What's happening
This bill allows teaching assistant experience to count toward certification and requires equal professional development opportunities for all certificate holders.
Why it matters
Teaching assistants will now be able to count their experience toward teacher certification requirements, but at a partial rate (at least 60% compared to full teaching experience), potentially accelerating their path to becoming certified teachers.
By mandating equal access to professional development during the school day for all certificate holders—regardless of job title or assignment—the bill could reduce disparities between teachers and teaching assistants in terms of career advancement and training.
School districts will be required to keep official records of professional development and continuing education hours for all employees with certificates, which could improve accountability and help ensure fair compliance with professional learning mandates.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Teaching Assistants Gain Certification Credit
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to education
- Referred to education
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Teaching Assistants Gain Certification Credit
In Assembly Committee · Education · Sponsor Fred Thiele
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
284
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sen. ORTT -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to working as a teaching assistant accruing time towards certification and ensuring equal treatment of certificate holders by schools regarding professional development
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 3006 of the education law is amended by adding a new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
4. Time accrual for certification. If teaching experience is required by the commissioner to receive or maintain certification, the commissioner shall allow for experience as a teaching assistant to accrue time towards this requirement at the rate of no less than sixty percent the rate of teaching experience or its equivalent.
§ 2. Section 3006-a of the education law is amended by adding two new subdivisions 4 and 5 to read as follows:
4. No school district shall deny any employee certificate holder from professional development or continuing teacher or leader education provided by the school district during the school day based on the individual's area of employment. All employee certificate holders shall be provided with equal opportunity to receive professional development or continuing teacher and leader education provided by the school district during the school day.
5. Each school district shall maintain records of professional development and continuing teacher or leader education hours for all employee certificate holders.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02634-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the education law, in relation to working as a teaching assistant accruing time towards certification and ensuring equal treat- ment of certificate holders by schools regarding professional develop- ment
Purpose or general idea of bill
This legislation would grant a certified teacher employed as a teaching assistant credit of no less than sixty percent towards the accrual of maintain or receiving certification.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 amends Section 3006 of the education law to state that when teaching experience is required to maintain a certification, time as a teaching assistant shall accrue at a rate of not less than sixty percent.
Section 2 amends section 3006-a of the education law stating that a school district shall not deny any employee certificate holder from professional development or continuing teacher or leader education provided by the school district during the school day based on the indi- vidual's area of employment. Further certificate holders shall be provided with equal opportunity to receive professional development, continuing teacher and leader education provided by the school district during the school day. This section also requires school districts to maintain records of professional development, continuing leader or teacher education hours for all certificate holders. Justification: Currently many credentialed teachers are having difficult times in land- ing full time employment as a teacher and as a result find themselves working as teaching assistants in order to gain classroom experience and to be employed by a school district in the hopes of landing a full time teaching position. However, current law does not allow these individuals to accrue teaching time for these positions. This legislation seeks to allow credentialed teachers serving as teaching assistant to accrue time for their next certificate at a rate of at least 60 percent. Further this section also requires equal opportunity and access to professional development and continuing education that is currently not afforded to all teachers, especially specialty area teachers as well as teaching assistants.
Prior legislative history
S. 4065 of 2017/2018; Advanced to Third Reading
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on July next succeeding.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.