Starting July 1, all permanently or professionally certified teachers and Level III teaching assistants working in public schools or BOCES will be required to register online with the State Education Department.
The registration process, which will begin on a rolling basis during the educator's birth month, will be done using the State Education Department's TEACH system. Re-registration will be required every five years.
There is no fee for registration unless the certificate holder fails to complete the process by his or her deadline. A late fee of $10 per month will be charged if the deadline is missed.
Retirees or any other certificate holders on leave will need to register if they want to work in a public school or BOCES in the future.
Details on the actual registration process are still to be determined by SED. Since the state does not have a reliable means of communicating these regulatory changes to all impacted certificate holders, NYSUT is proposing that no late fees should be assessed in 2016–17. NYSUT is also seeking an appeals process for those who miss the registration deadline.
The new requirements were approved last year as part of the 2015 state budget. The law also requires new professional development requirements called Continuing Teacher & Leader Education (CTLE).
All professional and Level III teaching assistant certificate holders will be required to meet a 100- hour CTLE requirement within each five-year registration cycle. School districts will be approved CTLE providers and still be required to develop professional development plans that meet requirements. SED regulations also identify BOCES, teacher centers, higher education institutions, NYSUT's Education & Learning Trust and professional organizations as other expected providers.
Achieving National Board Certification during a registration period will also satisfy the CTLE requirement for that five-year cycle. The CTLE does not apply to permanent certificate holders.
New as of July 1, the regulations require CTLE certificate holders to maintain a record of completed CTLE, including the title of the program, total hours completed, number of hours completed to help with English language learners, the provider's name, attendance verification and date/location of program. These records are to be kept for three years after the five-year cycle. While members were always advised to keep their own records, now they are required to do so.
NYSUT has posted a fact sheet on the new regulations at www.nysut.org/factsheets: