INSTRUCTIONS
Pursuant to New York State
Education Law, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), New York State Education Department (NYSED)
is requesting that all charter schools provide reports and supporting
documentation concerning teacher certification and employee records. NYSED is also requesting all charter schools
to assure that the submitted data is complete and accurate.
All reports
must reflect current data. All supporting documentation must be submitted
even if identical documentation was submitted in previous years.
Assurances Form
Please follow the
directions on the form and submit together with the Teacher Certification and
Employee Records Form.
Teacher Certification and Employee Records Form
TABLE A – PROFESSIONAL
INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF
List all "lead
teachers” providing instruction in the school.
“Lead teacher” is defined as an
adult who offers direct instruction in a mandatory class to one or more
students, regardless of the number of teaching hours per week, and regardless
of the subject matter. Lead
co-teachers, Title I teachers, librarians who teach library science, and
teachers who substitute for 4 weeks or more are included. Teaching assistants, paraprofessionals, non-teaching
educational administrators, speech pathologists, occupational therapists,
physical therapists, social workers and counselors are not included. See the Key on Table A for important
instructions and definitions.
If a teacher is
certified, place an X in the applicable
column in Table A and provide NYSED with the appropriate supporting documentation.
Evidence of certification includes a current New York State teaching certificate,
a TEACH printout with a status of Certified, or a New York City teaching
license for teachers in the five boroughs of New York City. If such evidence is not available, do not
place an X in this column. Note: a
resume, HOUSE, college transcripts or out-of-state certificate (even if the
state has a reciprocal agreement with
If a teacher is not
certified, s/he may be considered presumptively
certified if s/he has submitted to the Office of Teacher Initiatives (OTI)
all required documentation, test results and payments, and is awaiting
determination by OTI. Evidence of such submission includes a TEACH status of Ready
for Review with a date of
application within six months of the date this form is submitted OR a letter from a
university stating that all certification requirements are fulfilled and that
it has submitted an application to OTI on behalf of the teacher during the four
weeks preceding the date this form is submitted. If such evidence is available,
place an X in the appropriate box in Table A and provide NYSED with a copy of
the relevant TEACH printout or university letter. If such evidence is not available, do not
place an X in either column. Note: a
letter from Teach for
If a teacher is neither
certified nor presumptively certified,
s/he may be eligible to teach under the “30/5” exemption of Section
2854(3)(a-1) of the New York State Education Law, provided that s/he falls into
a qualifying exemption category.
Following is a list of the four qualifying exemption categories and the
correlating Table that must be completed:
I.
At least three years
of elementary, middle or secondary classroom teaching experience (TABLE B)
II.
Tenured or tenure
track college faculty (TABLE C)
III.
Two years of
satisfactory experience through the Teach for
IV.
Possesses exceptional
business, professional, artistic, athletic, or military experience (TABLE E)
If an uncertified teacher falls
under one of these qualifying exemptions, indicate such status in Table A in
the Exempted/Not Certified column.
In the drop-down menu, click the type of exemption and correlating Table
that will be used. Complete this column for every teacher with a qualifying exemption,
regardless of the teacher’s HQ status.
Complete one table for each eligible
uncertified teacher and provide NYSED with the supporting documentation as
described below. USE ONLY ONE EXEMPTION
PER TEACHER. A TABLE MAY BE USED FOR ONE
TEACHER ONLY.
HQ status – Report the status of each
teacher as s/he was reported in the BEDS Personal Data Form of 2008-2009. Choose the appropriate status in the
drop-down menu. Complete this column for
every teacher, regardless of the teacher’s certification or exemption
status.
TABLES B, C, D, E –
QUESTIONNAIRES FOR UNCERTIFIED TEACHERS WITH A QUALIFYING EXEMPTION
Complete one table for each
uncertified teacher falling under a qualifying exemption. All
columns in the tables must be completed.
Tables with incomplete columns will be treated as unsubmitted.
Use only one exemption and one table per
teacher. A table may be used for one
teacher only.
Following is a description
of the supporting documentation that must be submitted for each exempted
teacher:
TABLE B (Three years of classroom experience) – No
additional documentation
TABLE C (Tenured or tenure track college faculty) – Letter from the college
TABLE D (Two years of Teach for
TABLE E (Exceptional experience) – Current resume
TABLE F – NON-INSTRUCTIONAL
STAFF
List all current employees
who do not provide direct instruction as "lead teachers.” Teaching Assistants,
paraprofessionals, non-teaching educational administrators, security guards, speech
therapists, social workers, office and maintenance personnel are included.
TABLE G – NEWLY HIRED AND
TERMINATED EMPLOYEES
List all employees who have
commenced or terminated employment since the school’s last report to NYSED. Unless updated more recently, a school’s last
report was with the submission of the previous year’s Teacher Certification and
Employee Records Form.
ALL TABLES MUST REFLECT CURRENT
DATA
Please submit all tables,
assurances and supporting documentation no later than January 16, 2009. The
completed tables must be emailed to emscapa@mail.nysed.gov
as one Excel workbook in Excel format.
Do not submit a PDF version of the
tables. Do not divide the tables into
two or more attachments and do not transform the tables in any way. Paper
copies of the completed tables, assurances and supporting documentation must
also be mailed via postal service to:
Moshe Gans,
Ph.D.
Regional Associate
Office of School Improvement and
Community Services (NYC)
New York State Education
Department
If you have questions or
require technical assistance, please contact Dr. Moshe Gans
at (718) 722-7108.