Registration and continuing teacher and leader education requirement.
Purpose:
To implement supbart C of part EE of chapter 56 of the Laws of 2015.
Text or summary was published
in the April 6, 2016 issue of the Register, I.D. No. EDU-14-16-00009-EP.
Final rule as compared with last published rule:
No changes.
Text of rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
Kirti Goswami, State Education Department, Office of Counsel, State Education Building Room 148, 89 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12234, (518) 474-6400, email: legal@nysed.gov
Initial Review of Rule
As a rule that requires a RFA, RAFA or JIS, this rule will be initially reviewed in the calendar year 2019, which is no later than the 3rd year after the year in which this rule is being adopted.
Assessment of Public Comment
Since publication of a Notice of Proposed Rule Making in the State Register on April 6, 2016, the State Education Department (SED) received the following comments:
1. COMMENT:
Several commenters request that the Department does not implement late fees for certificate holders that do not register during the 2016-2017 school year.
DEPARTMENT RESPONSE:
SED agrees. The Department will not impose any late fees on certificate holders that fail to register during the 2016-2017 school year.
2. COMMENT:
Several commenters suggested that there should be an appeals process in the future for certificate holders who miss their registration deadline, in order to appeal the $10 late fee.
DEPARTMENT RESPONSE:
Section 80-6.2(f) provides that failure to register may subject a certificate holder to a late fee of $10 per month. Given the fact that the late fee is discretionary, if an applicant disagrees with the Department’s determination that a late fee shall be imposed (e.g., because the licensee was in inactive status), the licensee shall have an opportunity to be heard in a time and manner prescribed by the Department.
3. COMMENT:
Several commenters suggested that NYSED require all certificate holders who are required to initially register this year to register on July 1, 2016 rather than during their birthday month during the 2016-2017 school year. Commenters noted that using the birthday month would be hard for districts and BOCES to track, and suggested that all professional and Level III certificate holders begin registration on July 1, 2016 rather than their birthday month.
DEPARTMENT RESPONSE:
Education Law § 3006(3), as added by Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2015, allows the Department to stagger initial registrations so that registrations are distributed as equally as possible throughout the year, which the Department believes is necessary in order to avoid an overload in the online TEACH system. The Department chose the birthday month of the certificate holder in an effort to make it easier for candidates to remember when they must register and to distribute initial registrations throughout each month of the year. The Department has also tried to make it easier for first time certificate holders to register by making initial registration automatic on the date of issuance of their certificate.
4. COMMENT:
Several commenters suggested that current NYSED approved CTLE providers (school districts, BOCES, teacher centers, NYS colleges, NYSUT and other professional organizations) should not have to register every five years. They noted that if a school or BOCES is merged, joined, etc., NYSED will know about it and can adjust the NYSED records.
DEPARTMENT RESPONSE:
Education Law 3006-a requires that CTLE programs be taken from sponsors approved by the Department, including but not limited to school districts. It also requires that CTLE activities promote the professionalism of teaching and be closely aligned to district goals for student performance which meet the standards prescribed by the Commissioner. These regulations were carefully drafted to ensure that CTLE activities meet the requirements of the statute while also making it as simple as possible for school districts, BOCES, teacher centers and professional organizations to become approved sponsors and to be renewed as approved sponsors. For instance, the Department has streamlined the application process to become an approved sponsor and to renew their application and these entities are not required to pay a fee for initial approval or renewal of their registration and the five-year requirement for re-registration is consistent with the current requirements for professional development plans as required under 100.2(dd) of the Commissioner’s Regulations.
5. COMMENT: Several commenters suggested that professional development hours completed during the current five-year cycle (before July 1, 2016) be counted towards fulfilling CTLE requirements for certificate holders once the new CTLE requirement begins.
DEPARTMENT RESPONSE: The law requires that CTLE be completed during the five-year registration period beginning on or after July 1, 2016. Therefore, professional development completed before this date cannot be carried over. In addition, the statute requires that “to fulfill the CTLE requirement, programs must be taken from sponsors approved by the Department…” Because professional development hours completed prior to July 1, 2016 may not have been taken from a sponsor approved by the Department under the new statute, these hours cannot be counted toward the certificate holders’ five-year registration period under the new law which requires CTLE programs to be taken from sponsors approved by the Department.
6. COMMENT:
Several commenters disagree that those certificate holders who fail to notify the department of a name or address change within 30 days be subject to moral character review, because it is threatening and difficult to enforce.
DEPARTMENT RESPONSE:
Education Law § 3006(3)(d) provides that a willful failure to register or to provide notice of an address change within 180 days of such change may constitute grounds for moral character review. Since this is a statutory provision, no change is warranted.
7. COMMENT:
Several commenters suggested that CTLE recordkeeping remain as currently for school districts and BOCES, including submission of professional development plans. The concern is that the forms and terms used as part of the professional development plans are negotiated with the unions and it will be hard to revise to include requirements for English language learners, program titles, locations, and to add additional columns.
DEPARTMENT RESPONSE:
The Department has retained the requirement for professional development plans in 100.2(dd) of the Commissioner’s Regulations for school districts and BOCES to develop a professional development plan, but amended the requirements to require such plans to only include 100 hours instead of the currently required 175 hours to be consistent with the CTLE requirements in Education Law § 3006-a. However, the Department encourages school districts and BOCES to provide additional CTLE to their teachers and school leaders to ensure that they remain current with their profession and meet the learning needs of their students.
8. COMMENT:
Several commenters support the change from 175 hours to 100 hours for both teachers and educational leaders, but do not support this same increase for teaching assistants because they are generally not teachers of record and in most cases act as classroom aides, and do not currently attend and/or participate in more thorough trainings that are offered to teachers and leaders.
DEPARTMENT RESPONSE:
Education Law § 3006-a(2)(a) requires holders of Level III teaching assistant certificates to complete 100 hours of CTLE. Since this is a statutory requirement, no regulatory change is warranted.
