Siena's CSforAll program supports in-service and pre-service teachers in qualifying for NYS teacher certification in computer science.
For in-service teachers: In NYS, teachers need 12 credits of computer science to qualify for a supplementary certificate in CS through the individual evaluation pathway. To assist with this, we offer Siena CS courses in the last afternoon (with remote learning options) which teachers can take for free or at reduced tuition rates. See our Professional Development page for information about courses and tuition rates. NYSED provides examples here of the types of courses that can be used towards the 12 credits.
Other requirements for a supplementary certificate in CS include holding a valid NYS classroom teaching certificate (in another subject area), three workshops, fingerprint clearance, and a recommendation from the school district. Note that although Siena University can help you get 12 credits of CS, it does not have a NYSED approved supplemental CS teaching certification program. Only NYSED can evaluate and determine if your completed application meets their qualifications, although teachers applying with the four Siena CS courses above have been approved by NYSED in the past. For a full list of what is required to qualify for a supplementary teaching certificate in CS, use this NYSED web site on certification requirements.
Starting October 6, 2025, teachers will also need to pass the Computer Science Content Specialty Test (CS CST) or qualify for an exam waiver. More information about the CS CST can be found on this NYSTCE webpage.
NYSED uses Student Information Repository System (SIRS) codes for high school courses, categorized by subject area and course type. This is the list of NYSED CS course ids. From these, we selected below some encodings we recommend using for the Siena supported CS courses:
Discovering CS:
SIRS 10008 Particular Topic Computer Literacy
SIRS 10160 Particular Topic Computer Programming
SIRS 10199 Computer Programming - Other Other computing courses.
CSIS110 Introduction to CS with Python and Multimedia
SIRS 10152 Computer Programming
SIRS 10156 Comp Prog-Other Language
CSIS180 Web Design
SIRS 10201 (Web Design)
CSIS120 Introduction to Software Development
SIRS 10155 (Java Programming)
Currently none of these codings require a SOCE or CS certification to teach and all of them qualify teachers for a SOCE (see SOCE web page for list of qualifying courses).
NYSED gave a webinar recorded here about CS Certification and the SOCE. Application for the SOCE is now closed.
Note - for teachers that are not certified in CS and do not qualify for a SOCE there are still options for teaching CS. First, teachers certified in an area that is not CS may teach one course outside of their certification area. See this link for more information. And second, if a CS cours is NOT on the list in this document, it can be taught without the NYSED CS Teaching Certification. Codes we recommend for our 4 Siena HS/Dual Enrollment courses above. If a district uses the codes we recommend, currently, a teacher does NOT need to hold a NYSED CS Teaching Certificate to teach these courses. However, this is likely to change in the future, so it is a good idea to work towards certification.
For pre-service teachers: Siena College was the first college or university in New York State to have an approved initial teacher certification program in computer science. To qualify for this certification, students in this program major in computer science and take education courses. See the Times Union newspaper article here!
For more information on either of these pathways to certification, please contact Robin Flatland (flatland@siena.edu) or Jim Matthews (matthews@siena.edu).