Sec. 80-5.23. Endorsement of certificates for service as a school counselor

(a) School counselor.

The commissioner may endorse the certificate of another state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia for service as a school counselor, provided that the candidate meets the following requirements:

(1) The candidate shall hold a valid certificate of another state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia that is equivalent to the initial or professional certificate as a school counselor.

(2) The candidate shall meet the general requirements for certificates prescribed in Subpart 80-1 of this Part, including but not limited to the requirements of section 80-1.3 of this Part relating to citizenship, section 80-1.4 of this Part relating to study in child abuse identification and reporting, section 80-1.13 of this Part relating to study in harassment, bullying and discrimination prevention and intervention and school violence prevention and intervention; and section 80-1.11 of this Part relating to a criminal history record check.

(3) The candidate shall hold a master's degree or higher from a regionally accredited higher education institution or an equivalently approved higher education institution as determined by the department, or have equivalent educational preparation as determined by the commissioner. Candidates shall have achieved a 3.0 cumulative grade point average, or its equivalent, in the program leading to the degree.

(4) The candidate shall either:

(i) have completed a comparable program from a regionally accredited institution of higher education or a higher education institution that the commissioner deems substantially equivalent, provided that such program leads to initial certification as a school counselor, or similar school counselor certification, in the jurisdiction in which the higher education institution is located; or

(ii) have at least three years of satisfactory experience in a public school (grades K-12) in another state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia in a position that would have required the equivalent of initial or professional certification as a school counselor for employment in New York State and while under a certificate issued by such other state authorizing such service, such experience must have been completed within five years immediately preceding the application for endorsement of the out-of-state certificate; or the candidate shall have equivalent experience as determined by the commissioner.

(5) Examination requirement. Any candidate applying for professional certification as a school counselor through endorsement of a certificate of another state or territory pursuant to the provisions of this section on or after February 2, 2023, shall achieve a satisfactory level of performance on the New York State school counselor examination or other equivalent examination as approved by the commissioner, if available.