Policy Regarding Releasing a Student Teacher for Full-Time Employment

The College of Education faculty has determined that clinical teaching is a critical component and the culminating experience of educator preparation. Therefore, the COE has established the following standards for releasing a teacher candidate for full-time employment at the request of a school district:

1. The teacher candidate must have completed a minimum of fourteen weeks in the clinical teaching assignment.
2. The request must originate from the district where the teacher candidate is completing clinical teaching.
3. A committee consisting of the following individuals will be involved in determining if the teacher candidate will be permitted to sign a contract with the school district to be placed in a classroom as a regular teacher: Director of Field Experience, DBU's supervising professor(s), Dean of the College of Education.
4. The committee will only consider releasing candidates for full-time employment who have had extensive prior teaching experience (e.g., individuals who have taught in a private setting for several years and have excellent supervisor references).

Policy Violations

Should a teacher candidate elect to ignore these guidelines, the teacher candidate shall be withdrawn from clinical teaching and thus not be eligible to receive a teaching certificate from the state with the approval of the College of Education at DBU.

In addition, this would prevent an undergraduate teacher candidate from receiving a degree unless a General Studies degree requirement could be met without the six hours of student teaching.