Renewals of a provisional SAS certificate and reissuances of initial certificates.
Purpose:
Change requirements for renewal of a SAS certificate and requirements for a reissuance of an initial certificate.
Text of final rule:
1. Subdivision (c) of section 80-1.7 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education is repealed and a new subdivision (c) is added, effective September 1, 2013, to read as follows:
(c) The commissioner shall not accept an application for the renewal of a provisional school administrator and supervisor certificate submitted to the commissioner after September 1, 2013 unless the certificate holder has achieved a satisfactory score on the school building leader assessment(s) that is required at the time the renewed provisional certificate is issued.
2. Section 80-1.8 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education is amended, effective January 30, 2013, to read as follows:
§ 80-1.8 Reissuance of an initial certificate.
(a) The holder of an initial certificate whose certificate has expired and who has not successfully completed three school years of teaching experience, or its equivalent, as is required for a professional certificate, shall be [issued] reissued an initial certificate on one occasion only, for a period of five years from the date of reissuance [, provided that the candidate has met the requirements in subdivision (b) of this section].
(1) For candidates applying for a reissuance on or before September 1, 2013, any candidate whose certificate has been expired for two or more years at the time of application for the reissuance shall meet the requirements in subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of this paragraph. For candidates applying for a reissuance on or after September 1, 2013, all candidates applying for a reissuance shall meet the requirements in the following paragraphs:
(i) The candidate shall have successfully completed 75 clock hours of acceptable professional development within the year prior to the submission of his/her application to the department for the reissued initial certificate. The definition of acceptable professional development and the measurement of professional development study shall be that prescribed in section 80-3.6 of this Part.
(ii) The candidate shall submit evidence of having achieved a satisfactory level of performance on the New York State Teacher Certification Examination content specialty test(s) in the area required for the certificate sought or, where applicable, the New York State assessment for school building leadership required for a certificate as a school building leader, which shall be taken within one year of the candidate’s applying to the department for the reissuance of the initial certificate.
(b) Notwithstanding the above, an initial certificate as a school building leader may be reissued a second time if the certificate holder has met all of the requirements for the professional certificate except the experience requirement and has been employed in a school district or BOCES to provide instructional support services as defined in section 80-5.21 of this Part during three of the past five school years.
[(b) Any candidate whose certificate has been expired for two of more years at the time of application for the reissuance shall meet the requirements in both of the following paragraphs:
(1) The candidate shall successfully complete 75 clock hours of acceptable professional development within one year of applying to the department for the reissued initial certificate. The definition of acceptable professional development and the measurement of professional development study shall be that prescribed in section 80-3.6 of this Part.
(2) The candidate shall submit evidence of having achieved a satisfactory level of performance on the new York State Teacher Certification Examination content specialty test(s) in the area required for the certificate sought or the New York State assessment for school building leadership required for a certificate as a school building leader, which shall be taken within one year of the candidate’s applying to the department for the reissuance of the initial certificate.]
Final rule as compared with last published rule:
Nonsubstantive changes were made in section 80-1.8(a)(1).
Text of rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
Mary Gammon, New York State Education Department, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234, (518) 474-6400, email: legal@mail.nysed.gov
Revised Regulatory Impact Statement
Since publication of the Notice of Proposed Rule Making in the State Register on November 7, 2012, a non-material revision was made to the following sections of the proposed amendment:
Section 80-1.8(a)(i) of the Commissioner’s regulations is amended to clarify that an initial certificate will not be reissued until 75 hours of professional development are completed.
This amendment does not require changes to the previously published Regulatory Impact Statement.
Revised Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
Since publication of the Notice of Proposed Rule Making in the State Register on November 7, 2012, a revision was made to the proposed rule as set forth in the Revised Regulatory Impact Statement set forth herewith.
The revision does not require any changes to the previously published Regulatory Flexibility Analysis.
Revised Rural Area Flexibility Analysis
Since publication of the Notice of Proposed Rule Making in the State Register on November 7, 2012, a revision was made to the proposed amendment as set forth in the Revised Regulatory Impact Statement submitted herewith.
The revision does not require any changes to the previously published Rural Area Flexibility Analysis.
Revised Job Impact Statement
Since publication of the Notice of Proposed Rule Making in the State Register on November 7, 2012, a revision was made to the proposed amendment as set forth in the Revised Regulatory Impact Statement submitted herewith.
The proposed rule, as revised, amends the requirements for renewal of a SAS provisional certificate and the requirements for the reissuance of an initial certificate. Because it is evident from the nature of the proposed revised rule that it will have no impact on the number of jobs or employment opportunities in New York State, no further steps were needed to ascertain that fact and none were taken. Accordingly, a job impact statement is not required and one has not been prepared.
Assessment of Public Comment
Since publication of a Notice of Revised Rule Making in the State Register on November 7, 2012, the State Education Department (SED) received the following comments on the revised proposed amendment.
COMMENT: We recommend that the State Education Department clarify the proposed regulatory language in Part 80-1.8(a)(1)(i) to clearly state that an initial certificate will not be reissued until 75 hours of professional development are completed by the applicant. The proposed language currently states “within one year of applying.” This allows for the possibility that an applicant will misinterpret this to mean the certificate would be reissued prior to completion of hours.
RESPONSE: The Department has made a non-material change to the regulation to clarify the proposed amendment to clearly state an initial certificate will not be reissued until the candidate has completed 75 hours of professional development. The 75 hour requirement must be met within one year of applying to the department for the reissuance of his/her certificate.
COMMENT: In addition, we recommend that the State Education Department clarify the meaning of the phrase “acceptable professional development” for individuals applying for the reissuance of the initial certificate in Part 80-3.6 of the regulations. Part 80-3.6 currently addresses professional development for holders of professional teaching certificates, Level III Teaching Assistant certificates, and holders of professional educational leadership certificates. This should be modified to include those seeking reissuance of the initial certificate.
RESPONSE: Section 80-1.8 of the proposed amendment clearly states that the definition of acceptable professional development and the measurement of professional development study shall be that prescribed in section 80-3.6 of this Part. Therefore, the Department believes that no change is warranted.
