Information on Michigan academic standards and instructional resources.
Learn more about the MDE office responsible for providing leadership in curriculum and instruction that provides students with greater choices to prepare for success.
Resources for educator certification, recognition programs, evaluation, and workforce research.
The Equitable Services Ombudsman helps ensure equitable services for private school children, teachers, and other educational personnel.
Resources related to financial and pupil accounting and auditing.
Options available for Michigan students that provide unique learning opportunities.
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This MDE office provides resources and technical assistance in physical education, sex education, health education, behavioral, emotional, mental, and social education as well as safety, discipline, and transportation.
Resources for programs and initiatives that support school improvement efforts.
Resources for supporting special education in Michigan.
Michigan has an innovative and comprehensive system of assessments to measure student achievement in learning our state content standards.
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
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In 2018, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) implemented new Clinical Experiences Requirements for all state-approved teacher preparation programs to ensure that teacher candidates experience a clinically rich program of study that cohesively connects teacher preparation coursework to PK-12 students and schools.
Teacher candidates, regardless of specialty area or grade range, must engage in a minimum of 600 hours of clinical experiences across the span of their Michigan preparation programs, including the culminating internship (i.e., student teaching). Michigan educator preparation institutions are expected to collaborate with PK-12 schools, districts, and public school academies to co-construct these clinical experiences to provide extended opportunities for teacher candidates to engage directly with students.
Clinical experiences for teacher candidates occur in two phases, the Apprenticeship and the Internship. Experiences should occur throughout a preparation program from initial exploration through the culminating internship (commonly known as student teaching) and should involve gradually increasing candidate responsibility for planning and instruction over time. A minimum of 600 clinical hours must be incorporated across both phases including a minimum of 300 student contact hours within the student teaching internship.
Apprenticeship begins when initial teacher preparation coursework connects to opportunities for candidates to explore and observe various grade levels and content areas of interest with the goal of choosing certification programs in those that resonate the most. The Apprenticeship phase then moves to Student Contact Hours and requires incorporating more focused experiences that include time spent working directly with students and teachers in the grade band(s) and content area(s) of certification.
The Internship is a capstone experience for teacher candidates. Commonly referred to as “student teaching”, it is an extended, supervised field experience that requires a minimum of 300 Student Contact Hours. The Internship must include opportunities for co-teaching with a mentor and/or solo teaching. This involves the candidate planning or co-planning lessons, engaging learners, assessing student work, using data to plan subsequent lessons, and enacting authentic teaching experiences.
The Michigan Administrative Rules for Special Education (MARSE) specify endorsements in K-12 special education earned at the initial preparation level require a minimum of eight weeks (240 hours) during the Internship in the area of endorsement. This requirement can be satisfied within the 300 minimum hours of the Internship.
Additional grade band endorsements require documentation of 50 additional Student Contact Hours in the desired grade band to be completed late in the Apprenticeship or during the Internship.
MDE encourages PK-12 schools, districts, and public school academies to recognize teacher candidates in clinical experiences, particularly in the internship phase of their preparation, as a valuable resource to meet staffing needs. While local policies may vary, the Teacher Certification Code does not prohibit teacher candidates from being paid to serve as a substitute teacher or a teacher of record. Some EPPs employ a integrating teacher preparation with the PK-12 system through yearlong clinical practice that marries rigorous academic training and clinical training to better prepare teachers to impact student learning from day one.
Candidates serving as a substitute teacher or teacher of record must qualify for the appropriate permit to satisfy the legal obligation of MCL 380.1233 (1) for all teachers to possess a valid teaching certificate or substitute permit. All teacher candidates in the internship phase of preparation must receive the supports necessary to be successful, which, if the candidate is also serving as the teacher of record, includes legally required mentoring and induction activities. Please note, candidates serving as teacher of record are not eligible to receive the MI Future Educator Stipend.
Administrative Rule 390.1123(1)(b)(iv) allows providers to waive the student teaching internship requirement for candidates who have worked as a teacher for at least three (3) years. Based on regular observation by the employer and review by the educator preparation provider, the provider may substitute 3 years of teaching in an appropriate placement for the required student teaching internship for a Standard Teaching Certificate or endorsement.
Administrative Rule R 390.1111(2). All students in educational programs at any level and irrespective of their English language proficiency shall have fair access to opportunities to maximize their full development in a democratic society. Each educator preparation provider in this state shall provide prospective teachers access to theoretical knowledge and practical experiences supporting the vision and principles for universal education and for the appreciation, care, and respect needed to ensure fair opportunities regardless of the prospective educator’s individual identities, including identities based on ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, and visible or invisible disability status.
