As a rule that requires a RFA, RAFA or JIS, this rule will be initially reviewed in the calendar year 2021, which is no later than the 3rd year after the year in which this rule is being adopted.

Since publication of the Notice of Emergency Adoption and Proposed Rule Making in the State Register on November 1, 2017, the State Education Department (SED) received the following comments on the proposed amendment. Below is an assessment of the public comment received:

1. COMMENT:

One commenter agrees with the Department’s proposal to provide qualified teachers displaced from Puerto Rico with a temporary certificate to teach in New York. However, the commenter recommends that these candidates should be allowed to complete the DASA training online and that the certificate should be valid until June 2019 rather than 2018.

DEPARTMENT RESPONSE:

In response to the recommendation that candidates from Puerto Rico applying for a temporary certificate be allowed to complete DASA training online, please note that while 6 clock hours of DASA training is required to obtain a certificate in the classroom teaching service, only 3 of those hours are required to be face-to-face. Therefore, 3 may be completed in an online format.

In response to the recommendation that certification be extended until June 2019, the Department believes that the current sunset date of June 2018 is sufficient to address any immediate teaching shortages directly related to the hurricane and will allow sufficient time for those who are temporarily certified through this regulation to obtain the documentation necessary to pursue their Initial certificate.

2. COMMENT:

Another commenter suggested that the temporary certificate for teachers displaced in Puerto Rico be extended until June 2019 because after the completion of paperwork and applying for a job there would not realistically be enough time to find employment.

DEPARTMENT RESPONSE:

Please see answer to COMMENT #1 above. In order to obtain a temporary certificate under this regulation, the candidate must already have an offer of employment to fill an immediate need from a school district or BOCES. Moreover, the purpose of this regulation is to fill immediate employment needs resulting from Hurricane Maria and therefore it was time limited.

3. COMMENT:

One commenter suggested that the Department should create a pathway for teachers from Puerto Rico to receive their certification as a bilingual teacher and a more accessible pathway for an initial certification with a bilingual extension.

DEPARTMENT RESPONSE:

The proposed regulation change is intended to provide a temporary certificate for those individuals who would meet the existing requirements for reciprocity of their teaching certificate, but may have difficulty obtaining documentation to fulfill these requirements. To receive their initial certificate, they must still meet all requirements for an initial certificate in the classroom teaching service. In addition, once a candidate receives his/her initial (base) certificate, he/she is free to obtain a bilingual extension, requiring 12 semester hours of content core study in bilingual education. The Department continues to explore ways to address shortage areas such as bilingual certification.

4. COMMENT:

One commenter, a part time professor in Puerto Rico, inquired whether he would be able to teach until he is able to find a different job.

DEPARTMENT RESPONSE:

The regulation establishes a temporary certificate that is valid until June 30, 2018 and would allow the teacher to work in a public school or BOCES for the remainder of the 2017-2018 school year. This temporary certificate is not renewable. In order to continue to teach in New York State upon the expiration of such temporary certificate, an individual must meet either the reciprocity requirements in Section 80-5.8 of the Regulations for an initial teaching certificate, or the new requirements in proposed Section 80-5.26 to obtain a temporary teaching certificate. Both pathways require a certificate or authorization to teach from Puerto Rico or another U.S. territory, to ensure the quality of the teaching profession, as well as experience teaching in an equivalent title/type of certificate as the certificate sought.