. View the training topics and registration information.

Nonlicensed Community Expert and Waiver Requests

New forms for requesting Waivers and Nonlicensed Community Expert permissions are now available and MUST be used for requests for the 2009-2010 school year.  The new forms are located under Special Permissions. 

Teacher Discipline Inquiry System (TDIS)

A 2008 state law requires a school board or other school hiring authority to contact the Board of Teaching before hiring a new teacher to determine if disciplinary action has ever been taken against the individual.  The Teacher Discipline Inquiry System (TDIS) is an online search application created for this purpose.  Access the system by choosing the link at right.

Special Education Update

The work of Phases I, II, and III is complete and recommendations for new licensure rules in Special Education were presented to the Board of Teaching at their annual retreat in August.  A technical writing team is now finalizing the proposed licensure language so that the process of rulemaking may begin. The technical writing team has scheduled meetings on September 22, October 6, October 20, November 3, and December 1, 2009. All meetings are scheduled from 9:00 -11:30 at the Minnesota Department of Education and are open to the public  For additional information contact the Board of Teaching at board.teaching@state.mn.us or call Carol Knicker at 651-582-8885.