Teacher Certification

There are specific types of certificates the New York State Education Department (NYSED) assigns the college to submit online recommendations for qualified students at the appropriate time. A college recommendation is an online verification submitted into the qualified student's personal NYSED TEACH Online account after they have completed specific requirements. The state will then take over to conduct their own review for their own requirements (such as fingerprints, exam, etc.) before they approve the issuance online. The NYSED always has final review and approval. All certificates are issued online through their TEACH Online accounts.

Click on the link below to read more about each certificate:

• Types of New York State Certificates the College Recommends

A General Understanding of Obtaining New York State Teacher Certification for School of Education Students

Lehman School of Education (SOE) students completing a teacher preparation program are those in the graduate level programs and undergraduate students following the certification sequence of coursework in addition to minoring in education. It is important that SOE students check in with their program adviser to ensure they are completing the right coursework to graduate from their teacher preparation program. Students should also work on their state certification requirements along the way towards graduation. They should be ready to obtain their state certification at that point.

Students seeking their first teacher certification from the New York State Education Dept- Office of Teaching Initiatives (NYSED) will be working on the requirements to obtain the initial certificate in their subject area of study. The initial certificate is the entry level certificate that all future teachers must start with after graduation. All NYSED certification requirements depend on the student’s background, the subject area of study and the certificate they will seek from the state.

Below is a *general checklist for students that will complete their SOE teacher preparation program. Upon request, the Lehman Certification Office is available to send a personalized certification checklist for SOE students based on the teacher program they will graduate from, their background and the type of certificate they will seek. Generally, the following will be required for NYSED initial certification and should be completed by graduation:

• CONTENT CORE IN LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES: This mandatory requirement for students who are accepted and matriculated into any of the following Multi-Subject program areas:
  • Early Childhood B-2 (MSEd & Advanced Certificate)
    
  • Childhood 1-6 (MSEd & Advanced Cert.)
    
  • All Special Education grade levels: B-2, 1-6 and **7-12 Generalist (MSEd & Adv.Cert.)

Students in these programs must have completed the following Liberal Arts & Sciences coursework in either their undergraduate program or if not then must have completed by graduation: TWO COURSES (6 credits) with a minimum final grade of C or higher in each of these Liberal Arts areas:

• College Level Mathematics (not remedial)
  
• Natural Sciences (Biology, Geology/Earth Science, Chemistry, Astronomy/Physics)
  
• History/ Social Sciences (Sociology, Economics, Anthropology, Political Sci., Geography)
  
• **English/ Writing (Additional only for Special Ed 7-12 Generalist)

Students in these Multi-Subject program areas should contact the Lehman Certification Office in their first semester to get their transcript evaluated for the content core coursework.

• CONTENT CORE IN ALL OTHER TEACHER PROGRAM AREAS: This is a mandatory requirement is for all other teacher programs that are specific specialty subject areas. Students must have a number of content core course credits in their same specialty area. Program coordinators evaluate student records when they are accepted into the program.
  
  
• NEW YORK STATE- TEACH ONLINE SERVICES ACCOUNT: This permanent account must be created and maintained throughout their teaching career. Once certified by the state, teachers must periodically update their personal information, education background, and work experience. They will apply for all educator certifications through this account. It is everything pertaining to NYSED certification.
• FINGERPRINT CLEARANCE: Students must have their fingerprints on the NY State TEACH Online account. The state will not issue any certificates without fingerprint clearance. The Lehman Clinical Practice Office facilitates with obtaining fingerprints with the New York City- Dept. of Education (NYCDOE) in Brooklyn for fieldwork observations and student teaching within the public-school system. Students can get their fingerprints taken by the NYCDOE and then request for copies to be sent to their NY state TEACH Online Services account. Students should have fingerprint clearance on their state TEACH Online account for their certification purposes and on file with the NYCDOE.
• MANDATED WORKSHOPS: The following 3 workshops are required for all teacher certification areas. One additional workshop is only for those in the Special Ed and Speech & Language TSSLD program; they are:
  
  • Child Abuse Identification & Reporting
  • School Violence Prevention
  • DASA: Anti-Bullying & Discrimination Training
  • Needs of Students with Autism
    (Additional for Special Ed and TSSLD certification only)

The workshops are offered online and there are links available to choose from a list of state approved providers for each of the workshops. At the end of each workshop, students should receive a completion form or certificate to keep as proof. Some providers also submit proof to their state TEACH Online account, however not all do. It is important to keep a record of the completion form for each of the workshops for that reason. Be sure to get your proof from the provider.

• STUDENT TEACHING/ INTERNSHIP COURSE: Most of the SOE teacher preparation programs require a student teaching or internship course which is hands on clinical experience in the classroom before graduation. Students must consult with their program adviser to know when to take this course and what preliminary procedures must be taken in preparation with the Lehman Clinical Practice Office. The L-TPP assessment will be part of your final grade for these courses. Final grades must be a B or higher.
• OFFICIAL GRADUATION APPROVAL ON RECORD: Students must file for graduation before the Registrar’s deadline in their last semester- check the Academic Calendar. The Registrar's Graduation Audit Office must receive their intention to graduate. After final grades are posted at the end of the semester, the Registrar will begin your verifying degree audits. When this process is completed, they will approve the official graduation on each student’s final record.
• COLLEGE RECOMMENDATION SUBMISSION: After all the above-mentioned requirements are completed and graduation approval is granted by the egistrar officially, students must follow up with the Lehman Certification Office to request the recommendation submission for their certificate. This online recommendation submission into the student’s state TEACH Online account, verifies to the state that all the above requirements are completed.
• COLLEGE RECOMMENDATION SUBMISSION: After all the above-mentioned requirements are completed and graduation approval is granted by the egistrar officially, students must follow up with the Lehman Certification Office to request the recommendation submission for their certificate. This online recommendation submission into the student’s state TEACH Online account, verifies to the state that all the above requirements are completed.

After all the above is completed and the college recommendation is submitted, the New York State Education Dept. then takes over the certification review from that point on. The state always conducts their own final review for other requirements before they approve the issuance of all certificates. They will check for the following requirements:

• FINGERPRINT CLEARANCE: All applicants must have fingerprint clearance on their state TEACH Online account.
• COMPLETION OF ALL REQUIRED EXAMS: The state requires everyone to pass the EAS exam and the Content Specialty Tests (CST)in the subject area(s) they will teach. Those adding Bilingual extension will need the BEA exam in the language of their choosing. All exams should be completed by graduation time. The website is  to register, schedule and find reparation materials for the exams. There are study modules available for some of the exams on all SOE student’s CUNY Blackboard account organization.
  
  The certification exams website is managed by Pearson on behalf of NYSED. They evaluate and score all the exams and then submit the results to every participant’s TEACH Online account. It is important that all personal information matches the same on the state TEACH Online account to avoid delays or discrepancies.

• FILE A PAID APPLICATION FOR THE INITIAL CERTIFICATE ON TEACH ONLINE ACCOUNT: When students are ready to request the college recommendation submission, they will then be supplied with instructions to apply for the certificate with a program code assigned to their specific teacher preparation program. The program code is an indication to the state that the student has completed a teacher preparation program and will receive a college recommendation as a confirmation.

*All certification requirements are subject to change at any time by the New York State Education Depart - Office of Teaching Initiatives (NYSED).