Questions and Answers
To: | District Superintendents; Superintendents of Public Schools; Superintendents of State-Operated and State-Supported Schools; School Personnel Administrators; New York State Council of School Superintendents (NYSCOSS); School Administrators Association of New York State (SAANYS); New York State United Teachers; New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA); Big 5 Conference; Other Interested Parties |
From: | Johanna Duncan-Poitier, Senior Deputy Commissioner of P16: Office of Elementary, Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education and Office of Higher Education |
Date: | May 6, 2009 |
Subject: | Tenure for Teachers in Instructional Support Service Positions, Attachment B: Questions & Answers |
Tenure for Teachers in Instructional Support Service Positions (81KB) |
Attachment B: Questions & Answers
WHAT ARE INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT SERVICES?
Q: What types of duties are included in the designation “instructional
support services"?
A: Instructional support services are those services that provide
support to school personnel through training workshops, study groups, demonstration
lessons, mentoring, modeling of instruction, presiding over CSE/CPSE meetings
and related functions, coaching, and similar services. They include providing
technical assistance on the development, delivery, and assessment of programs
in specific content areas; providing information on best practices and current
research; making curriculum resources available; supporting a culture of
reflective practice; assisting teachers in analyzing student performance
data; providing technical assistance on technology tools to extend and support
student learning, and a host of other such services. Job titles vary widely
and include, but are not limited to, teacher trainer, curriculum development
specialist, subject coach, professional development specialist, and CSE/CPSE
chairpersons.
Q: The definition of instructional support services includes providing
“technical assistance on technology tools to extend and support student
learning". Does this include anyone with technical expertise in computers
who helps teachers?
A: No. It is not the technical expertise alone that is important.
To be considered an instructional support service position, the duties must
be focused on teaching classroom teachers how technology tools may be integrated
into the teacher’s instructional practices to improve student learning.
A teacher assisting K-12 students in using technology tools as part of the
student’s classroom work would also be performing instructional support
services duties.
WHO IS COVERED BY THE NEW RULE / REGULATION?
Q: Who is covered by the new rule/regulation?
A: Individuals employed by a school district or BOCES as of 5/1/09
who have been performing instructional support services, as well as individuals
hired or assigned to perform instructional support services after 5/1/09,
are affected by the Regents action. The chart in Attachment A to this field
guidance memo explains how individuals in these two major categories are
affected.
Q: Does a job title or job duties dictate whether an individual
is providing instructional support services and covered by the rule/regulation
adopted by the Regents in April?
A: The job duties, rather than the job title, are the operative
factor in determining whether a teacher is performing instructional support
services as defined in the emergency rule/regulation.
Q: If a teacher who previously spent a substantial portion of time
performing instructional support services has since left employment in
our district, are they covered by this action? Are they entitled to any
consideration for past service in terms of tenure and seniority?
A: No, individuals must be employed as of May 1, 2009, in order
to be covered by the grandparenting provisions of the rule/regulation adopted
by the Regents in April.
Q: Our school district has an “attendance reporting" position that
does not require the expertise of a teacher with School Attendance Teacher
certification. Does this position now fall under these new requirements
and must we employ a certified teacher regardless?
A: No, if the duties of this “attendance reporting" position are
not included in the definition of instructional support, and it `does not
require a teaching certificate, it is not an instructional support position
covered by these new rules. The position should be designated as a civil
service position.
Q: In some districts, the chairperson of the Committee on Special
Education is designated as an administrative position; in other districts,
it is designated as a teacher position. Is this allowable and is the position
of CSE and/or CPSE chairperson affected by these new rules?
A: Yes, this is allowable. Administrators may perform instructional
support tasks appropriate to their positions, such as serving as CSE and/or
CPSE chairperson, and consistent with Section 200.3(a)(1) of Commissioner’s
Regulations. In districts in which the CSE and/or CPSE chairperson is not
an administrative position, a teacher may perform this function, again consistent
with the regulation cited above, and these duties would be considered to
be instructional support.
Q: We have teachers on special assignment (TOSAs) who work in our
vocational program as work study coordinators and who hold an extension
as a work study coordinator. Should these teachers be treated in the same
manner as other teachers?
A: Yes, these teachers accrue seniority in the tenure area of their
base teaching certificate, not their extension area. This extension is provided
for teachers to work with students in apprenticeship or internship situations.
Accordingly, duties consistent with this extension are not considered to
be instructional support.
Q: Could the position “deans of students" be considered instructional
support?
A: It is important to look at the duties rather than the title
of the position. The position of “dean of students" may cover a variety
of duties and these may vary widely from district to district. Duties such
as providing assistance to teachers in student management and professional
support to teachers may fall within the definition of instructional support
services.
Q: A teacher who had been providing instructional support services
(and not accruing seniority in an authorized tenure area) was laid off
prior to this Regents action. Does this teacher have any rights under
the new rule/regulation to seniority in a proper tenure area and/or bumping
rights for this past service?
A: No, individuals must be employed as of May 1, 2009, in order
to be covered by the provisions of the emergency rule/regulation adopted
by the Regents in April.
WHO IS COVERED UNDER THE “GRANDPARENTING" PROVISION?
Q: Is any minimum percent of service in instructional support services
required to be eligible for the grandparenting provisions of the new rule/regulation?
A: Yes, in order to receive seniority credit in a tenure area under
the grandparenting provisions of the rule/ regulation, a teacher must be
devoting at least 40% of his/her time to instructional support services
or to a combination of duties in instructional support services and duties
in the designated tenure area.
For example, a teacher certified in Mathematics 7-12 and tenured in Mathematics who teaches one class of Math in grade 9 for 20% of his worktime and serves as a Math coach for 20% of his time would satisfy the requirement of working at least 40% of his time in the Math tenure area and, therefore, would be eligible to earn seniority in that area.
Q: Can a teacher performing instructional support services at least
40% of her time earn seniority for this service even if she engages in
other activities or provides services to other groups such as students
and parents?
A: Yes, if the time she spends performing instructional support
duties (combined with any time she may spend teaching in her designated
tenure area) amounts to 40% or more of her work time, she will earn seniority
credit for the combined service. She may perform other duties including
services to other groups such as students and parents for the remaining
portion of her work time.
Q: If a school district assigned a teacher to perform full-time
duties in the area of instructional support, but appointed that teacher
to one of the administrative tenure areas and did not require an administrator’s
certificate, how is that teacher affected by these new rules?
A: This is an instance of assigning a teacher to an improper tenure
area. Teachers who are employed in a school district as of May 1, 2009 who
were assigned to an improper or
nonexistent tenure area, would have their past and future service
applied to a tenure area for which they are properly certified. (See the
chart in Attachment A, #1B.)
In general, when there is a question as to whether an individual is earning tenure as a teacher or as an administrator, the duties of the position are analyzed to determine whether the majority of duties are administrative or teaching. While administrators may, in fact, perform instructional support tasks as appropriate to their positions, there must also be other more common elements of an administrator’s job typically having to do with supervision of teachers and other school personnel, evaluation of the performance of pedagogical staff, budgetary responsibility, etc.
Q: I am a tenured teacher employed by a school district on May
1, 2009. Two years ago, from September 1, 2005 until June 30, 2007, I
provided instructional support services for my school district. Will I
now be eligible for seniority credit for the time I performed instructional
support duties?
A: It depends. If you knowingly consented to the assignment outside your tenure area to a non-tenured position, you would not receive seniority credit for such service. However, if you did not provide knowing consent to this assignment outside your tenure area, the time spent performing instructional support services duties during that period from September 1, 2005 through June 30, 2007 would be counted toward seniority in your prior tenure area.
HOW ARE TEACHERS PERFORMING INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT SERVICES AFFECTED
BY THE NEW RULE / REGULATION?
Q: What if I am a teacher performing instructional support services duties
and earning tenure in the area of English 7-12, where I am properly certified,
and I am laid off because my position is abolished? Am I only eligible for
reemployment in instructional support services positions?
A: No, if you are earning tenure in the English 7-12 tenure area,
you would have the same reappointment rights as other teachers in this tenure
area.
Q: What if I am a teacher performing instructional support services
duties and earning tenure in the area of English 7-12, where I am properly
certified, and there is a reduction in force but I do not lose my position
because I am not the least senior teacher within my tenure area? Do I
continue to perform instructional support services duties or can I be
required to perform classroom instruction services on a full-time basis?
A: You could be reassigned. The school district or BOCES has the authority to assign such teachers to serve in any assignment encompassed within their tenure area. This is true at all times, not just during periods where positions are abolished.
WHO IS QUALIFIED TO PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT SERVICES?
Q: What are the certification requirements for teachers providing instructional support services?
A: In general, teachers must have a Permanent or Professional certificate and at least three years of satisfactory teaching experience in order to provide instructional support services. However, there is an exception to those requirements. A candidate who holds a valid Initial, Provisional, Permanent or Professional certificate who has achieved an advanced educational degree beyond the baccalaureate level may be eligible to provide instructional support services if the superintendent of schools or district superintendent finds this teacher is sufficiently competent and qualified to provide such services. For example, a teacher with only one year of experience but who has earned a Ph.D. specializing in literacy, might be determined by a school superintendent to be competent and qualified to provide instructional support services in the area of literacy.
WHAT IF I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS?
A school district official with a question about the application
of the new Regents Rule/Regulation may call the Office of Teaching Initiatives
at (518) 474-4661, send an e-mail inquiry to NYSED Supt_Ten or send a
fax to (518) 473-0271.
While the Office of Teaching Initiatives will provide general guidance
on the intent and interpretation of the new Regents Rule/Regulation, questions
about specific actions involving the abolition of positions in a school
district/BOCES should be posed to the district's counsel.