New York State Gives Out-Of-State Teachers a Chance To Teach in the State, Faster

Kinda makes you think that this rush to bring in more teachers from outside of New York State
was pre-planned to resolve the problem of getting rid of too many teachers........

Betsy Combier
betsy.combier@gmail.com
Editor, NYC Rubber Room Reporter
Editor, Parentadvocates.org
Editor, New York Court Corruption
Editor, National Public Voice
Editor, The NYC Public Voice

Amid teacher shortage, New York amends rules to attract 

out-of-state candidates
LINK
By Christy Landry-Pitcher Jul. 12, 2016

ALBANY, N.Y. - Faced with a teacher shortage, New York education leaders are making it easier for out-of-state teachers to work in the state.

The policy-making Board of Regents on Monday amended rules so that experienced teachers certified elsewhere who meet citizenship and training requirements can qualify for an initial certificate in New York state.

Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia says the changes will help ease the teacher shortage while upholding high standards.

The changes also apply for certified school leaders.

"New York’s teaching shortage is real,” said Board of Regents Chancellor Betty A. Rosa. “In some areas the shortage is severe, and it will continue to get worse if we don’t do something about it. I am confident that today’s action by the Board will encourage well-qualified, out-of-state teachers and leaders to share their skills and knowledge in New York’s schools and school districts – and that’s good news for our students.”

“Too many communities are unable to find qualified candidates to teach their students and run their schools and school districts,” said State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia. “The rules adopted by the Regents today will help ease New York’s teacher shortage while upholding the highest standards for entry into the profession.”

The amendment makes three significant changes to New York’s out-of-state endorsement provisions:

Candidates certified as a school district leader or school district business leader seeking to qualify for certification in New York will now be required to have three or more years of experience teaching in the subject area of their valid certificate or acting as a school building leader or school district or school district business leader within the five years immediately preceding their application for endorsement; prior rules required the three years of experience to have occurred within the preceding 10 years.

Endorsement candidates will now be required to provide satisfactory documentation that they received evaluation ratings of “effective” or “highly effective” (or the substantial equivalent of such ratings) in their three most recent years of experience in a public school.

Certified out-of-state teachers and leaders who have demonstrated effective experience in the certificate title sought will no longer be required to take and pass New York’s certification examinations.

Under the new criteria, the Commissioner will endorse the out-of-state certificate (or equivalent authorization) and issue an initial certificate to practice in New York to individuals with the following qualifications:

Certified teachers from another U.S. State or territory may qualify for an initial certificate in New York if they meet the following requirements:

Have a valid teaching certificate that is equivalent to the title and type of the certificate sought and has no limits or restrictions;

Meet New York’s general certificate requirements, including citizenship, training related to child abuse identification/reporting, school violence prevention/intervention, harassment, bullying and discrimination prevention/intervention, and a criminal history check;

Have at least three years of satisfactory experience in a public school in a position requiring an initial or professional certificate within five years preceding the application date or equivalent experience; and have had effective or higher evaluation ratings in the three most recent years of employment; and

Hold a bachelor’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution or higher education institution that the Commissioner deems substantially equivalent, with a 2.5 cumulative GPA or higher in the program leading to the degree.

Certified school district leaders, school district business leaders, and school building leaders from another U.S. State or territory may qualify for a school district, district business, or building leader certificate in New York if they meet the following requirements:

Have a valid school district/district business/building leader certificate that is equivalent to the title and type of certificate sought and that has no limits or restrictions;

Meet New York’s general certificate requirements, including citizenship, training related to child abuse identification/reporting, school violence prevention/intervention, harassment, bullying and discrimination prevention/intervention, and a criminal history check;

Have at least three years of satisfactory experience in a public school in a position requiring an initial or professional certificate within five years preceding the application date or equivalent experience; and have had effective or higher evaluation ratings in the three most recent years of employment; and

Hold a master’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution or equivalently approved higher education institution as determined by the Department, with a 2.5 cumulative GPA or higher.

The amendment adds an endorsement pathway for school building leaders. Previously, no such out-of-state endorsement pathway existed for school building leaders.

For more education news, visit http://www.wktv.com/news/education

- See more at: http://www.wktv.com/news/education/Amid_teacher_shortage_New_York_amends_rules_to_attract_out-of-state_teachers_.html#sthash.H5JKQWuh.dpuf

NYS Releases New Proposed Regulations For Teacher Evaluations

NYS Regents Judith Chin, Kathleen Cashin, Merryl Tisch

Teacher evaluation regulations further reduces role of state tests, outside observers

By Geoff Decker

gdecker@chalkbeat.org

 

 

LINK

The state released proposed regulations for New York’s new evaluation law on Friday that would allow districts to further reduce the role of standardized tests and outside observers.

That regulations are set to be discussed Monday at a highly anticipated Board of Regents meeting, days after seven of 17 members signed onto a position paper that recommended its own version of regulations. The state’s proposal, which needs Regents approval, includes some options that address some of the paper’s demands.

The regulations don’t include anything about delaying implementation of the new teacher evaluation system, a key demand of the dissenting Regents that also has the support of the city teachers union and thecity Department of Education. The state department has said it would create a system for districts to apply for extra time, in two-month increments, to delay implementation. But the regulations don’t make it any clearer how districts will qualify for those waivers.

The proposed regulations, which are summarized in this slideshow, include some significant changes to the initial proposals that state officials presented last month. Those changes include:

• A further reduction in the role of state tests for districts that opt to use a secondassessment to evaluate teachers. Student growth on the state tests would be allowed to count for as little at 50 percent of the student performance portion of a teacher’s rating if used in conjunction with other assessments, such as the performance-based tasks used in New York City, that the state deems to be of high quality. Previously, the state had proposed that state tests count for as much as 80 percent of the student performance measurement.
• An even more diminished potential role for outside evaluators. The state will allow principals observations to count for up to 90 percent of a teacher’s observation portion of evaluations, up from 80 percent.
• New language allowing the state to step in and make changes to local collective bargaining agreements “if a district’s system does not result in meaningful feedback for teachers and principals.”

The regulations aren’t likely to satisfy the Regents who voiced their criticism this week. Their position paper calls for all districts to be given one year to implement the evaluations and state test scores to count for no more than 20 percent of the entire evaluation.

It’s shaping up to be a busy agenda for next week’s Board of Regents meeting:

• A vote on updated regulations about what would have to happen in low-performing schools under the state’s new receivership law. One symbolic change is that they won’t be referred to “failing” any more in regulatory language. New York City has 12 schools that could face a more intensive turnaround plan next year while dozens of others have two years to improve.

• A data dump of teacher certification pass rates, broken down by individual schools of education. The state is trying to improve teacher quality by making it harder to get certified, a policy that has revealed racial achievement gaps and attracted new legal scrutiny. But Chancellor Merryl Tisch said last month that the failures are “clustered in very few schools.”

• Long-term renewals for five charter schools authorized by the Department of Education: Achievement First Endeavor (five years), Community Roots (five years), International Leadership (four years), the New York Center for Autism (five years) and Renaissance (four years). Some of the schools included letters from the school either defending their enrollment numbers, or explaining what they’ll do to serve more needy students.

• A discussion on collecting teacher-attendance data as a way to monitor equity across all schools.

New York State's Corruption Risk Report Card: It Aint Good

50 States And No Winners

NYS Overall grade:

D

Click a category to see detailed scores and notes.

Public Access to Information D+ view	Political Financing D- view
Executive Accountability D view	Legislative Accountability D+ view
Judicial Accountability D view	State Budget Processes F view
State Civil Service Management D- view	Procurement D view
Internal Auditing B+ view	Lobbying Disclosure B- view
State Pension Fund Management F view	Ethics Enforcement Agencies F view
State Insurance Commissions D- view	Redistricting F view

Email report card to officials

Click here to share this report card on your site

The story behind the score

New York’s newly created ethics commission has its work cut out for it in a state government that’s often defined by dysfunction and corruption. Read more from SII State Reporter David King.

Latest state news for New York

Campaign finance laws missing teeth and transparency

JUN 26, 2012

By Mike Mullen

Gov. Scott Walker survived his recall election. The same cannot be said for the integrity of campaign finance laws in Wisconsin.

Incumbents targeted for recall are freed from Wisconsin's normal fundraising limits, and can collect unlimited contributions from individual donors. With the election between Walker and his Democratic opponent, former Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett, seen as a battleground for national partisan politics, money poured in on both sides. But Walker exploited the seemingly infinite loophole to tremendous advantage: By election day, Walker's campaign had received more than $30 million in donations, a total that approached the $37.5 million spent by both sides during the 2010 election,according to the Center for Public Integrity.

Wisconsin received a grade of 'C-' from the State Integrity Investigation for its political financing laws and practices, with reporter Kate Golden finding proper measures on limits, enforcement, and transparency, while also documenting numerous exemptions and back-channels, including the recall election loophole. But in other states, the potentially polluting influence of unlimited, and sometimes unsupervised campaign financing is constant and permanent, borne out of state laws and practices -- or their absence.

Read more →

---

New group joins push for campaign finance reform in New York

JUN 25, 2012

State integrity news for New York, from the New York Times:

Frustrated with Albany’s tepid reaction to the idea of publicly financed elections, the Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes and his fiancé are financing a new campaign to press the issue in coordination with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

The group has also enlisted two former Cuomo aides to help plot its strategy. The campaign, Protect Our Democracy, will include a 501(c)(4) nonprofit group and a political action committee.

Read the rest of of the story at the New York Times.

Read more →

---

Editorial: Close loopholes and open public pensions to the public

JUN 11, 2012

State integrity news for New York, from the New York Times:

The law allows the disclosure of the names and pensions of retired public workers. But it exempts disclosure of the name of a “beneficiary” — which has long been interpreted to mean a person receiving the benefits after a retiree dies.

A state court ruling last year, however, found that a retiree could also be “beneficiary” and, therefore, could be shielded from disclosure. It is now up to the State Legislature to undo this ridiculous ruling and clarify an important law.

Read the rest of the story at the New York Times.

Read more →

---

Editorial: Pro-Cuomo organization should disclose its donors

JUN 06, 2012

State integrity news for New York, from the New York Times:

Cuomo administration officials argue that the governor pushed hard for ethics reform last year that, among other things, would require 501(c)(4) groups to disclose their donors.

Mr. Cuomo does not need to wait for that to happen. He can demonstrate his commitment to reform by pushing his friends at the committee to disclose all of its donors right now.

Read the rest of the story at the New York Times.

Read more →

---

New York launches new open government website

JUN 01, 2012

State integrtiy news for New York, from the Daily Gazette:

The government transparency website Project Sunlight has been expanded by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to include the user friendly New York Open Government feature. Project Sunlight, which contains a collection of information compiled by the Attorney General's Office, will now help voters and government watchdogs hold state government accountable by offering up-to-date campaign contribution, lobbying and state contract data.

“Secrecy breeds corruption, while transparency generates confidence,” Schneiderman said in a statement. “New York Open Government will help the public keep an eye on what their government is doing in order to deter corruption and increase confidence in the public sector."

Read the rest of the story at the Daily Gazette.

Read more →