Certification

After 3 years of teaching experience (subbing DOES count, however being a Teaching Assistant DOES NOT count), you can apply for your Professional Certificate. Your initial certification expires after 5 years from the date it was issued, so be aware of that in case a time extension is needed (further information about what is considered a valid teaching experience can be found below).

1. Contact Human Resources at the district office . Ask them to access the TEACH system and verify that you have accumulated 3 years of teaching experience (if all 3 years have been within the South Colonie district). Also, ask them to verify that you have your year of mentoring confirmed in the TEACH system.

NOTE: If you worked in a different school district to fulfill the 3 year requirement, you must contact the human resources department in those districts and ask them to verify the same information in your TEACH account.

2. Once all of the above is confirmed, log into your TEACH account and click on "apply for certificate". You need to maintain a record of your log-in information for the TEACH website.

3. Read all of the directions and make sure everything is up to date on your TEACH account.

4. If your 3 years of teaching experience is within your undergraduate degree, you do NOT have to submit a code when applying for your professional certificate. You only need a code from your master's program if that is the area in which you are getting your professional certification.

5. Fill out all of the required information and pay for your certificate ($100.00 fee as of 2019).

NOTE: This process can take up to 8-12 weeks (or sometimes longer as the State Education Department is back logged with applications to process), so check monthly to see when State Ed. has approved your application.

If you have any questions regarding this process you can contact the human resources at the district office. Speaking with a fellow SCTA member who has recently completed their Professional Certificate application process can also be a valuable way to get tips and additional information regarding the application process.

An individual who has recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education from a college offering a NYS teacher preparation program will have received their initial certification (which they apply for after completing the program). If their certificate is specific to the age group they would like to teach, then they can actually begin interviewing for teaching positions and accept a job.

In order to maintain their initial certification, NYS requires teachers to obtain a master's degree in teaching (or a related discipline) within 5 years of the completion of their initial degree. Furthermore, in order to obtain a Professional Certification (which has since replaced the Permanent Certification) a teacher needs to acquire 3 years of teaching experience within 5 years of time after completing her initial certificate.

For the Professional certificate in classroom teaching service, individuals must complete at least three school years of teaching experience or its equivalent (540 full-time days). A maximum of 180 days will be accepted per school year (July 1 through June 30). Therefore, in order to satisfy this requirement, teaching experience must span at least three different school years.

For individuals who were issued their first Initial teaching certificate on or after February 2, 2014, their teaching experience must be in the subject area of the certificate held to be acceptable for the Professional certificate. The issue date of the Initial certificate can be found in the Certificates section on the Account Information page in your TEACH account. The Issued/Effective Date is the date on which the certificate was issued and became valid (active).

Below is the list of acceptable teaching experiences, BUT unfortunately, an experience as a Teaching Assistant does not qualify.

Acceptable teaching experience for the professional certificate may be gained in the following settings:

● Public schools, BOCES, or approved Early Intervention providers in New York State while holding a valid and appropriate certificate.

● Non-public or charter schools in New York State

● Public or nonpublic schools in another U.S. state or U.S. territory, where the school is recognized by the public-school district or other governmental entity in which it is located.

● Schools located outside the United States, where the school is recognized by the public-school district or other governmental entity in which it is located.

● Registered, non-public nursery schools or kindergartens

● Universal Pre-K (UPK) or Head Start

● Licensed day care center

● Substitute teaching experience in New York State, both day-to-day (per diem) and long term, is acceptable if it is completed according to State regulations. Make sure to keeptrack of the days that you teach each subject.

● Itinerant teaching experience in New York State, such as experience gained as Special Education Itinerant Teachers (SEIT) or Speech and Language Disabilities teachers who are required to hold the respective certificates.

● Homebound teaching

● Tutor during the regular school day working with students in a home, hospital or school setting, teaching content as required by NYS Learning Standards where a certificate is required by the New York State Commissioner’s Regulations. The tutor must be an employee of a NYS public school district and considered the “teacher of record”.

● Hospital with an approved K-12 educational program.

● Department of Corrections, Division for Youth, or Office for People with Developmental Disabilities with an approved K-12 educational program.

● Adult education teaching while holding an adult education certificate or NYS classroom teaching certificate and teaching curriculum that counts towards a high school diploma or High School Equivalency (HSE).

● Teaching experience while holding a valid Transitional B, C or Internship certificate is acceptable, as long as the certificate holder is enrolled in the program and employed under the certificate. Experience completed under any of these certificates must be in the subject of the certificate to be acceptable.

● Alternative education teaching to the NYS Learning Standards to students who remain on the day school record.

● Teaching experience while holding a valid Transitional B, C or Internship certificate is acceptable, as long as the certificate holder is enrolled in the program and employed under the certificate.

● Teaching experience while holding a valid Transitional G certificate in a public, non-charter school.

● Peace Corps service if the teacher submits an abstract of services provided by the Peace Corps.

As certain life changing events may lead you to change your name, it is important to see this change reflected on your teaching certificate(s) as well. Directions for changing your name can be found here on the NYS Education Department website.

NOTE: There is a separate link to directions for requesting a printed certificate reflecting your name change.

Additional guidance and information related to ever changing certification requirements in New York State can be found on the websites below.

NYSUT (New York State United Teachers)

For Teachers specifically on the NYSUT website

For Teaching Assistants specifically on the NYSUT website

New York State Education Department

For Teachers specifically on the New York State Education Department website

For Teaching Assistants specifically on the New York State Education Department website

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