This chapter applies to a comprehensive induction program for new teachers. The purpose of this regulation is to provide guidance for local school systems to establish a high quality induction program that addresses critical professional learning needs of new teachers, improves instructional quality, and helps inductees achieve success in their initial assignments, resulting in improved student learning and higher retention in the profession. Recognizing that “one-size-fits-all” induction programs do not meet the needs of new teachers, these regulations establish the components of an induction program, allowing local school systems to build on their current programs.
In this chapter, the following documents are incorporated by reference:
Standards for Professional Learning (Learning Forward, 2022);
InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards and Learning Progressions for Teachers 1.0 (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2013);
Social Justice Standards: The Teaching Tolerance Anti-Bias Framework (Southern Poverty Law Center, 2018);
International Society for Technology in Education Standards for Educators (International Society for Technology in Education, 2024); and
Model Code of Ethics for Educators (National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification, 2023).
In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated.
Terms Defined.
“Mentee” means a public school teacher who receives the services of a mentor.
“Mentor” means a highly competent teacher selected by the local school system who will work to instill in a mentee the skills and knowledge necessary for student success in accordance with Regulation .05 of this chapter.
“New teacher” means a teacher who is:
Professionally licensed and has less than three years of teaching experience; or
Holds a Conditional License or Resident Teacher License.
“Veteran teacher” means a professionally licensed teacher who is new to the local school system and has 3 or more years of teaching experience.
Each local school system shall establish and maintain a comprehensive induction program for all new teachers that is at least 3 years in duration.
Each local school system shall establish and maintain a comprehensive induction program for all veteran teachers that is at least 1 year in duration.
Each comprehensive induction program shall be designed with a coherent structure and consistent focus to ensure an integrated, seamless system of support for participating teachers and provide them with the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful in their classrooms and schools and prepare them to stay in the profession.
A comprehensive induction program may be developed and implemented in collaboration with an institution of higher education.
Each comprehensive induction program shall include:
An initial orientation;
Ongoing participation in an educator professional learning community;
A plan for professional licensure, if applicable;
Specialized professional learning on the knowledge and skills new educators need that is aligned with the Maryland-recognized professional learning standards incorporated by reference in Regulation .02 of this chapter;
Professional learning on State and local school system initiatives and priorities, including the teacher evaluation system, career ladder for educators, and the College and Career Readiness Standards;
Professional learning and support for working with students with disabilities, multi-lingual learners, and differentiating instruction;
Professional learning for using technology in education aligned with the International Society for Technology in Education Standards for Educators incorporated by reference in Regulation .02 of this chapter;
Review and assessment of the principles of the Model Code of Ethics for Educators incorporated by reference in Regulation .02 of this chapter;
Job-embedded individualized and differentiated mentoring;
Regularly scheduled opportunities for new teachers to observe and co-teach with skilled teachers, including follow-up discussions of the experiences;
Assistance for new teachers with planning instruction;
Observations of instruction with feedback;
Ongoing professional learning on the multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) framework to support all students; and
A schedule aligned to the Career Ladder for Educators established in Education Article, §6-1003, Annotated Code of Maryland.
Each local school system may identify a program coordinator who will plan and facilitate induction activities by:
Communicating with principals and other school leaders about induction activities;
Building and maintaining partnerships with local institutions of higher education to ensure a seamless transition from graduation to induction; and
Overseeing the evaluation of the comprehensive induction program.
The comprehensive induction program shall include ongoing professional learning for school leaders. Professional learning may address the following:
Retention strategies;
Creating the climate and systems for induction;
Working with mentors and new teachers; and
Aligning induction supports with local school system initiatives and strategies.
A local school system shall establish an instructional mentoring program as part of its Comprehensive Induction Program.
The mentoring program shall provide individualized, instruction-focused, job-embedded support and mentoring that begins when a teacher is hired into the local school system.
The mentoring program shall include standards for effective mentoring that are:
Focused;
Systematic;
Ongoing;
Of high quality;
Geared to the needs of each teacher; and
Include observations with feedback.
The mentoring program shall include mentoring activities related to the Five Core Propositions of National Board Certification focusing on planning, instructional practices, and analyzing student learning.
The mentoring program shall support new teachers in developing culturally relevant teaching practices for all students.
To the extent practicable given staffing and fiscal concerns, each new teacher shall receive at least 400 minutes of mentoring per marking period.
A local school system and new teacher may mutually agree to a reduction in mentoring minutes per marking period if the new teacher achieves a rating of effective, or comparable, on a year-end evaluation.
The reduction of mentoring minutes per marking period shall not be less than:
300 minutes per marking period in year two of induction; and
200 minutes per marking period in year three of induction.
Each local school system shall have a rigorous selection process for mentors that includes:
Assurance that the mentor holds:
A Professional or Advanced Professional License; and
At least an effective, or comparable, rating on the most recent local school system evaluation;
A recommendation from a school or district leader who previously or currently supervises the individual and can attest to their readiness for the mentor role; and
Once the Career Ladder is well established, prioritization of those teachers with a designation of Lead, Distinguished, or Professor Distinguished Teacher.
Each local school system shall establish a process for matching mentors and mentees that:
Correlates licensure areas or grade bands, with the prioritization of the licensure area when possible; and
Considers diversity markers to the extent practicable.
Local school systems shall provide initial and ongoing training for mentors that may include:
Mentoring language and stances;
Key practices of a mentor, including differentiation of support;
Adult learning practices;
Elements of instructional mentoring, such as observations, planning, and analyzing student work;
Reflection on mentoring practice and communities of practice;
Anti-bias pedagogy aligned with the Social Justice Standards incorporated by reference in Regulation .02 of this chapter; and
Identification and coordination of appropriate resources to address the performance needs of mentees.
A mentor in the comprehensive induction program may not participate in the formal evaluation of a mentee.
Local school systems shall evaluate the effectiveness of the comprehensive induction program.
Each local school system induction program shall develop a comprehensive evaluation plan that includes:
Mentee and mentor perception data of their overall induction experience;
Mentee experience data regarding their work with their mentor;
Mentor experience data regarding their work with their mentee;
Evidence of program components aligned to the:
Five Core Propositions of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, which are:
Teachers are committed to students and their learning;
Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students;
Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning;
Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience; and
Teachers are members of learning communities;
Model Code of Educator Ethics; and
InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards and Learning Progressions for Teachers 1.0;
Teacher growth data from the beginning to the end of the induction program as measured by the local school system teacher evaluation system;
Induction program participants' retention data; and
Evidence of the number of instructional-driven mentoring minutes every month.
Local school systems shall be in full compliance with this chapter by July 1, 2027.
Local school systems shall provide a report to the Department by July 1, 2027 that includes:
A description of the comprehensive induction program demonstrating compliance with this chapter; and
An evaluation plan that meets the requirements under Regulation .07 of this chapter.
Local school systems shall provide a report to the Department beginning July 1, 2029, and every 3 years thereafter, that includes:
Mentee and mentor data, including:
Mentee growth from the beginning to the end of the induction program;
Teacher retention;
The number of mentees participating in the comprehensive induction program;
The number of mentors assigned to teachers in the comprehensive induction program; and
The number of teachers who did not receive the minimum number of mentoring minutes per marking period under Regulation .05F of this chapter with an explanation of the reasons; and
The results of the evaluation of the comprehensive induction program developed under Regulation .06 of this chapter.
Education Article, §§2-205(c), 5-206-1, and 6-202(b), Annotated Code of Maryland
Effective date: November 26, 1968
Revised October, 1971; September 1, 1975
Amended effective July 1, 1974 (2:1 Md. R. 15) and August 18, 1976 (3:17 Md. R. 916)
Regulation .01G amended effective May 29, 1981 (8:11 Md. R. 975)
Regulation .01G amended as an emergency provision effective July 1, 1982 (9:13 Md. R. 1348); adopted permanently effective August 30, 1982 (9:17 Md. R. 1709)
Regulation .01N amended effective April 4, 1988 (15:7 Md. R. 852)
Regulation .01U adopted effective July 1, 1985 (12:4 Md. R. 360)
Regulation .01-1 adopted effective August 27, 1984 (11:17 Md. R. 1493)
Regulations .01 and .02A amended effective April 21, 1986 (13:8 Md. R. 903)
Regulation .02A amended effective October 6, 1986 (13:20 Md. R. 2211)
Regulations .02A; .06E; .08A-1, B, and E; and .09A, B, and R amended effective August 2, 1982 (9:15 Md. R. 1517)
Regulations .02B and .03C, .09DD-1 amended effective July 1, 1985 (12:13 Md. R. 1281)
Regulations .03C and .09A, B amended effective January 9, 1981 (8:1 Md. R. 20)
Regulation .04A amended effective May 10, 1982 (9:9 Md. R. 911)
Regulations .05; .06A, J; .07A; .08A; .09B-1, DD-1 adopted effective January 9, 1981 (8:1 Md. R. 20)
Regulations .06C, .07E and F amended, and .07G repealed effective August 27, 1984 (11:17 Md. R. 1493)
Regulations .06K and .07A-2 adopted and .07A-1 amended effective June 30, 1986 (13:13 Md. R. 1493)
Regulation .07H amended effective August 18, 1976 (3:17 Md. R. 916)
Regulation .08 amended effective October 6, 1986 (13:20 Md. R. 2212)
Regulation .09 amended effective October 6, 1986 (13:20 Md. R. 2212)
Regulation .09DD-1 amended as an emergency provision effective April 4, 1985 (12:9 Md. R. 807); adopted permanently effective July 1, 1985 (12:13 Md. R. 1281)
Regulation .09DD-1 amended effective January 27, 1986 (13:2 Md. R. 138)
Regulation .09N-1 adopted effective July 1, 1988 (15:5 Md. R. 622) (recodified from Regulation .09O)
Regulations .10—.17 adopted effective July 1, 1987 (14:7 Md. R. 833)
Note: At 15:16 Md. R. 1917 (July 29, 1989), Regulation .08 was amended effective July 1, 1989.
Chapter, Certification, repealed effective January 1, 1989 (15:26 Md. R. 2985)
Amendments to Regulation .08 were incorporated into a new chapter. See COMAR 13A.12.02.
Chapter, Teacher Mentoring Programs, adopted effective July 24, 2000 (27:14 Md. R. 1342)
Regulation .01 amended effective October 9, 2003 (30:19 Md. R. 1334)
Chapter, Teacher Mentoring Programs, repealed and new Chapter, Comprehensive Teacher Induction Program adopted effective August 9, 2010 (37:16 Md. R. 1060)
Regulation .04 amended effective August 22, 2011 (37:18 Md. R. 1013)
Regulation .05 amended effective August 22, 2011 (37:18 Md. R. 1013)
Regulation .06B, F amended effective August 22, 2011 (37:18 Md. R. 1013)
Regulation .07 amended effective August 22, 2011 (37:18 Md. R. 1013)
Regulation .09 adopted effective August 22, 2011 (37:18 Md. R. 1013)
Chapter revised effective November 24, 2025 (52:23 Md. R. 1140)