FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
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STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Dr. Eric J. Smith
Commissioner of Education
T. WILLARD FAIR,
Chairman
Members
DONNA G. CALLAWAY
DR. AKSHAY DESAI
ROBERTO MARTÍNEZ
PHOEBE RAULERSON
KATHLEEN SHANAHAN
LINDA K. TAYLOR
Contact Person:
Beverly Gregory
850.245.0431
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MEMORANDUM
Beverly.gregory@fldoe.org
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K-12 2008-30
TO:
District School Superintendents
District Certification Officers
FROM:
Dr. Frances Haithcock
DATE:
March 11, 2008
SUBJECT:
Approval of Amendments to Foreign Language Rule 6A-4.0243, FAC.
I am pleased to announce that the State Board of Education approved at the February 2008
meeting amendments to the foreign language certification subject specialization rule. A copy of
the amended text of the rule is attached. Changes were made that expand the foreign languages
for which certification is offered. A new option for meeting the subject specialization
requirements for foreign language for which there are no Florida developed subject area tests
was added. These changes are explained below.
New Foreign Languages:
Four new languages were added. The languages are Arabic, Farsi, Haitian Creole, and Hindi.
Also, technical changes were made to use the more appropriate terminology “world languages”
rather than “modern languages.”
New Option to Satisfy Subject Specialization Requirements:
The new option for meeting the foreign language subject specialization is a bachelor’s or higher
degree and official documentation of a score earned above the intermediate level on both the oral
proficiency interview and the written proficiency test administered by the American Council on
DR. FRANCES HAITHCOCK
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CHANCELLOR, K-12 PUBLIC SCHOOLS
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325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 514 • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 245-0509 • www.fldoe.org
District School Superintendents
March 11, 2008
Page Two
the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) in the foreign language. The exceptions are
French, Spanish, Latin, and German for which there are Florida developed subject area
examinations. The oral proficiency interview is currently offered in the following foreign
languages for which certification is available in Florida: Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Haitian Creole,
Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Russian. The written proficiency test is
available for the same languages except Hebrew, Farsi, and Hindi. ACTFL will be developing
written proficiency tests in those three languages in the near future.
It is most important that you understand that the ACTFL certification specialization option does
not satisfy the subject mastery requirement of section 1012.56(4) for the Professional Certificate.
It will still be necessary that the district superintendent or the chief administrative officer of a
state-supported or private school verify the essential subject matter competencies for which there
is no Florida subject area test via completion of Form CT-114. It has been determined that the
superintendent or chief administrative officer may verify subject matter competence for the
teacher even though the teacher may not be teaching the language at the time.
As soon as it is established, you will be notified of the effective date of the rule. It is anticipated
the ACTFL will provide a secure web site for the Bureau of Educator Certification to verify
scores. However, the details of implementation of the new option and acceptable documentation
of passing scores are being developed and will be distributed to all certification partners as soon
as the details are finalized. You may view more information about ACTFL and the language
testing programs at these web links: http://www.actfl.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3642
http://www.languagetesting.com/about_lti.htm
http://www.languagetesting.com/corp opi.htm
FH/bg
Attachment
