THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:	Higher Education and Professional Practice Committee
FROM:	Johanna Duncan-Poitier
SUBJECT:	Update on draft regulations on certification requirements for educational leaders
DATE:	March 15, 2006
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 2 and 3
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

 

SUMMARY

 

 

Item for Information

 

This item is an update on the February HE/PP Committee discussion about the draft regulations relating to requirements for certification in educational leadership.

 

At the February meeting, members of the Committee asked that staff to continue to discuss and consider two issues:

 

1)                      the possibility of including a provision for reciprocity without examination to address the eligibility of experienced school leaders from other states who wish to work in New York, and

2)                      the concerns expressed by some about the examination requirement included in the draft regulation.

 

Staff is working with Counsel’s office to revise the draft regulation to allow for reciprocity without the examination for district level school leaders who have education comparable to New York’s program and three years experience under a school leadership certificate comparable to a New York State certificate.  For the building level certificate, the draft regulation allows for a two-year Conditional Initial certificate for individuals holding a certificate from another state comparable to the School Building Leader certificate.  This gives the holder of the Conditional Initial certificate a two-year period to be employed in New York State while they take and pass the examination to qualify for the full Initial level certificate.  (This is the same process available to teachers who have certificates from other states that have requirements that are comparable to New York State’s.)

 

          At the February meeting, the Committee members discussed the fact that some of the concerns that have been expressed in the field about the examinations for school leadership certificates may have been due to insufficient information regarding the examinations and their development.  We are making changes to the draft regulation to allow additional time for us to engage in further discussion with interested parties as we make appropriate adjustments in the examination development process.

 

          We propose to place language in the draft regulations indicating that the exam would be required once it has been made available.  We would not make the exam available until we have completed needed consultations and made any appropriate adjustments in the content or format of the examinations.  The goal of the consultations will be to ensure the examinations are appropriate to produce qualified school leaders to fill those positions in New York State’s public schools.  Staff have met with the regional District Superintendents, New York City Department of Education executive staff, the Commissioner’s Advisory Council of School Superintendents, and we are planning additional consultations with representatives of these and other groups and National Evaluation Systems (NES), the examination contractor, to continue to explore the best format and content for these examinations.

 

         

Those individuals who graduate from the new New York State educational leadership programs prior to the availability of the examinations will be eligible for the new leadership certificates. 

 

 

Timetable for Implementation

 

          After the March meeting, it is the Department’s intention to publish a draft regulation in the State Register for review and public comment, and to bring the regulation back to the Regents for action at the June 2006 meeting.  Action is needed in June in order to properly grant certificates to the May/June 2006 graduates of School Leadership programs.