Special Education Teaching Assignments and Certification : Educator Resources:OTI:NYSED

Educator Resources

Special Education Teaching Assignments and Certification

The following table shows the certification required for various types of special education teaching assignments. The types of teaching assignments are described on the Continuum of Special Education Services for School-Age Students with Disabilities webpage. Certification requirements are available on the Search Certification Requirements webpage.

Effective July 1, 2021, all special education teachers who teach one or more subject areas in a special class (self-contained class) in grades 7-12, with some or no students under alternate assessment, must either:

be certified in each subject area that they teach, or
meet the teaching experience requirement for the statement of continued eligibility (SOCE) and have an active SOCE application in the TEACH online system in each subject area that they teach.

Please note that teachers who hold any of the special education certificates listed in the following table can teach students who are under alternate assessment at any grade level.

For questions about teaching assignments that are not answered in the following table, please contact the Office of Special Education at speced@nysed.gov. For questions about certification requirements, please contact the Office of Teaching Initiatives at tcert@nysed.gov.

A printable version can be found at: Special education teaching assignment by certificate

Special Education Certification	Special Education Teaching Assignment:
Special Education Certification	Preschool Itinerant Teacher	Consultant Teacher, Resource Room Teacher, Integrated Co-Teacher	Special Class Teacher – Some or No Students Under Alternate Assessment	Special Class Teacher – All Students Under Alternate Assessment
SWD (Birth-Grade 2) only	Yes	Birth-Grade 2	Birth-Grade 2	All grades
SWD (Birth-Grade 2) with SWD grade-level extension (Grades 3-4)	Yes	Birth-Grade 4	Birth-Grade 4	All grades
SWD (Grades 1-6) only	No	Grades 1-6	Grades 1-6	All grades
SWD (Grades 1-6) with SWD grade-level extension (PK-K)	Yes	PK-Grade 6	PK-Grade 6	All grades
SWD (Grades 1-6) with SWD grade-level extension (Grades 7-8)	No	Grades 1-8	Grades 1-6	All grades
SWD (Grades 5-9) Generalist only	No	Grades 5-9	Grades 5-6	All grades
SWD (Grades 5-9) Generalist with SWD grade-level extension (Grades 10-12)	No	Grades 5-12	Grades 5-6	All grades
SWD (Grades 5-9) Generalist with a certificate or extension in grades 5-9 and in the subject area to be taught	No	Grades 5-9	Grades 5-6 Grades 7-9 in the subject area of the certificate held	All grades
SWD (Grades 5-9) Generalist With a limited extension or statement of continued eligibility (SOCE) in grades 7-12 and in the subject area to be taught (only valid in a special class)	No	Grades 5-9	Grades 5-6 Grades 7-12 in the subject area of the certificate held	All grades
SWD (Grades 5-9) Content Specialist only	No	Grades 5-9	Grades 5-6 Grades 7-9 in the subject area of the content specialty	All grades
SWD (Grades 5-9) Content Specialist With SWD grade-level extension (Grades 10-12)	No	Grades 5-12	Grades 5-6 Grades 7-12 in the subject area of the content specialty	All grades
SWD (Grades 5-9) Content Specialist With a limited extension or statement of continued eligibility (SOCE) in grades 7-12 and in the subject area to be taught (only valid in a special class)	No	Grades 5-9	Grades 5-6 Grades 7-9 in the subject area of content specialty Grades 7-12 in the subject area of the certificate held	All grades
SWD Generalist (Grades 7-12) only	No	Grades 7-12	Not eligible; does not hold content area certification	All grades
SWD Generalist (Grades 7-12) With SWD grade-level extension (Grades 5-6)	No	Grades 5-12	Grades 5-6	All grades
SWD Generalist (Grades 7-12) With a certificate, extension, limited extension, or statement of continued eligibility (SOCE) in grades 7-12 and in the subject area to be taught	No	Grades 7-12	Grades 7-12 in the subject area of the certificate held	All grades
SWD (Grades 7-12) Content Specialist only	No	Grades 7-12	Grades 7-12 in the subject area of the content specialty	All grades
SWD (Grades 7-12) Content Specialist With SWD grade-level extension (Grades 5-6)	No	Grades 5-12	Grades 5-6 Grades 7-12 in the subject area of the content specialty	All grades
SWD (Grades 7-12) Content Specialist With a limited extension or statement of continued eligibility (SOCE) in grades 7-12 and in the subject area to be taught	No	Grades 7-12	Grades 7-12 in the subject area of the content specialty Grades 7-12 in the subject area of certificate held	All grades
SWD (All Grades) or Permanent Special Education only	Yes	Birth-Grade 12	Birth-Grade 6	All grades
SWD (All Grades) or Permanent Special Education With a certificate, extension, limited extension, or statement of continued eligibility (SOCE) in grades 7-12 and in the subject area to be taught	Yes	Birth-Grade 12	Birth-Grade 6 Grades 7-12 in the subject area of certificate held	All grades

Severe or Multiple Disabilities Annotation

Special education teachers who hold the Severe or Multiple Disabilities Annotation can teach a special class where all students are under alternate assessment and all students have severe cognitive disabilities. Students can be at any developmental level (birth-grade 12).

Last Updated: March 7, 2023

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Educator Resources

Special Education Teaching Assignments and Certification

University of the State of New York - New York State Education Department