Educator Certification

•  Click here for access to your New York State Certification TEACH account: www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert

The Brooklyn College Preparation Programs lead to New York State certification.

Refer to this website and to the Office of Teaching Initiatives site for current information, as regulations may change over time. It is important to double check all information.

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You must complete all of the following steps for certification. Complete the following five steps in any order:

Step: Before you graduate, you must file for a graduation audit on time

You must complete your program as one of your requirements for certification. To file for graduation, apply via your Self-Service area in CUNYfirst. Click here for instructions. Complete the instructions given in your degree audit letter. Your graduation must be confirmed by the registrar and Faculty Council.

Teaching Fellows and Teach for America students: Call 718.951.4800, and the staff in the Secondary Education office will advise you on the steps needed.

All other students: Before you graduate, go to the New York State TEACH site and create an account or check your existing TEACH account.

If you do not receive confirmation that your recommendation for certification was entered by the timeline above, contact the Certification Officer. Note that your mandated workshops must be verified before your recommendation for certification can be sent by the college to the New York State Department of Education Office of Teaching Initiatives.

Step: Complete Your Certification Tests

Be sure you are completing the correct requirements for your certification area. Search certification requirements. If you are not already certified, and you are applying for certification related to your college program, check requirements for an Approved Teacher Preparation Program. If you are already certified, check the requirements for an additional certificate. To check if your program leads to certification, you can refer to the college bulletin.

Testing Resources and Information

• New York State Certification Exams and Practice Material
• CUNY resources for candidates and faculty, posted on Blackboard
• New York State Certification Exams — Overview
• CUNY teacher certification exam support resources. 
• Test preparation materials posted by NYSTCE
• Guidance on videotaping requirements for teacher candidates when you are working on the edTPA, you can use these forms
• FAQ about tests including the edTPA handbook needed for each certification area 
• For help finding a test site, go to http://www.pearsonvue.com/es/locate or call 800.989.8532. Click here for more information. 
• "Safety Net": If you take certification tests but do not pass, you may be eligible to use one or more of the exam safety net options. Check the complete current deadlines and procedures posted at www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert. Check that site for updates as well. For the ALST safety net, check these instructions and a list of courses you may want to request to be evaluated for the ALST Safety Net.
• Important note about timing for the edTPA and CST (Content Specialty Test) Safety Net options: Be sure to wait for your score for those tests to be reported before scheduling the other test you need for the Safety Net if you decide to use the Safety Net option. Do not schedule the ATS-W or Safety Net CST tests before getting your score result for the edTPA or current CST test. If you get your edTPA and/or current CST test score and your score is not a passing score,  and if you decide to take the ATS-W or Safety Net CST test, the test must be taken on or before June 30, 2017. You can apply for a voucher for the ATS-W test following the instructions on the OTI site www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert in the safety net section.

Tests required for first initial certification (if you are not already certified in New York State) for most certification areas:

You can double check by going to this link: Search certification requirements

• edTPA: You will complete the tasks during student teaching. Handbooks and rubrics for this assessment will be provided and processed through the Tk20 system as your Integrated edTPA platform provider. 
• EAS: Educating All Students Test
• ALST: Academic Literacy Skills Test
• CST: Content Specialty Test.   
• SBL: School Building Leader assessment and SDL: School District Leader assessment. Only for candidates for this program.Note that the EAS test is required for School Building and School District leader certification. 
• PRAXIS II: for professional certification, speech-language pathology only. 

If you already have New York State certification:

If your certification is in effect (that is, it is valid, not expired, revoked, etc.) you will not need to complete the new certification tests unless you are applying for certification for a different age group/subject. If you are applying for certification in a new subject, you can check the requirements for an additional certificate. Search certification requirements.

Step: Complete Your Mandated Workshops

Workshops are a required component of your program. If you have not taken the workshops, refer to the workshop link. Your workshops must be verified by the certification officer before your recommendation for certification can be entered by Brooklyn College.

Step: Complete Your Fingerprint Clearance Documentation

Check that your fingerprint clearance has been posted on your TEACH account. Your TEACH account will only note if records were received, not if your records are cleared. If your records have not been recieved, refer to the link for fingerprint clearance for instructions, specifically, step four if your clearance was already processed by the New York City Department of Education. 

Step: Complete Your Application for New York State Certification

Complete and pay for your application online using your New York State TEACH account:

• Complete your registration
• Verify and update your profile.
• Select your certificate. Refer to the Student Information Sheet for details, including your program code.
• Choose the correct certificate type: For teachers, initial or professional. See below for School Psychologists and School Counselors.
  • Initial Certification: If you have less than three years of experience.
  • Professional Certification: You need three or more years of paid experience and a master's degree in the content area of the initial certificate or in a closely related subject area.  You also need one year of mentored experience and INS Permanent Residence or U.S. citizenship. For your professional certification requirements, check the certification requirements.Also refer to the detail in this link: Experience Requirements for Certification.
• Enter the program code from the Student Information Sheet.
• Select: "I want my application to be reviewed by the State Education Department."
• Make your payment by credit card (highly advised, rather than by using a money order). Keep records of your payment and transaction summary.

School Psychologists and School Counselors: Select provisional and/or permanent certification as appropriate. Click here to check your certification requirements. 

School counseling only: for permanent certification: 2 years of experience plus education (such as the advanced certificate program at Brooklyn College), and INS Permanent Residence or U.S. citizenship required

School psychology only: for permanent certification: 2 years or experience and INS Permanent Residence or U.S. citizenship required

School District Leader candidates only: You will need to send an official sealed transcript to the New York State Department of Education Office of Teaching Initiatives (OTI) to show completion of your Additional Education - Master's Degree. Note that transcripts are kept on file by OTI for about three years.

Check the link for  additional certification if you are applying for certification that is not directly related to your certification program.

What's Next

Your recommendation for certification will be entered by the certification officer according to the timeline above if possible, provided your mandated workshops have been verified and your graduation has been confirmed by the registrar. Monitor your TEACH account.

Initial (or provisional) Certificates

Initial (or provisional) certificate effective dates are posted after your application is evaluated. The time this takes can vary. Please read this information about expedited service. You will not automatically receive a printed certificate, but you can refer to your effective dates on your account online. If you wish, you can order a printed certificate for $25. Refer to the information posted at the Office of Teaching Initiatives FAQ page. You can print out your account status by going to your New York State TEACH account and printing out your certificate information as you see it posted there. Certification can also be confirmed by going to the "Certificate Holder Lookup" link at http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert. Initial (and provisional) certificates are valid for five years.

Be sure not to let your initial (or provisional) certification expire. Check this link for information on  related programs that meet the requirements for professional certification, and check this information about the mentored experience requirement . You will also need to complete  the work experience requirement, and have INS Permanent Residence or U.S. citizenship, or any other requirements needed before your certificate expires. If not,  you will need to apply for a time extension and/or initial reissuance certificate. You may need to complete new requirements if your certificate expires. Be sure to check the requirements for certification well before that time since rules and procedures are subject to change. Refer to this memo for information about expired certification.

For your professional (or permanent) certification requirements, check the requirements for certification. Please also refer to the detail in this link: Experience Requirements for Certification.

Professional (or permanent) Certificates

You must allow about three months for your application to be evaluated. A printed certificate will be sent to you, and you can verify your effective dates on your TEACH account. Certification can also be confirmed by going to the "Certificate Holder Lookup" link at http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert. 

Once you have your professional certification, you must complete 100 hours of continuing teacher and leader education during the five-year registration period. You must also register with the New York State Department of Education Office of Teaching Initiatives (OTI) every five years. Read this notice. 

All Certificate Holders

Any change of name or address for a certificate holder must be updated by the holder in the TEACH system within 30 days.

E-mail updates: You can subscribe to receive important certification from the New York State Department of Education Office of Teaching Initiatives (OTI). Click on the e-mail subscription link at the TEACH system site.

Expedited Processing

If you need written confirmation of your expected date of degree conferral for your employer before the timeline detailed above, you can request a statement of graduation as long as you have met all degree requirements. Refer to your degree audit letter. You may request a statement of graduation by sending a request to degreeaudit@brooklyn.cuny.edu about two weeks before your expected date of graduation. State that you are asking for a statement of graduation and provide your name, the last four digits of your Social Security number (it is very important that you do not send the entire Social Security number), phone number, and mailing addresses. The Degree Audit Office will mail the statements directly to the address provided, and you can supply the letter to the place of your employment and to the certification officer for expedited processing. You can ask the Degree Audit Office to send the information to the certification officer by e-mail.  Please also read this information about expedited service for your application.