Licensure Reciprocity: Maine

Analysis of Maine's policies

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

Although Maine grants waivers to out-of-state teachers for its basic skills and pedagogy tests, it is not clear whether the state requires applicants to meet its standards regarding subject-matter testing.

Teachers with comparable out-of-state certificates are eligible for Maine's professional certificate. Applicants must meet the state's recency requirement of at least five years of experience in the last seven years. Also, because transcripts are required for all applicants, and the "Department will analyze each complete application and provide the applicant with a written statement of any remaining eligibility requirements and the timeframe in which each shall be completed," it appears that out-of-state teachers are subject to transcript analysis. States that reach a determination about an applicant's licensure status on the basis of the course titles listed on the applicant's transcript may end up mistakenly equating the amount of required coursework with the teacher's qualifications.

Maine 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

Maine State Board of Education, 05-071, Chapter 115, Section 5.2

Recommendations for Maine

To uphold standards, require that teachers coming from other states meet testing requirements.
Maine should not provide any waivers of its teacher tests unless an applicant can provide evidence of a passing score under its own standards.

Offer a standard license to certified out-of-state teachers, absent unnecessary requirements.
Maine should reconsider its recency requirement regarding experience, as it may deter talented teachers from applying for certification. Transcript reviews are not a particularly meaningful or efficient exercise, and the state should consider discontinuing its requirement for the submission of transcripts for all teachers. 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 Maine.

Accord the same license to out-of-state alternate route teachers as would be accorded to traditionally prepared teachers.
Regardless of whether a teacher was prepared through a traditional or alternate route, all certified out-of-state teachers should receive equal treatment. State policies that discriminate against teachers who were prepared in an alternate route are not supported by evidence. In fact, a substantial body of research has failed to discern differences in effectiveness between alternate and traditional route teachers.

State response to our analysis

Maine asserted that all teachers entering the state must meet its subject-matter test requirements. It added that all out-of-state teachers must also meet the requirement for "teaching the exceptional child in the regular classroom" within a specified period, or upon renewal of the first professional certificate.

Last word

The state should clearly articulate its testing requirements for out-of-state teachers in the code.