Teaching Certification

Teaching Certification

from NYSUT.org - Prior to Feb. 2, 2004, a provisional certificate was the first credential an individual would receive upon satisfactory completion of all teacher preparation requirements. The certificate expires five years from the date of issuance, and a permanent certificate must be obtained within the five-year period of validity. The last provisional certificates were issued on Feb. 1, 2004.

A permanent certificate is valid for life in the area of certification and would be issued when an individual has completed the following requirements:

• Satisfied the requirements for the provisional certificate;
• Application with fee;
• Master's degree (The graduate study which will culminate in a graduate degree must be "functionally related" to the subject field or grade level in which certification is being requested. The term "functionally related" means that the graduate degree program is job-related, as determined by the Commissioner.);
• Two years of teaching experience in a public or nonpublic school (The teaching experience requirement means a minimum of two years of paid full-time elementary and/or secondary service. It is possible to combine different teaching experiences to meet the two-year requirements.); and
• United States citizenship or Permanent Resident status.

In addition, the following New York State Teacher Certification Examinations are required for only certain certification titles:

• Content Specialty Test (CST) in the certificate title; and
• Assessment of Teaching Skills-Performance (ATS-P); this is also known as the performance video.

The certification titles requiring these tests are Pre-Kindergarten - grade 6, English (grades 7-12), Mathematics
(grades 7-12), Languages other than English (grades 7-12), Social Studies (grades 7-12), Biology (grades 7-12), Chemistry (grades 7-12), Earth Science (grades 7-12), Physics (grades 7-12), and English to speakers of other Languages.

Please note that certification in career and technical subjects may not include all the identified requirements.

As of Feb. 2, 2004, major changes occurred in New York state teacher certification. An initial certificate replaced a provisional certificate as an entry credential for teaching in New York state, and, in turn , individuals holding initial certificates will be working toward a professional certificate as their final credential, not a permanent certificate.

In addition, certification titles changed as new titles were introduced and others were focused on more limited student populations. Please note that certification in career and technical subjects may not include all of the following requirements.

In order to receive an initial certificate, an applicant must fulfill the following requirements:

• Application with fee;
• Baccalaureate degree;
• General education course work core;
• Content course work core;
• Pedagogical course work core;
• Student teaching (Experience as an employed teacher within the range of grades and the subject area of the certification area may be accepted in lieu of this requirement.);
• Passing scores on the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test (LAST),Assessment of Teaching Skills-Written (ATS-W) and a Content Specialty Test (CST) in the certificate area (The Speech and Language Disabilities certification title does not require the CST for initial certification);
• Child Abuse Identification workshop;
• School Violence Prevention workshop; and
• Fingerprint clearance.

Initial certificates are valid for five years, and the earliest effective date for individuals holding initial certificates was Sept. 1, 2004. Within those five years, an applicant for a professional certificate must have fulfilled the following requirements:

• Satisfied the requirements for the initial certificate;
• Application with fee;
• Three years of teaching experience with the first year as a mentored teaching experience;
• Master's degree;
• CST for the Speech and Language Disabilities certification title, if appropriate; and
• United States Permanent Residence status.

In order to maintain the validity of the professional certificate, an individual will be required to complete 175 hours of professional development, consistent with the school district's Professional Development Plan, every five years. Please note that there is no professional development requirement for maintaining the validity of a permanent certificate.

Complete Article from NYSUT http://www.nysut.org/cps/rde/xchg/nysut/hs.xsl/certification_6903.htm