Registering with SED

As of July 1, 2016, all permanently and professionally certified teachers working in a NYS public school or BOCES are required to register with the State Education Department (SED) using the TEACH online system. Each registration cycle is a five (5)-year period.

Permanently certified teachers are required to register every 5years but are not required to complete Continuing Teacher & Leader Education (CTLE) hours to maintain their certificates.

Professionally certified teachers are required to complete 100 Continuing Teacher & Leader Education (CTLE) hours during each five (5)-year registration cycle.  Individuals whose professional teaching certificates are issued by SED after July 1, 2016 will be automatically registered by SED. For additional information on the registration process and CTLE requirements, please visit NYSUT’s website at www.nysut.org/certification.

School districts or BOCES are also required to continue their compliance with regulations that govern the development, content, and implementation of professional development plans – Part 100.2(dd) of Commissioner’s Regulations. School districts or BOCES are required to provide CTLE hours so that faculty and staff remain current with their profession, meet the learning needs of their students, and are able to maintain their certificates in good standing based upon successfully completing 100 hours every five (5) years as prescribed in Part 80.6 of Commissioner’s Regulations.

The Professional Development Plan (PDP) as defined in Part 100. 2(dd) of Commissioner’s Regulations requires that each school district and BOCES develop a professional development plan that ensures “…how it will provide teachers it employs holding a professional certificate and/or level III teaching assistant certificate with opportunities to complete 175 hours of professional development or 100 hours of continuing teacher and leader education, as required every five (5) years under Part 80 of this Title”. 

Thus, districts that employ certificate holders who require CTLE hours and who work full-time (90 or more days in a school year) are required to provide opportunities for these certificate holders to accumulate the required 100 CTLE hours necessary to maintain their certificates.

TEACH Online Services

The New York State Education Department developed the TEACH Online Services System, commonly known as TEACH, to process all matters related to certification in New York State.  TEACH provides services for:

• Individuals, who can apply for certificates, check on the status of certificate application(s), update demographic and employment information, and verify or update registration status;
• Colleges/Universities that offer teacher and/or leadership preparation programs can submit certification recommendations for their program graduates.
• School Employers, who can access an employee (or prospective employee’s) certification, fingerprint, and employment history, and obtain application status updates on current or potential employees.
• The General Public, who can use the TEACH system to obtain information on the certification status of teachers across the state, as well as examination result reports for institutions of higher education that prepare teachers.  TEACH also provides information related to filing a moral character complaint.

All individuals possessing a NYS Teaching Certificate have a TEACH account and should check it annually (at a minimum) for accuracy.  You can access your TEACH account by using this link to self-register and choose a login name and password.  http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/teach/home.html.

State Education Department Contact Information

Only the State Education Department’s (SED) Office of Teaching Initiatives can officially interpret certification regulations and make determinations regarding the certification status of individual applicants.