Hiring Policy
Provisional/Emergency License(s) Availability: New York offers a Supplementary Certificate to licensed teachers to teach out-of-field where a shortage exists while completing initial or professional certificate requirements. Candidates for this certificate must pass the applicable content test.
Provisional/Emergency License(s) Validity period: The Supplementary Certificate is valid for five years and is nonrenewable.
COVID-19 State Policy: New York has implemented the following changes to its rules regarding Provisional and Emergency Licensure. The state has created the Emergency COVID-19 Certificate for candidates who have completed all certificate requirements except for examination requirements. This certificate is valid for one year and may be renewed for an additional year. In order for the certificate to be renewed, candidates must obtain a recommendation from a principal and superintendent where the candidate is employed, or a recommendation for the renewal from the board of cooperative educational services (BOCES) District Superintendent in the BOCES in which the candidate is employed. COVID-19 policies do not
affect the state's grade in
Provisional and Emergency Licensure.
Requirements for Out-of-State Teachers: Because licensure requirements for out-of-state teachers are scored in Requirements for Out-of-State Teachers, only the state's policies regarding emergency/provisional license(s) are considered as part of this goal.
Ensure that all teachers pass required subject-matter licensing tests before they enter the classroom.
New York's policy offering licenses to teachers who have not met all requirements for one year minimizes the risks inherent in having teachers in classrooms who lack appropriate subject-matter knowledge; however, the state could strengthen its policy by requiring all teachers to meet subject-matter licensure requirements prior to entering the classroom.
New York was helpful in providing NCTQ with facts that enhanced this analysis.
6B: Provisional and Emergency Licensure
Teachers who have not passed content licensing tests place students at risk. While states may need a regulatory basis for filling classroom positions with a few people who do not hold full teaching credentials, many of the regulations permitting this put the instructional needs of children at risk, often year after year.[1] For example, schools can make liberal use of provisional certificates or waivers provided by the state if they fill classroom positions with instructors who have completed a teacher preparation program but have not passed their state licensing tests. These allowances are permitted for up to three years in some states. The unfortunate consequence is that students' needs are neglected in an effort to extend personal consideration to adults who cannot meet minimum state standards.[2]
While some flexibility may be necessary because licensing tests are not always administered with the needed frequency, making provisional certificates and waivers available year after year could signal that the state does not put much value on its licensing standards or what they represent. States accordingly need to ensure that all persons given full charge of children's learning are required to pass the relevant licensing tests in their first year of teaching, ideally before they enter the classroom. Licensing tests are an important minimum benchmark in the profession, and states that allow teachers to postpone passing these tests are abandoning one of the basic responsibilities of licensure.