Recent Certification Changes

June 2009 Regents Action

  1. Processing of and Requirements for Teachers’ Certificates

    At its June 2009 meeting, the Board of Regents adopted an amendment to sections 80-1.2, 80-1.6, 80-1.8, and 80-5.9 of Commissioner’s Regulations relating to various requirements for certification and to certificate processing. The purpose of the changes is to focus Office of Teaching Initiatives time and resources on its core services rather than on other, non-core functions.

    NOTE: These changes, described below, will be instituted over the next several months. Check our web site periodically for implementation dates and other details.

    Amendments were adopted in the following five areas:

    • Number of Individual Evaluations per Application
      Section 80-1.2 was amended to limit the time a certificate application will remain in active status to three years and to limit the number of individual evaluations conducted per application to two. Applications that are not complete after the second evaluation may be resubmitted, with another fee, for a subsequent evaluation.
    • Internship Certificates
      Section 80-5.9 was amended to institute a $50 fee for issuance of an Internship certificate, the same fee that is charged for all other college-recommended certificates.
    • Printing of Certificates
      Section 80-1.2 was amended to specify that certificates may be issued in electronic and/or paper format. This will permit OTI to discontinue the printing of some types of certificates. Time limited certificates will no longer be printed. Rather, the TEACH online system will serve as the official electronic record for these certificates. However, certificates that do not expire (Professional, Permanent, and Teaching Assistant III), will continue to be printed.
    • Time Extensions for Provisional, Initial, and Transitional Certificates
      Section 80-1.6 was amended to allow Initial certificate holders as well as Provisional certificate holders to qualify for a time extension on the basis of having been unable to secure employment as a teacher or having been pursuing a career other than teaching. Also, language was added to ensure that applicants with expired Provisional certificates applying for time extensions have passed the applicable the New York State Teacher Certification Examination (NYSTCE) content specialty test(s) in the area of the certificate if they had not done so previously.
    • Reissuance of Initial Certificates
      Section 80-1.8 was amended to revise the requirements for a certificate reissuance. Applicants seeking a certificate reissuance of an Initial certificate will be required re-take and pass the applicable NYSTCE content specialty test(s) if the certificate has been expired for more than two years. It eliminates the requirement that the teacher submit evidence of being unable to secure a teaching position, in recognition of the fact that the candidate may have been pursuing a career other than teaching. It also simplifies the calculation of professional development hours by setting the number of hours required at a uniform 75 hours.

    PLEASE NOTE: This is a brief summary only; it is not an exhaustive description of the amendment.  For the complete text of the regulation, see the June 2009 Regents Item Word file (91 KB).

  2. Supplementary Certificate and Supplementary Bilingual Education Extension

    At its June 2009 meeting, the Board of Regents adopted an amendment to sections 80-2.9, 80-4.3 and 80-5.18 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, relating to the sunset date for Supplementary certificates and requirements for a Supplementary Bilingual Education extension for certificates in the classroom teaching service and pupil personnel service.

    Supplementary Certificate Sunset

    • The Supplementary certificate was established in 2004, with a sunset date of 2009, to encourage the movement of experienced teachers in subject matter areas of oversupply to subject matter areas of demand. Due to continuing shortages, the amendment removes the sunset date and continues the availability of the Supplementary certificate without interrruption.

    Supplementary Bilingual Education Extension

    • A Supplementary Bilingual Education extension was established to address one of the most persistent subject shortages- bilingual education, in both general and special education, as well as in school support services (school psychology, school social work, etc.).
    • The extension allows a teacher, school psychologist, school social worker, etc., to begin providing bilingual instruction or service with support from their employing school while completing a registered college bilingual extension program.
    • Candidates must meet the following requirements for the Supplementary extension:
      1. Possession of a valid New York State certificate in the classroom teaching service or pupil personnel service.
      2. Completion of three semester hours of prerequisite coursework, which must include theories of bilingual education and multicultural perspectives.
      3. Evidence of matriculation in a collegiate registered bilingual extension program, which includes mentoring and supervision by the college or university.
      4. Documentation of proficiency in the target language (college assessment of language proficiency).
      5. Employment and support commitment while serving under the Supplementary Bilingual Education extension.
    • While enrolled in the college program, candidates must complete at least nine additional semester hours within a three-year period to qualify for the Bilingual extension.

    PLEASE NOTE: This is a brief summary only; it is not an exhaustive description of the amendment.  For the complete text of the regulation, see the June 2009 Regents Item Word file (73 KB).

October 2008 Regents Action

  1. Languages Other Than English
    At its October 2008 meeting, the Board of Regents adopted a change in certification policy that addresses the severe shortage of teachers of languages other than English (LOTE) in every region of the State. The Regents policy decision provides flexibility in certification options for teacher candidates in order to increase the supply of certified language teachers, while maintaining high quality standards for their preparation. The new policy is summarized below.
    • Candidates are now permitted to take two rigorous, internationally recognized examinations administered by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and, upon achieving a score of Intermediate High/Advanced Low on each, are granted up to 30 semester hours of the content hours required for certification
    • All other certification requirements remain the same, including satisfactory completion of the New York State Teacher Certification Examination’s Content Specialty Test (CST) in the target language.

    The policy change became effective immediately.

    PLEASE NOTE: This is a brief summary only.  For the complete text of the Regents Item, see the October 2008 Regents Item Word file (344 KB) .

June-July 2008 Regents Action

  1. Waiver Approval Process for the Employment of Retirees

    At both its June and July 2008 meetings, the Board of Regents adopted amendments to Commissioner’s Regulations relating to the requirements for the employment of retired persons in public school districts (except New York City as required by statute), Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), and county vocational education and extension boards. The regulation is scheduled to be confirmed at the October 2008 Regents meeting.

    The amendments rewrite section 80-5.5, which details the process for the approval of waivers to employ retirees and enable them to earn more than the $30,000 earnings limit established in statute while collecting their pensions. Waivers may be granted under the following circumstances:

    • The district is unable to find a non-retired qualified candidate after an extensive recruitment effort; or
    • There is not enough time to conduct a full search where an urgent interim appointment is needed because of the critical nature of the vacancy.

    Section 80-5.5 provisions include:

    • Request for a waiver must be made prior to employment, but no later than 30 days after employment.
    • A waiver will not be granted if the retiree seeks employment by the district from which he/she retired within one-year of his/her retirement.
    • The waiver application must include the retiree’s qualifications, the district’s need for his/her services that cannot be filled by a non-retiree, description of the efforts made to hire a non-retiree, and a recruitment plan to fill the position permanently.
    • If the request is to employ a superintendent, the school must certify that he/she will not lead the selection process for the permanent candidate (although he/she may participate in the process).
    • Approval of a waiver is limited to one year. It may be renewed for an additional year in the case of extreme hardship.
    • Additional waivers cannot be granted to a school to employ the same retiree, except in the case of a teacher in a high-needs school or shortage area.
    • Upon employment of a retiree, the school is required to notify resident taxpayers of the retiree’s compensation package and right to receive a pension while employed.

    PLEASE NOTE: This is a brief summary only; it is not an exhaustive description of the amendment. For more information, go to Employment of a Retiree.

  2. Extension of Individual Evaluation Pathway to Certification

    On July 29, 2008, the Board of Regents adopted an amendment to section 80-3.7 of Commissioner’s Regulations regarding the availability of the individual evaluation pathway to certification for classroom teaching titles other than childhood education. The amendment extended the sunset date of the individual evaluation option from February 1, 2009 to February 1, 2012.

    For the complete text of the regulation, see the July Regents Item.

  3. Required Training in Autism for Applicants

    On June 24, 2008 the Board of Regents adopted, by emergency action, an amendment to Part 80 of Commissioner’s Regulations regarding requirements for certification. The regulation is scheduled to be confirmed at the September 2008 Regents meeting.

    Chapter 143 of the Laws of 2006 requires that all persons applying for a teaching certificate or a license as a special education teacher, in addition to all the other certification or licensing requirements, complete course work or training in the area of children with autism. The legislation further requires that the course work or training be obtained from an institution or provider which has been approved by the Department to provide such course work or training in the needs of children with autism.

    Section 80-3.7 was amended and section 80-1.12 was added, to require that  candidates for certificates in certain titles, who apply on or after September 2, 2009, complete at least three clock hours of course work or training in the needs of students with autism from an approved provider. The applicable titles are:

    Students with Disabilities (all levels)
    Speech and Language Disabilities
    Deaf and Hard of hearing
    Blind or Visually Impaired

    More information on approved providers of training in autism will be posted on our web site in the coming months.

    PLEASE NOTE: This is a brief summary only; it is not an exhaustive description of the amendment. For the complete text of the regulation, see the June Regents Item.

Last Updated: September 2, 2009