TEACH Public School Frequently Asked Questions

Below are frequently asked questions from public schools using the TEACH Online System.

• Superintendent Statements
• Fingerprinting
• Professional Development
• Submitting forms in TEACH
• Data Records in TEACH

Fingerprinting

1. Do individuals who perform volunteer activities for the school district need to be to fingerprinted?
   
   No, the authority to request fingerprint supported criminal background checks extends only to employees or employees of contract service providers.
    
2. Does TEACH change the way fingerprint cards are submitted?
   
   No. Fingerprint cards must still be mailed directly to the Office of School Personnel Review and Accountability (OSPRA). However, an applicant may complete the fingerprint application and make payment arrangements online.
    
3. With the new TEACH system, will subsequent arrest notices still be mailed by OSPRA directly to the school districts?
   
   Yes, OSPRA will continue to mail subsequent arrest notices directly to the school district.

Superintendent Statements

1. Do we need the District Superintendent’s signature for the Superintendent statements submitted in TEACH?
   
   No, as an official designated TEACH user for your school district, the Superintendent has given you permission to submit the Superintendent statement on his/her behalf.
    
2. For certificates that require a superintendent statement, will there be any effect on the effective date of the certificate if the superintendent statement is not submitted in a timely manner?
   
   The effective date will be the date when all of the certification requirements for that certificate – including superintendent statements – are recorded as met in TEACH.

Professional Development

1. If an individual is employed by a public school district, does TEACH allow them to enter their own professional development hours?
   
   Yes. TEACH does not prevent an individual from entering their own professional development hours regardless of their current employment status. However, for individuals employed by a school district for more than 90 days in a given academic year, the school district employing the individual is responsible for reporting professional development hours while the teacher is employed by them. If, for example, an individual employed by a school district for more than 90 days in the academic year does enter their professional development hours into TEACH, and there is a discrepancy in the number of hours or type of training reported with that reported by the school district employing the individual, the hours reported by the school district will be considered the official entry for purposes of determining compliance with state professional development requirements.
   
   If an individual is NOT employed by a school district for more than 90 days in a given academic year, he or she may report their professional development hours directly in to TEACH.
    
2. Who must school districts report professional development hours for?
   
   School districts are only responsible for reporting completed professional development hours for district employees holding either a Professional teaching certificate or a Teaching Assistant Level 3 certificate.
    
3. Will my Learning Plan update TEACH?
   No, we are working toward incorporating into TEACH interface capabilities with this and other local record-keeping systems.
    
4. With the new TEACH system, will districts be able to bulk load professional development information from local data systems?
   
   No, not at this time. This is an enhancement feature we hope to build into TEACH in the future.

Submitting forms in TEACH

1. Does TEACH enable school districts to submit the Substitute of Experience for College Supervised Student Teaching Form (OT-11) online?
   
   No. This form still needs the actual signature of the employing chief school officer and must be submitted by surface mail directly to NYSED.
    
2. Does TEACH enable school districts to submit an application to authorize hiring a Retiree online?
   
   No. You should go to Submitting an Application for Employment of a Retiree for more information on the application process for hiring retirees.

Data Records in TEACH

1. Will all existing BRIDGE database records be accessible in TEACH?
   
   Yes. All of the information contained in the old mainframe database was converted into TEACH.
   
   Information not maintained in the older database, such as evaluations for certificates issued prior to the TEACH data conversion date, will not be available. In addition, information stored on microfiche (pre-1982) but never entered into the Mainframe database, will not be available in TEACH but can be accessed upon request via a microfiche search.
   
   
2. Can we search by name to find account information about current and prospective employees?
   
   No, for security reasons, searches in TEACH may only be conducted by Social Security Number (SSN).
    
3. Will TEACH enable school districts to see who is listed in the state teacher Clearinghouse?
   No.
    
4. With TEACH in place, will the CORe system and the CTC Bridge mainframe system still be available for school districts to access?
   
   No. The new TEACH Online Services will replace both of these systems.