The New York State Board of Regents and

The New York State Education Department

Growing Tomorrow’s Leaders Today

A: With an increased focus on instruction, standards, and accountability, the role and responsibilities of school and district leaders have changed significantly. In considering school leadership in New York State, and across the country, the Board of Regents commissioned the Blue Ribbon Panel on School Leadership to critically review New York’s regulations governing school leadership preparation and certification.

A: No. Other organizations may, however, partner with an Institution of Higher Education to jointly develop a leadership preparation program offered by an IHE.

A: Yes. Programs will have to document substantive relationships with distinguished practitioners and scholars in education and other fields.

A. To be eligible for the school building leader certificate, candidates must have earned a master's degree, which requires a minimum of 30 graduate credits.

A: Yes. State law requires district level leaders, including business leaders, to have 60 graduate credits prior to certification.

A. Up to 2004, individuals holding a provisional certificate in a classroom teaching title may complete a graduate program in educational leadership for permanent certification in their classroom teaching title.

Candidates holding an initial certificate in a classroom teaching title may complete a graduate program in educational leadership for professional certification in the classroom teaching title provided the candidate ALSO completes 12 semester hours of graduate study in the content core of the initial classroom teaching certificate.

A: The preparation program has discretion when granting credit for prior learning. All higher education programs registered in New York are currently able to grant such credit. The State Education Department envisions this being a critical part of creating individual plans of study for aspiring leaders. For example, a business teacher who has been teaching advanced accounting in the local high school might not have to complete the same budgeting and finance courses as a teacher with no experience with budgets or accounting. The preparation program may recommend that the business teacher complete study in another area where additional skills are needed.

A: Yes, unless the program has approval to offer another model of leadership experiences that is substantially equivalent.

A: The regulations specify that leadership experiences must

• occur throughout the program of study,
• be tied to coursework,
• include experiences in districts serving students at different developmental levels and with a variety of characteristics and socio-economic backgrounds, and
• be jointly planned with and supervised by program faculty and school district leaders.

A: Leadership experiences must occur throughout the program. In addition to leadership experiences tied to coursework, the 15-week full-time leadership experience is intended to be a capstone experience that allows a candidate to perform as a school or district leader. However, programs may receive approval to offer a substantially equivalent model that is structured differently.

A: Yes. However, most of the registration requirements will be similar to programs for traditional candidates. A preparation program that offers this type of will have to describe the criteria used to determine whether the candidate is "exceptionally qualified."

A: Candidates will have to enter a registered alternative preparation program, prepare for and pass the state written assessment, get a written commitment from the school district for supervision and mentoring, and then apply to the State Education Department for a Transitional D certificate. Once the candidate holds the certification, the district may hire the candidate.

A: No. The alternative program leads only to school district leadership certification.

A: No. There are two paths to certification for exceptionally qualified candidates. Through the first path, the candidate will work with a school district and his/her preparation program to pass the state assessment and get a Transitional D certificate prior to completing his/her preparation. In the second path, the candidate will successfully complete the preparation program and the state assessment, after which he/she is eligible for the professional certificate.

A: Yes. Candidates must hold a graduate degree (academic or professional).

A: Yes. Exceptionally qualified candidates who apply for the Transitional D certificate will have to pass the written component of the state assessment to be recommended for the Transitional D certificate. All exceptionally qualified candidates will have to pass both the state written and the state performance assessment to be recommended for the professional certificate.

A: It is up to the preparation program and the candidate to decide when the candidate is sufficiently prepared for the state written assessment. This may happen before all coursework is completed, in which case the candidate would be responsible for completing the remaining program requirements while in a leadership position.

A: The candidate will be supervised by a college supervisor and mentored by a BOCES district superintendent or a regional superintendent (NYC), or a designated superintendent (subject to the approval of the employing authorities).

A: Yes, this provision remains in education law.

A: A student in a registered preparation program who has completed at least 50% of the semester hour requirements may, at the request of the institution, be issued an internship certificate. The internship certificate allows the certificate holder to be employed in a school district, under appropriate college supervision, in the area for which the certificate is valid (i.e., school building leader, school district leader, or school business leader). The certificate is valid for two years.

A: Currently, the internship certificate does not require an assessment.

A: Local bargaining agreements determine this.

A: Professional development requirements may be included in certification regulations (Part 80), to be developed.

A: No. The assessments are being developed by National Evaluation Systems based on the regulatory requirements in CR 52.21 (c) with input from the higher education and preK-12 communities.

A: Yes. Successful completion of the written and performance components of the State assessment in school district leadership is a requirement for completing a program leading to school district certification.

A: Yes. Successful completion of the written and performance components of the State assessment in school business district leadership is a requirement for completing a program leading to school business district certification.