§ 3006-A — Registration and continuing teacher and leader education requirements for holders of professional certificates in the classroom teaching ...

§ 3006-a. Registration and continuing teacher and leader education\nrequirements for holders of professional certificates in the classroom\nteaching service, holders of level III teaching assistant certificates,\nholders of professional certificates in the educational leadership\nservice. 1. a. Commencing with the two thousand sixteen--two thousand\nseventeen school year, each holder of a professional certificate in the\nclassroom teaching service, holder of a level III teaching assistant\ncertificate and holder of a professional certificate in the educational\nleadership service shall be required to register every five years with\nthe department to practice in the state and shall comply with the\nprovisions of the continuing teacher and leader education requirements\nset forth in this section.\n b. Any of the certified individuals described in paragraph a of this\nsubdivision who do not satisfy the continuing teacher and leader\neducation requirements shall not practice until they have met such\nrequirements and have been issued a registration or conditional\nregistration certificate.\n c. In accordance with the intent of this section, adjustments to the\ncontinuing teacher and leader education requirement may be granted by\nthe department for reasons of health certified by a health care\nprovider, for extended active duty with armed forces of the United\nStates, or for other good cause acceptable to the department which may\nprevent compliance.\n d. Any certificate holder who is not practicing as a teacher, teaching\nassistant or educational leader in a school district, board of\ncooperative educational services, or nonpublic school that is providing\ninstruction pursuant to subdivision two of section thirty-two hundred\nfour of this title in this state shall be exempt from the continuing\nteacher and leader education requirement upon the filing of a written\nstatement with the department declaring such status. Any holder of a\nprofessional certificate in the classroom teaching service, holder of a\nlevel III teaching assistant certificate and holder of a professional\ncertificate in the educational leadership service who resumes practice\nduring the five-year registration period shall notify the department\nprior to resuming practice and shall meet such continuing teacher and\nleader education requirements as prescribed in regulations of the\ncommissioner.\n 2. a. During each five-year registration period beginning on or after\nJuly first, two thousand sixteen, an applicant for registration shall\nsuccessfully complete a minimum of one hundred hours of continuing\nteacher and leader education, as defined by the commissioner. The\ndepartment shall issue rigorous standards for courses, programs, and\nactivities, that shall qualify as continuing teacher and leader\neducation pursuant to this section. For purposes of this section, a peer\nreview teacher, or a principal acting as an independent trained\nevaluator, conducting a classroom observation as part of the teacher\nevaluation system pursuant to section three thousand twelve-d of this\narticle may credit such time towards his or her continuing teacher and\nleader effectiveness requirements.\n b. Nothing in this section shall limit the ability of local school\ndistricts to agree pursuant to collective bargaining to additional hours\nof professional development or continuing teacher or leader education\nabove the minimum requirements set forth in this section.\n c. A certified individual who has not satisfied the continuing teacher\nand leader education requirements shall not be issued a five-year\nregistration certificate by the department and shall not practice unless\nand until a registration or conditional registration certificate is\nissued as provided in subdivision three of this section. For purposes of\nthis subdivision, "continuing teacher and leader education requirements"\nshall mean activities designed to improve the teacher or leader's\npedagogical and/or leadership skills, targeted at improving student\nperformance, including but not limited to formal continuing teacher and\nleader education activities. Such activities shall promote the\nprofessionalization of teaching and be closely aligned to district goals\nfor student performance which meet the standards prescribed by\nregulations of the commissioner. To fulfill the continuing teacher and\nleader education requirement, programs must be taken from sponsors\napproved by the department, which shall include but not be limited to\nschool districts, pursuant to the regulations of the commissioner.\n 3. The department, in its discretion, may issue a conditional\nregistration to a teacher, teaching assistant or educational leader in a\nschool district, board of cooperative educational services, or nonpublic\nschool that is providing instruction pursuant to subdivision two of\nsection thirty-two hundred four of this title in this state who fails to\nmeet the continuing teacher and leader education requirements\nestablished in subdivision two of this section but who agrees to make up\nany deficiencies and take any additional continuing teacher and leader\neducation which the department may require. The duration of such\nconditional registration shall be determined by the department. Any\nholder of a professional certificate in the classroom teaching service,\nholder of a level III teaching assistant certificate or holder of a\nprofessional certificate in the educational leadership service and any\nother certified individual required by the commissioner to register\nevery five years who is notified of the denial of registration for\nfailure to submit evidence, satisfactory to the department, of required\ncontinuing teacher and leader education and who practices without such\nregistration, shall be subject to moral character review under\nsubdivision seven of section three hundred five of this chapter.\n