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| Initial Teaching Certificate Extended to Five Years January 2005 The Regents reversed their earlier position and approved a regulatory amendment that extended the validity of the new initial teaching certificates from three to five years. Strongly supported by NYSUT, the action extends the life of all initial teaching certificates to give teachers more time to complete the master's degree requirements for professional certification. The New York State Education Department's Office of Teaching Initiatives will contact all new teachers who have been issued initial certificates since February 1, 2004 to inform them that the duration of their certificates will be extended to five years from the original date they were issued. All future initial certificates will be issued with five-year validity periods. From the very beginning, NYSUT and the State Professional Standards and Practices Board for Teaching expressed concern to the Regents about the hardships of providing initially certified teachers with less time to meet new teacher certification requirements. The demands of a full-time teaching job, including participation in a required mentoring program, could worsen the current teacher shortage. A State Education Department field memo on this topic can be found at: http://www.highered.nysed.gov/memoceo05-02.html. |
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