Indiana Licensure in Exceptional Needs: Intense Intervention K-12

The Intense Intervention K-12 teaching license program, also approved by the Indiana Department of Education Office of Educator Licensing and Development, includes successful completion of 15 credit hours of coursework.

Candidates for this program must first be licensed in Mild Intervention K-12. Candidates who are not licensed in Mild Intervention K-12 have the option of taking the following coursework (or their equivalents) in addition to the 15 hours required for Intense Intervention:

1. EDPS 591A Integrating Students with Special Needs
2. EDPS 563 Identification, Evaluation, and Assessment of Individuals with Exceptionalities
3. EDPS 591D Applied Behavior Analysis for Teachers
4. EDPS 664B Seminar in Special Education: Collaboration

These courses, combined with the Intense Intervention courses, will assure that candidates have met Indiana standards for teachers of students with exceptional needs.

Licensure in Intense Intervention is a cohort program, which begins each Spring semester in January.

In response to the federal mandate for “highly qualified” teachers of students with special needs, required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act and the No Child Left Behind Act, Purdue Calumet special education licensure programs do not “stand alone;” only candidates holding a valid teaching license are admitted.

Curriculum and Assessment

Standards-Based Curriculum

Candidates seeking the Intense Intervention K-12 license demonstrate mastery of the Indiana Department of Education standards for Teachers of Students with Exceptional Needs and Graduate Studies in Education Standards. Syllabi reflect these standards and include key assignments to be submitted through TaskStream, an online assessment system.

TaskStream is a program evaluation tool which supports accreditation documentation and encourages candidates to create an electronic portfolio. Whether you create a portfolio is optional; however, as a candidate for licensure, you will be required to use the system to submit specific artifacts (assignments) in your courses, as directed by your instructors. A TaskStream account costs $75, which is good for two years, with an option for renewal. To get an account, please make arrangements to see Virginia Rhodes (rhodesv@calumet.purdue.edu or 989-2326) in the Graduate Studies in Education office (ANNX-122).

Candidates may also complete a Master of Science in Special Education, which requires additional courses.

Performance-Based Assessment

Course syllabi contain one or more assignments which are scored using a rubric that documents successful performance on the State standards toward licensure. These artifacts include papers, projects, computer-based teaching materials, videotaped instruction, K-12 student products, and evidence of reflective practice.

Unit Assessment System (Gates)

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and the Indiana Office of Educator Licensing and Development require that a unit assessment system provides for a data driven monitoring system for all candidates. Our unit assessment system includes three gates through which the candidates must successfully pass to enter, move forward in, and complete, the licensing program.

Admission, Retention, and Completion

Admission (Gate 1)

This is a cohort program, with a new group of candidates being admitted each spring. To be formally admitted to the program, candidates are expected to:

1. hold a mild intervention teaching license or a valid teaching license with an agreement to complete additional courses in supported inclusive education, assessment, applied behavior analysis, and collaboration;
2. be admitted to the School of Education’s Department of Graduate Studies in Education (please see Entering Our Programs); and
3. submit an application for admission to the licensure program to Tom Mihail, Chair of Special Education (available at http://www.calumet.purdue.edu/education/grad/spedforms/mildapp.pdf).

Retention (Gate 2)

Once admitted, in order to continue in the program, the candidate must meet the following requirements, which are evaluated at the halfway point of each candidate’s licensure program (completion of five specific courses):

1. maintain a minimum 3.0 (B) grade point average; and
2. earn a minimum 2.0 (competent) average e-portfolio score (rubric scores are 3 = exemplary; 2 = competent; 1 = developing; 0=unacceptable).

Completion of Program / Approval for Licensure (Gate 3)

To be recommended to the State of Indiana for Intense Intervention K-12 Licensure, the candidate must meet the following requirements:

1. successfully complete all required coursework;
2. successfully complete supervised teaching or internship in special education;
3. achieve a minimum 3.0 (B) grade point average; and
4. achieve a minimum 2.0 (competent) average e-portfolio score, providing evidence of professional performance on criteria associated with

• Department of Graduate Studies in Education Standards and
• Indiana Department of Education standards for Teachers of Students with Exceptional Needs: Intense Intervention.

When program requirements are met, the candidate contacts Kim Wasniak, our Licensing Advisor (edlicensing@calumet.purdue.edu or 219-989-2335), for support and assistance with the licensure application process.

Coursework meets Indiana licensure requirements. Candidates seeking licensure in another state are advised to check with that state for requirements.

License in Exceptional Needs: Intense Intervention (K-12): The Courses

* Practicum in Special Education is a student teaching-like field experience.
** Internship in Special Education is the field experience option for teachers employed in intense intervention positions on emergency permits. It is completed in their own employment settings, settings, where they are observed, mentored, and evaluated by a university supervisor while “on the job.” Written assignments are also required.

SUMMARY: FIVE COURSES (15-16 CREDIT HOURS)

Indiana requires cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certification for licensure.

Graduate courses above may also be counted toward the Master of Science in Special Education, a 33 credit hour program.