1. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a Commissioner-approved educator preparation program shall not restrict the number of semester-hour credits of professional education coursework completed at an accredited county college that may be accepted toward meeting the requirements for teacher certification, except as may be otherwise required by the program's accrediting organization.
b. As used in this section, "professional education coursework" means coursework required to obtain teacher certification, including courses in child development, language development, curriculum development, and methods of instruction.