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Path Toward Certification

Certification Assistance

The New York State Education Department's Office of Teaching Initiatives provides comprehensive information regarding the teacher certification process in New York State, including an FAQ page that will answer most of your questions.

The Teacher Education Handbook

Departmental policies and procedures can be found in the Teacher Education Handbook

Teacher Certification Requirements: How and When

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) requires teachers to obtain certification before they can teach. Remember, it is your responsibility to stay current on deadlines for graduation, New York State Teacher's Certification Examinations (NYSTCE), certification applications, and requirements.

The steps to become recommended for certification by Marist involve the following:

Step One: Academic Preparation

You must complete one of our NYSED-approved programs of study in education, including an acceptable academic major, the required pedagogical coursework, student teaching placements, and a conferred degree upon graduation.

Step Two: Fingerprinting

NYSED requires that the Office of School Personnel Review and Accountability (OSPRA) conduct fingerprint-supported criminal history background checks for applicants for teacher certification and all prospective employees of school districts, charter schools, and BOCES.

It is the experience of Marist faculty that most school districts do expect the candidate to provide verification that they have been fingerprinted and have passed a criminal history background check prior to beginning a sustained field experience and/or student teaching placement.

If you are considering becoming a certificated teacher in another state, you are advised to consult their fingerprinting regulations since New York's fingerprinting clearance is not transferrable to other states, nor is another state's fingerprint clearance accepted in New York. If you do not choose to apply for fingerprint clearance in New York, please know that your placement for field experiences or student teaching may not be in a school/district in proximity to campus since most local school districts do require student teachers to be fingerprinted. The Marist Education Department will attempt to provide a local placement, but may have to resort to one more remote from campus.

The Education Department strongly recommends that candidates, including incoming transfer students, who will be required to participate in field experiences or student teaching be fingerprinted the semester prior to beginning that field experience or student teaching.

This message is very important for you if you have not yet been fingerprinted for your TEACH account:

MorphoTrust is a private vendor contracted by New York State to handle the fingerprinting requirements for educators, governmental offices, and other services that require fingerprint clearance.

MorphoTrust maintains service centers throughout New York and other states. The candidate makes an appointment at one of the centers through a web-based online system. Location of the centers may be found at www.IdentoGo.com. (Select NY and then click on Locations.)

Details are:

  • On the MorphoTrust system, you will be asked for an ORI number. Use TEACH as this code.
  • The candidate is responsible for making an appointment for one of the MorphoTrust centers. The entire fingerprinting application and fee will be managed by MorphoTrust. Access the online application using the link above. When completing the online application, you may pay by credit card. As an alternative, you could complete the application at your appointment site. If you choose to complete the application on-site, you must pay by either check or cash.
  • There is a fee of slightly more than $100. This amount is for the New York Department of Criminal Justice, FBI, and MorphoTrust fees.
  • Bring two forms of identification to your fingerprinting appointment. One form must be an identification photo (e.g., driver's license).
  • For those who do not reside in New York, but will need to be fingerprinted for student teaching in any state, you may make an appointment at a MorphoTrust location in New York.
  • If fingerprints are rejected due to poor-quality prints and a reprint appointment is necessary, there will be no additional charge.
  • Check your TEACH account about the status of your fingerprint application.
  • Check the following link for an FAQ on fingerprinting: http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tsei/ospra/.

If you choose to be fingerprinted, then please know that the candidate is fully responsible for getting fingerprinted in a timely manner so that clearance is received PRIOR to student teaching.

What if I have been fingerprinted for employment before?

"It depends on why you were fingerprinted. If you were fingerprinted after July 1, 2001 and you submitted your fingerprints to the NYSED pursuant to the SAVE Legislation, then you do not need to be fingerprinted again for subsequent employment in a covered school, irrespective of whether you ever worked there, or for subsequent applications for certification. If you were fingerprinted for another type of employment, such as a daycare worker, security guard, a police officer, etc., you need to be fingerprinted again."

(http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tsei/ospra/faqfc.html#fourtytwo)

If you are unsure if your fingerprints have been processed through the NYSED, you can call OSPRA at: (518) 473-2998.

Fingerprinting and student teaching

The NYSED's website contains a chart showing who is exempt from fingerprinting. That chart includes the statement:

"unpaid student teachers are treated like volunteers and, therefore, are not subject to fingerprinting"

(http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tsei/ospra/fingerprintingcharts.html)

With the idea of providing a safe environment for students, faculty, staff, etc., most area school districts require a candidate to be fingerprinted in order to student teach in one of their schools. Dr. Powers and Dr. Morrison may be consulted as to the names of those districts. If you request a student teaching placement in one of those districts and have yet to be fingerprinted under NYSED's SAVE legislation requirements (see above) then it will be expected that you will be fingerprinted in the semester prior to the start of student teaching. If you choose not to be fingerprinted at this time, then please understand that your student teaching placements may not occur in a school/district in proximity to campus since most local school districts do require student teachers to be fingerprinted.

Step Three: Workshops

Child Abuse Workshop,  Violence Prevention Workshop, and Needs of Students with Autism are to be completed ONLINE. All three are available at violenceworkshop.com. These workshops are automatically recorded in TEACH. However,  please remember that a copy of the certificate of completion must be brought to the Education Department Office so that your transcript can be processed to indicate you have completed this certification requirement. Remember to save a copy for yourself.

DASA (Dignity for All Students Act training)

The Dignity for All Students Act training must be documented on your transcripts for recommendation. On-campus workshops will be offered each semester. Proof of completion for the on-campus version will be documented on your transcript once the workshop is completed, and once the certificate of completion is received by the Education Department. Please watch for announcements for this workshop. Otherwise, take the DASA training at Ulster BOCES Center for School Safety. (The address is 175 Rte. 32 North, New Paltz, NY 12561. 845-255-1400.) A fee will be charged. If you complete the training off-campus, you need to have your Dignity for All Students Act workshop documented on your transcript for recommendation by sending a copy of your workshop certificate of completion to Marist's Education Department in Dyson 388.

Step Four: Teaching Certificate Application
In order to become certified, candidates MUST fill out an application on their TEACH Account at http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/teach/. There will be a fee. This process should be started during student teaching.

Program Codes for Certification Application

Childhood Ed/Special Ed (SWD) 1-6 and Birth through Grade 2 all have the same code: 23307

Adolescence Ed (7-12)
Biology: 26148
Chemistry: 26149
English: 26144
French: 26146
Math: 26143
Social Studies: 26145
Spanish: 26147

Five Year BA-BS/MAT Certification (Grades 7-12 Content Area plus Students with Disabilities)
Adolescence & Special Ed Earth Science: 39454
Adolescence & Special Ed Biology: 39455
Adolescence & Special Ed Chemistry: 39456
Adolescence & Special Ed English: 39457
Adolescence & Special Ed French: 39458
Adolescence & Special Ed Social Studies: 39459
Adolescence & Special Ed Math: 39460
Adolescence & Special Ed Spanish: 39461

Adolescence & Special Ed (stand-alone MAT; only for candidates that already have a bachelor’s degree): 39454

Graduate Education Programs

MSED/EPSY Five-Year Program: 26142

MSED/EPSY Online/Campus Program (Childhood Background): 90010

MSED/EPSY Online/Campus Program (Adolescence Background): 33664 

 

TEACH Account Password Reset:
There's a self-service feature for students to retrieve their TEACH Account User IDs and Passwords with no waiting time for email responses. Simply click on "USERNAME go to" or "PASSWORD go to" on this link: http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/teach/report.html.

5. Certification Examinations

Candidates for certification must achieve qualifying scores on the appropriate tests in the New York State Teacher Certification Examination (NYSTCE) program. Register for the tests at http://www.nystce.nesinc.com/ as you prepare to take them.

NYSTCE Exams Guide for Childhood Education/Students with Disabilities: Click here. 

NYSTCE Exam Guide for Five-Year BA-BS/MAT Adolescent Education: Click here.

Student/Faculty Resources for EAS

Additional Certifications:
Marist can recommend you for certification after your degree has been conferred (usually 2-3 weeks after grades are submitted), and then NYSED requires approximately 60 days to evaluate your application. Check your TEACH account "Evaluation History" for details on the processing of your application, as you may be missing a requirement, such as a workshop or a test. If all the requirements are met, you will be given a Control Number on your TEACH account, which you can use as verification for job applications. Log in to your account to check your status: http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/teach/.

Substitute Teaching in New York: Access the following link for requirements to be a substitute teacher in New York: http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/certificate/substituteteaching.html.

Interstate Reciprocity: Those wishing to teach in states other than New York should check the Certification Map for information on each state's reciprocity agreement with New York. This map may not be up-to-date due to each state's changing regulations for certification. Check directly with the state of interest for more specific information.

Teacher Certification Requirements by State (Including D.C. and Puerto Rico)

Marist’s teacher education programs are designed to prepare candidates for certification in New York State and are aligned with the certification requirements in the state of New York. Marist College cannot guarantee that these programs will meet the requirements for initial or professional certification in any other state. It is the candidate’s responsibility to research and determine the certification requirements in any other state in which they plan to apply for initial or professional teaching certification. It is also the candidate’s responsibility to determine if the Marist College teacher education programs meet the requirements for certification in states other than New York.