Licensure Reciprocity: Colorado

Analysis of Colorado's policies

Colorado does not support licensure reciprocity for certified teachers from other states.

Regrettably, Colorado grants waivers for its licensing tests to out-of-state teachers who have three years of teaching experience.

Teachers with valid, comparable out-of-state certificates are eligible for Colorado's professional license, if "the standards for the issuance of such license or certificate meet or exceed the standards of the state board of education for the issuance of a professional teacher license."

Transcripts are required for all applicants; however, it is not clear whether the state analyzes these transcripts to determine whether a teacher was prepared through a traditional or alternate route or whether additional coursework will be required.

Colorado is also a participant in the NASDTEC Interstate Agreement; however, the latest iteration of this agreement no longer purports to be a reciprocity agreement among states and thus is no longer included in this analysis.

Citation

Colorado Revised Statute 22-60.5-201 Licensure Requirements for Out-of-State and Foreign Applicants www.cde.state.co.us/cdeprof/Licensure_outstate_faq.asp

Recommendations for Colorado

To uphold standards, require that teachers coming from other states meet testing requirements.
Colorado takes considerable risk by granting a waiver for its licensing tests to any out-of-state teacher who has three years of teaching experience. The state should not provide any waivers of its teacher tests unless an applicant can provide evidence of a passing score under its own standards. The negative impact on student learning stemming from a teacher's inadequate subject-matter knowledge is not mitigated by a teacher's having experience.

Offer a standard license to certified out-of-state teachers, absent unnecessary requirements.
Colorado should consider discontinuing its requirement for the submission of transcripts. Transcript analysis is likely to result in additional coursework requirements, even for traditionally prepared teachers; alternate route teachers, on the other hand, may have to virtually begin anew, repeating some, most or all of a teacher preparation program in Colorado. Regardless of whether a teacher was prepared through a traditional or alternate route, all certified out-of-state teachers should receive equal treatment.

State response to our analysis

Colorado asserted that all out-of-state applicants receive the same treatment for reciprocity, regardless of the method of training. The state added that teachers with no experience must demonstrate content knowledge, and this is easily completed through a transcript review or the appropriate content test.