Non-Licensed Community Expert (NLCE): A special permission granted to a school district to hire an individual who is not a licensed teacher, but has a specific area of expertise related to the teaching assignment. A bachelor’s degree is not required. Used in circumstances for when a teaching license does not exist, or when used to fill a teaching vacancy when no fully licensed teacher is available. NLCE may be renewed annually with no limit on the number of years.
An Overview of Minnesota Educator Licenses and Special Permissions
Lakes International Language Academy is a public charter school in Forest Lake, Minnesota. During the 2017 – 2018 academic school year Lakes International sponsored 27 H1-B visas for its teaching staff. In 2016 Lakes International requested special permissions to hire the following non-licensed community experts.
| Name | Language | File Folder No. | | | | |
| 1 | Eva Domingo Escarmis | Spanish | 996383 | Detail | NLCE | H-1B | Spain |
| 2 | Maria Teresa Sese Garcia | Spanish | 996384 | Detail | NLCE | H-1B | Spain |
| 3 | Maria Isabel Clua Ruiz | Spanish | 996385 | Detail | NLCE | H-1B | Spain |
| 4 | Diana Martin del Yerro | Spanish | 996387 | Detail | NLCE | H-1B | Spain |
| 5 | Monica Linares Martin | Spanish | 996395 | Detail | NLCE | H-1B | Spain |
| 6 | Joana Pasco Albesa | Spanish | 996396 | Detail | NLCE | H-1B | Spain |
| 7 | Juan Tabanera Llorente | Spanish | 996399 | Detail | NLCE | H-1B | Spain |
| 8 | Mengying Zhao | Chinese | 996434 | Detail | NLCE | H-1B | China |
| 9 | Chenglu Dai | Chinese | 996455 | Detail | NLCE | H-1B | China |
| 10 | Marina Ortega | Spanish | 997474 | Detail | NLCE | H-1B | Spain |
| 11 | Juan Carlos Velasco Lucas | Spanish | 996382 | Detail | | H-1B | Spain |
The Board of Teaching (BOT) granted each of the above listed individuals with 3-year non-licensed community expert special permissions. I cannot find any examples where 3-year special permissions were ever granted to individuals who are lawfully authorized to work in the United States. I suspect the 3-year special permissions were granted because the H-1B visas for the temporary, non-immigrants workers at Lakes International are all for 3 years.
While PELSB provided the approved NLCE applications for the 2016 – 2017 academic school year, they don’t have NLCE applications on file for the 2017 – 2018 school year or the current 2018 - 2019 school year. Normally a NLCE application must be submitted for each year for board approval. PELSB maintains the 2016-2017 approved application is sufficient for all three years through 2019.
According to the Evaluation Report on Minnesota Teacher Licensure published by State of Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor in March 2016, “Special permission are valid for no more than one school and expire at the end of the school for which they are issued.”
Below is the response I received on May 23, 2018 from Judy Randall, Deputy Legislative Auditor, Office of the Legislative Auditor:
Ms. Ueki,
We are unable to comment on the specific details in your e-mail.
However, I will direct you to Exhibit 2.2 on page 20 of our Minnesota Teacher Licensure evaluation. Footnote “a” of the exhibit states that special permissions—including nonlicensed community expert permissions—are “valid for no more than one school year and expire at the end of the school year for which they are issued.” Please note that this statement was accurate when the report was released in March 2016. If Board policies have changed since the report was released, this statement may no longer be accurate.
Judy Randall | Deputy Legislative Auditor | Office of the Legislative Auditor | Program Evaluation Division
140 Centennial Building, 658 Cedar Street, St. Paul, MN 55155 | 651-296-1227 | Fax: 651-296-4712
Office of the Legislative Auditor
I also contacted Education Minnesota regarding this issue and Sara Ford responded by stating, “I have not been successful in finding out how 3-year non-licensed community expert permissions were granted. We were there for that meeting and have both our own notes and the official minutes, but those permission requests were not pulled off of the consent agenda for discussion, and so we had no way of knowing they were being considered or approved. Before your emails, I had never heard of a 3-year permission of that type.”
All of the published information I have ever seen on this topic states an annual NLCE application must be filed and approved by the MN Board of Teaching before a non-licensed individual can begin teaching in a MN public classroom. In fact, on the old NLCE application it clearly stated:
GENERAL INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS: Minnesota Statute §122A.25 permits the Board of Teaching to allow school districts and charter schools to hire nonlicensed community experts to teach on a limited basis. THIS REQUEST MUST BE APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF TEACHING PRIOR TO THE INDIVIDUAL BEGINS TO TEACH. By issuing this, the Board takes no position on whether this individual meets the state’s definition of “highly qualified.” Meeting the requirement for “highly qualified” is a separate issue and must be determined according to MDE guidelines. Also, the permission is only valid in the school district that requested the Nonlicensed Community Expert.
The following response was received from PELSB in September 2018:
These NLCE licenses were granted by the Board of Teaching, which is no longer operating. Being that this was a decision made by a previous agency, PELSB does not have much information about the decision-making processes behind granting the licenses for three years. The limited notes that PELSB has about the decisions suggest that the Board of Teaching used their statutory authority to grant the licenses for a longer period of time because the annual renewals were creating financial hardships for school districts. Specifically, there appeared to be several visa-related issues and costs for school districts when it came to these NLCE applicants.
In the future, NLCE licenses will no longer be available and have been be replaced by the Tier 1 license. Under state law, Tier 1 licenses are limited to one year and can be renewed up to three times, although there are some conditions for additional renewals. As a result, PELSB will not be issuing any extended NLCE licenses lasting for three years.
Heather Ward
Education Specialist
Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board
Roseville, MN 55113-4055
While the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board has stated it will not be granting NLCE licenses, it did state that Tier 1 license holder may apply beyond three years.
Casey Carmody, Communication Specialist, explained:
Minn. Stat. 122A.181, subd. 3(c) limits the number of Tier 1 license renewals to three, but, as you note, there are conditions in which a Tier 1 license holder may apply for additional renewals beyond three.
The statute provides three conditions that may possibly permit a Tier 1 license to be renewed more than three times:
· “[T]he requesting district or charter school can show good cause for additional renewals.”
o “Good cause for additional renewals” will be defined in the administrative rules governing tiered teacher licensure. At the moment, the rule remains in draft form and has not yet been adopted by the Board. The Board has been working on the administrative rules for several months, and the work is nearing completion. PELSB hopes to have the rules in place by mid to late October.
o According to the draft rules, “good cause” means “(1) the applicant is unable to meet the requirements of a higher licensure tier due to a lack of a board-approved teacher preparation program in the licensure-area; (2) the position is a full-time equivalency of 0.1 or less; or (3) the applicant demonstrates to the board barriers to reaching a higher licensure tier. Barriers may include but are not limited to financial burdens to obtaining a higher tiered license, inability to pass licensure exams, or lack of geographic proximity to teacher preparation program.” (See paragraphs 2.1 – 2.9.)
· The Tier 1 license was issued to teach in “a class or course in a career and technical education or career pathway course of study.”
· The Tier 1 license was issued to teach “in a shortage area, as defined in section 122A.06, subdivision 6.”
o Minn. Stat. 122A.06, subd. 6 defines shortage area as: “(1) licensure fields and economic development regions reported by the commissioner of education or the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board as experiencing a teacher shortage; and (2) economic development regions where there is a shortage of licensed teachers who reflect the racial or ethnic diversity of students in the region.”
I hope that provides some clarification regarding your question. Please feel free to let me know if you have any additional questions.
Casey
Casey Carmody
Communications Specialist
Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board
1500 Highway 36 West, Suite 300
Roseville, MN 55113
The Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB), however, maintains that they had the statutory authority to issue three-year NLCE permissions. In fact, they believe they had the authority to issue an NLCE permission for as long as they wished. Below is a recent response from a PELSB staff member:
"In Ms. Ward’s response to you, she noted that the BOT granted the NLCE permissions for three years under its statutory authority. The statutory authority she was specifically referring to was the BOT’s ability to issue NLCE permissions under Minn. Stat. 122A.25. From my understanding, BOT regularly issued NLCE permissions for one year. This one-year limit was based on BOT policy, not on statutory requirements. The text of Minn. Stat. 122A.25 places no limitation for how long a NLCE permission could last, meaning that BOT had the authority to issue an NLCE permission for as long as it saw fit."
License 997474 Detail
License Information
Issued To: MARINA ORTEGA
File Folder Number: 997474
Special Permission Detail
District
|
Approval Type
|
Date Approved
|
Begin Date
|
End Date
|
Function Code
|
Function Description
|
Student Level
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
05/13/2016
|
05/13/2016
|
06/30/2019
|
180100
|
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
|
K-6
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
05/13/2016
|
05/13/2016
|
06/30/2019
|
180100
|
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
|
K-6
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
05/13/2016
|
05/13/2016
|
06/30/2019
|
180100
|
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
|
K-6
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
08/17/2015
|
08/21/2015
|
06/13/2016
|
180100
|
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
|
K-6
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
09/15/2014
|
09/02/2014
|
06/19/2015
|
180100
|
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
|
K-6
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
06/17/2013
|
09/03/2013
|
06/13/2014
|
180100
|
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
|
K-6
|
No Historical Application Detail Found
License 996455 Detail
License Information
Issued To: CHENGLU DAI
File Folder Number: 996455
Special Permission Detail
District
|
Approval Type
|
Date Approved
|
Begin Date
|
End Date
|
Function Code
|
Function Description
|
Student Level
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
05/13/2016
|
05/13/2016
|
06/30/2019
|
110000
|
MATHEMATICS
|
5-12
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
05/13/2016
|
05/13/2016
|
06/30/2019
|
060203
|
CHINESE
|
K-12
|
No Historical Application Detail Found
| Name | Language | File Folder No. | | | | | Approval Date |
| Mengying Zhao | Chinese | 996434 | Detail | NLCE | H-1B | China | 7/18/2018 |
License 996434 Detail
License Information
Issued To: MENGYING ZHAO
File Folder Number: 996434
Special Permission Detail
District
|
Approval Type
|
Date Approved
|
Begin Date
|
End Date
|
Function Code
|
Function Description
|
Student Level
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
07/18/2016
|
07/18/2016
|
06/30/2019
|
180100
|
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
|
K-6
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
07/18/2016
|
07/18/2016
|
06/30/2019
|
180100
|
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
|
K-6
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
07/18/2016
|
07/18/2016
|
06/30/2019
|
180100
|
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
|
K-6
|
License 996383 Detail
License Information
Issued To: EVA DOMINGO ESCARMIS
File Folder Number: 996383
Special Permission Detail
District
|
Approval Type
|
Date Approved
|
Begin Date
|
End Date
|
Function Code
|
Function Description
|
Student Level
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
08/12/2016
|
08/12/2016
|
06/30/2019
|
190201
|
LEARNING DISABILITIES
|
K-12
|
No Historical Application Detail Found
License 996384 Detail
License Information
Issued To: MARIA TERESA SESE GARCIA
File Folder Number: 996384
Special Permission Detail
District
|
Approval Type
|
Date Approved
|
Begin Date
|
End Date
|
Function Code
|
Function Description
|
Student Level
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
08/12/2016
|
08/12/2016
|
06/30/2019
|
130600
|
SCIENCE 5-8
|
5-8
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
08/12/2016
|
08/12/2016
|
06/30/2019
|
130301
|
CHEMISTRY
|
9-12
|
No Historical Application Detail Found
License 996385 Detail
License Information
Issued To: MARIA I CLUA RUIZ
File Folder Number: 996385
Special Permission Detail
District
|
Approval Type
|
Date Approved
|
Begin Date
|
End Date
|
Function Code
|
Function Description
|
Student Level
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
08/12/2016
|
08/12/2016
|
06/30/2019
|
180100
|
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
|
K-6
|
No Historical Application Detail Found
License 996387 Detail
License Information
Issued To: DIANA MARTIN DEL YERRO
File Folder Number: 996387
Special Permission Detail
District
|
Approval Type
|
Date Approved
|
Begin Date
|
End Date
|
Function Code
|
Function Description
|
Student Level
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
08/12/2016
|
08/12/2016
|
06/30/2019
|
180100
|
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
|
K-6
|
No Historical Application Detail Found
License 996395 Detail
License Information
Issued To: MONICA LINARES MARTIN
File Folder Number: 996395
Special Permission Detail
District
|
Approval Type
|
Date Approved
|
Begin Date
|
End Date
|
Function Code
|
Function Description
|
Student Level
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
08/12/2016
|
08/12/2016
|
06/30/2019
|
180100
|
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
|
K-6
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
08/12/2016
|
08/12/2016
|
06/30/2019
|
180100
|
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
|
K-6
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
08/12/2016
|
08/12/2016
|
06/30/2019
|
180100
|
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
|
K-6
|
No Historical Application Detail Found
License 996396 Detail
License Information
Issued To: JOANA PASCO ALBESA
File Folder Number: 996396
Special Permission Detail
District
|
Approval Type
|
Date Approved
|
Begin Date
|
End Date
|
Function Code
|
Function Description
|
Student Level
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
08/12/2016
|
08/12/2016
|
06/30/2019
|
180105
|
PRE-PRIMARY
|
AGE 3-K
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
08/12/2016
|
08/12/2016
|
06/30/2019
|
180105
|
PRE-PRIMARY
|
AGE 3-K
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
08/12/2016
|
08/12/2016
|
06/30/2019
|
180105
|
PRE-PRIMARY
|
AGE 3-K
|
No Historical Application Detail Found
License 996399 Detail
License Information
Issued To: JUAN TABANERA LLORENTE
File Folder Number: 996399
Special Permission Detail
No Historical Application Detail Found
License 996382 Detail
License Information
Issued To: JUAN CARLOS VELASCO LUCAS
File Folder Number: 996382
Special Permission Detail
District
|
Approval Type
|
Date Approved
|
Begin Date
|
End Date
|
Function Code
|
Function Description
|
Student Level
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
08/12/2016
|
08/12/2016
|
06/30/2019
|
130600
|
SCIENCE 5-8
|
5-8
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
08/12/2016
|
08/12/2016
|
06/30/2019
|
130302
|
PHYSICS
|
9-12
|
4116-07
|
Community Expert
|
08/12/2016
|
08/12/2016
|
06/30/2019
|
130301
|
CHEMISTRY
|
9-12
|
No Historical Application Detail Found
