Requirements for, and processing of, teaching certificates.
Purpose:
Streamline certain aspects of certificate evaluation and processing.
Text of proposed rule:
1. Section 80-1.2 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education is amended, effective July 16, 2009, as follows:
Section 80-1.2 [Certificates] Applications and certificates, dates of issuance.
(a) [Certificates issued pursuant to the provisions of this Part shall date from the first day of either February or September in the year of issuance.] Applications.
(1) All applications submitted to the commissioner on or after September 1, 2009 for certificates issued pursuant to the provisions of this Part shall remain in active status for three years from the date of receipt of such application. If the candidate fails to complete all requirements for such certification within three years from the date of receipt of such application, the application shall be deemed denied by the commissioner. If the candidate subsequently wishes to re-apply for such certification, the candidate shall submit to the commissioner a new application with the required documentation and the appropriate fee prescribed under Section 3006 of the Education Law.
(2) All applications submitted to the commissioner after September 1, 2009 for certificates in the classroom teaching service, school leadership or pupil personnel through individual evaluation or reciprocity under this Part shall include a transcript from each institution of higher education that the candidate attended. Upon receipt of such application, the commissioner shall provide a written or electronic evaluation to the candidate of his/her credentials and shall notify the candidate, in writing or electronically, if there are any remaining deficiencies in the candidate's application for certification through individual evaluation or reciprocity. If the candidate fails to satisfy any remaining deficiencies in his/her application within three years from the date of receipt of such application, the application shall be deemed denied by the commissioner. A candidate's application shall also be denied by the commissioner if the candidate submits additional documentation to correct any deficiencies in his/her application after the first evaluation and a second evaluation reveals that the application together with the additional documentation continues to be deficient and fails to meet the requirements for certification, as prescribed in this Part. If the candidate subsequently wishes to re-apply for such certification, the candidate shall submit to the commissioner a new application with any required documentation to satisfy any remaining deficiencies in such application and the appropriate fee as prescribed under Section 3006 of the Education Law.
(b) Certificates, dates of issuance.
(1) Upon application, the commissioner shall issue certificates in the forms and titles for which the candidate qualifies. Such certificates may be issued in electronic and/or paper format.
(2) Certificates issued pursuant to the provisions of this Part shall date from the first day of either February or September in the year of issuance.
[(c)] (3) The commissioner shall not issue provisional certificates valid for the classroom teaching service with an effective date that begins after February 1, 2004, unless otherwise specifically prescribed in this Part. The commissioner may extend the effective date of a provisional certificate after February 1, 2004, pursuant to the requirements of section 80-1.6 of this Subpart.
[(d)] (4) The commissioner shall issue initial and professional teachers' certificates valid for the classroom teaching service beginning with an effective date of September 1, 2004, except that the commissioner may continue to issue provisional and permanent teachers' certificates valid for classroom teaching service as specifically prescribed in this Part.
[(e)](5) The commissioner shall not issue temporary licenses for employment as teaching assistants with an effective date that begins after February 1, 2004.
[(f)] (6) The commissioner shall issue level I teaching assistant certificates, level II teaching assistant certificates, and level III teaching assistant certificates, and pre-professional teaching assistant certificates beginning with an effective date of September 1, 2004.
2. Section 80-1.6 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education is amended, effective July 16, 2009, as follows:
Section 80-1.6 Extensions of time validity of certificates.
(a) Subject to the limitation provided in subdivision (d) of this section, the time validity of an expired provisional, initial or transitional certificate may be extended for a period not to exceed two years from the expiration date of such certificate, except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c) of this section, upon application by the holder of a teaching certificate:
(1) . . .
(2) . . .
(3) . . .
(4) . . .
(5) . . .
(6) [for the holder of a provisional certificate only, ] for a candidate who has been unable to secure employment as a teacher or who has been pursuing a career other than teaching.
(b) . . .
(c) . . .
(d) The commissioner will only extend the time validity of an expired provisional certificate under this section if the holder of such provisional certificate submits evidence of having achieved a satisfactory level of performance on the New York State Teacher Certification Examination content specialty test(s) in the area of the certificate, when a content specialty test(s) is required.
3. Section 80-1.8 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education is amended, effective July 16, 2009, as follows:
Section 80-1.8 Reissuance of an initial certificate.
(a) The holder of an initial certificate whose certificate has expired shall be reissued an initial certificate on one occasion only, for a period of [three] five years from the date of reissuance, provided that the candidate has met the requirements in subdivision (b) of this section. The time validity of such reissued initial certificate shall not be extended, pursuant to section 80-1.6 of this Subpart.
(b) [The] 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 [each] both of the following paragraphs:
[(1) The candidate has substantiated by adequate documentary evidence submitted to the department that he or she has been unable to secure employment as a classroom teacher, which has resulted in the candidate not meeting the requirements for the professional certificate.]
[(2)] (1) The candidate shall successfully complete 75 clock hours of acceptable professional development [at a rate of one and one-half clock hours per month, computed for each month beginning on the date of the issuance of the original initial certificate or the issuance of an extension thereof, and ending on the date the candidate submits his or her application to the department for the reissued initial certificate, up to a maximum of 75 clock hours. The professional development shall be completed during such computation period. In the case of a candidate required to complete 75 clock hours of professional development, 45 of such clock hours shall be completed] within one year [prior to the candidate's] 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.
[(3)] (2) The candidate shall submit evidence of having achieved a satisfactory level of performance on the New York State Teacher Certification Examination [liberal arts and sciences test, written assessment of teaching skills and] content specialty test(s) in the area [of] 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 [prior to] of the candidate's applying to the department for the reissuance of the initial certificate.
4. Section 80-5.9 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education is amended, effective July 16, 2009, as follows:
Section 80-5.9 Internship certificate.
(a) A student in a registered or approved graduate program of teacher education which includes an internship experience(s) and who has completed at least one-half of the semester hour requirement for the program may, at the request of the institution, be issued an internship certificate [without fee] for a fee of $50.
Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
Chris Moore, New York State Education Department, 89 Washington Avenue, Room 148, Albany, New York 12234, (518) 473-2921, email: 518 473-4921
Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:
Johanna Duncan-Poitier, Senior Deputy Commissioner of P16, New York State Education Department, 89 Washington Avenue, Room 148, Albany, New York 12234, (518) 474-3862, email: p16education@mail.nysed.gov
Public comment will be received until:
45 days after publication of this notice.
Regulatory Impact Statement
1. STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
Section 207 of the Education Law grants general rule-making authority to the Board of Regents to carry into effect the laws and policies of the State relating to education.
Section 210 of the Education Law authorizes the Department to fix the value of degrees, diplomas and certificates issued by institutions of other states or countries as presented for entrance to schools, colleges and the professions of the state.
Section 212 of the Education Law authorizes the Department to fix, in regulation, fees for certificates that are not otherwise provided in law.
Subdivision (1) of section 305 of the Education Law empowers the Commissioner of Education to be the chief executive officer of the state system of education and of the Board of Regents and authorizes the Commissioner to enforce laws relating to the educational system and to execute educational policies determined by the Regents.
Subdivision (2) of section 305 of the Education Law authorizes the Commissioner of Education to have general supervision over all schools subject to the Education Law.
Subdivision (2) of section 3001 of the Education Law establishes certification by the State Education Department as a qualification to teach in the public schools of New York State.
Subdivision (1) of section 3004 of the Education Law authorizes the Commissioner of Education to prescribe, subject to the approval of the Regents, regulations governing the examination and certification of teachers employed in all public schools in the State.
Paragraph (b) of subdivision (1) of section 3006 of the Education Law provides that the Commissioner of Education may issue such teacher certificates as the Regents Rules prescribe.
2. LEGISLATIVE OBJECTIVES:
The proposed amendment will carry out the objectives of the above referenced statutes by revising requirements for teacher certification in the areas of certification processing, fees for internship certificates and the form of certificates.
3. NEEDS AND BENEFITS:
The proposed amendment is needed to streamline certificate evaluations and the processing of certificates under Part 80 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, in light of the reduction in available resources to the State Education Department to perform these functions, in order to continue to provide core teacher certification services to school districts and candidates seeking a certificate in teaching. First, the proposed amendment imposes reasonable limits on transcript evaluation by limiting the length of time an application for a certificate will remain in active status to three years and limiting the number of evaluations an applicant can receive to two. Additional evaluations will require submission of a new application and fee. Second, the proposed amendment imposes a $50 fee for the issuance of an internship certificate, the same fee that the Department collects for all other college-recommended certificates. Third, the proposed amendment specifies that certificates may be issued in electronic and/or paper format, in order to implement a policy change from the issuance of time limited certificates, in favor of a web based verification system. Fourth, the proposed amendment will only allow a holder of a provisional certificate to qualify for a time extension if he/she has passed the appropriate New York State Teacher Certification Examination content specialty test(s). The proposed amendment also streamlines the requirements for the reissuance of an initial certificate by requiring passage of the applicable Content Specialty Test(s) only if the certificate has been expired for more than two years, eliminates the requirement that the teacher submit evidence of being unable to secure a teaching position to qualify, establishes the a uniform professional development requirement of 75 hours and requires that a candidate complete the 75 hours of professional development within one year of applying to the department for the reissued initial certificate.
The proposed amendment is needed to streamline the certification process which would in turn, allow evaluation staff to work on more critical evaluation functions and reduce the processing time for applicants. It is estimated that the proposed amendment would yield an equivalent of over five full time employees, who could be reassigned to high priority tasks. In addition, the proposed changes would result in an estimated $380,000 in new fees and cost savings to the State Education Department.
4. COSTS:
(a) Cost to State government. The amendment will not impose any additional cost on State government, including the State Education Department. In fact, the State Education Department would realize a savings of over five full-time employees, who could be reassigned to high priority tasks in teacher certification processing and an increase of $380,000 in savings and additional fees.
(b) Cost to local government. The amendment does not impose additional costs upon local governments, including schools districts and BOCES.
(c) Cost to private regulated parties. The amendment will impose a $50 fee on applicants for an internship certificate, enrolled in graduate teacher education programs. This is the same fee collected for all other college-recommended certificates pursuant to section 3006 of the Education Law.
(d) Costs to the regulatory agency. As stated above in Costs to State Government, the amendment will not impose any additional costs on the State Education Department.
5. LOCAL GOVERNMENT MANDATES:
The proposed amendment does not impose any mandatory program, service, duty, or responsibility upon local government, including school districts or BOCES.
6. PAPERWORK:
The proposed amendment will not increase reporting or recordkeeping requirements beyond existing requirements.
7. DUPLICATION:
The amendment does not duplicate other existing State or Federal requirements.
8. ALTERNATIVES:
No alternative proposals were considered.
9. FEDERAL STANDARDS:
There are no Federal standards that deal with the subject matter of this amendment.
10. COMPLIANCE SCHEDULE:
Regulated parties must comply with the proposed amendment on its effective date. Because of the nature of the proposed amendment, no additional period of time is necessary to enable regulated parties to comply.
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
The purpose of the proposed amendment is to amend certain provisions related to the requirements for and processing of teaching certificates. The proposed changes would streamline certificate evaluation and processing in light of reduced resources available to the State Education Department, in order to continue to provide core teacher certification services to school districts and applicants. The amendment does not establish any requirements for small businesses or locals governments, including school districts or BOCES.
The amendment will not impose any adverse economic impact, recordkeeping, reporting, or other compliance requirements on small businesses or local governments, including school districts or BOCES. Because it is evident from the nature of the rule that it does not affect small businesses or local governments, no further steps were needed to ascertain that fact and none were taken.
Rural Area Flexibility Analysis
1. Types and estimate of number of rural areas:
The proposed amendment will affect any candidates seeking a certificate in teaching in all parts of New York State, including the 44 rural counties with fewer than 200,000 inhabitants and the 71 towns and urban counties with a population density of 150 square mile or less.
2. Reporting, recordkeeping, and other compliance requirements and professional services:
The purpose of the proposed amendment is to amend certain provisions related to the requirements for the processing of teaching certificates. The proposed amendment would streamline certificate evaluation and processing, in light of the reduction in available resources to the State Education Department in order to continue to provide core teacher certification services to school districts and applicants.
The proposed amendment will not increase reporting or recordkeeping requirements beyond existing requirements. The proposed amendment will not require regulated parties, including those located in rural areas, to hire professional services in order to comply.
3. Costs:
The amendment imposes a $50 fee on graduate students applying for an internship certificate from the Department. This is the same fee collected for all college-recommended certificates, as established in section 3006 of the Education Law.
4. Minimizing adverse impact:
The amendment establishes requirements for teacher certification and changes certain processing and evaluation processes within the State Education Department. The State Education Department does not believe that establishing different standards for candidates who live or work in rural areas is warranted. A uniform standard ensures the quality of the State's teaching workforce.
5. Rural area participation:
Comments on the proposed rule were solicited from the State Professional Standards and Practices Board for Teaching. This is an advisory group to the Board of Regents and the Commissioner of Education on matters pertaining to teacher education, certification, and practice. The Board has representatives who live and/or work in rural areas, including individuals who are employed as educators in rural school districts and BOCES. Comments were also solicited from the School Administrators Association of New York State, New York State United Teachers, New York State Council of School Superintendents, New York State School Boards Association, and New York State Association of School Personnel Administrators. We also solicited comments from the Rural Advisory Committee, which has representatives who live and/or work in rural areas.
Job Impact Statement
The purpose of the proposed amendment is to amend certain provisions related to the processing of teaching certificates. The proposed amendment is needed to streamline certificate evaluation and processing, in light of the reduction in available resources to the State Education Department to perform these functions in order to continue to provide core teacher certification services to school districts and teacher applicants and to prevent lengthening cycle time and delays for applicants and schools.
Because it is evident from the nature of the rule that it could only have a positive impact or no impact on jobs and employment opportunities, no affirmative 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.
