THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:

Higher Education and Professional Practice Committee

FROM:

Johanna Duncan-Poitier

 

 

SUBJECT:

Evaluation of the Regents Teaching Policy - Reexamining the Special Education Certification Structure

 

DATE:

January 30, 2007

 

STRATEGIC GOAL:

Goal 3

 

AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Issue for Discussion

 

Does the existing certification structure in special education, which has four separate developmental levels leading to a possible 45 separate certificates in this academic discipline, contribute to the shortage of special education teachers in New York State? If so, what process should we follow to reexamine the certification structure and create a structure that will help ensure that New York State has a sufficient supply of qualified special education teachers for all districts in New York State?

 

Reason(s) for Consideration

 

This analysis is a part of our ongoing effort to examine and review the Regents teaching policy enacted in 1998.

 

Proposed Handling

 

At the February 2007 meeting of the Higher Education and Professional Practice Committee, the Committee will discuss the approach that should be taken to examine the special education certification structure.

 

Background Information

 

In 1996, then Chancellor Hayden convened the Regents Task Force on Teaching with the charge to examine teaching and teacher education in New York State to ensure that all teachers have the necessary knowledge and skills to teach all students to the Regents Learning Standards.  In 1998, the Regents approved their policy statement on teaching entitled “Teaching to Higher Standards: New York’s Commitment.”

 

As a part of their new policy, the Regents made a significant adjustment in the certification structure for all teachers. They focused on the developmental level of students whereas previously general education certificates were either PreK-6 or 7-12, and special education certificates were K-12. The Regents established for most certificates a four-level structure, including:

 

 

This four-level certificate structure applied to both general education and special education. In addition, teachers in special education are now required to complete all requirements for certification as a general education teacher to ensure that students with disabilities have access to teachers who are academically qualified to teach them to the Regents Learning Standards in Grades K-12.

 

            The revised teacher preparation programs aligned with the new certification structure, including special education, began accepting candidates in September 2000 with the first graduating class in May 2004. Over the past two years, the Department has been reviewing the data on the number of certificates issued for special education and examining how the Transitional B certificates (alternative teacher preparation) were being employed in the area of special education. The intent was to determine if the certification structure was a contributing factor to the shortage of special education teachers in the pipeline for middle and high school assignments.   Data analysis to date indicates that there may be a severe shortage of teachers of students with disabilities - Grades 7-12.

 

Recommendation

 

It is recommended that the Department pursue the next steps identified in this report to ensure that the educational community is consulted in a systematic fashion to provide us with recommendations concerning any adjustments that should be made to the special education teacher certification structure and preparation requirements.

 

Timetable for Implementation

 

If changes in the certification structure need to be made, the timetable should permit the revised teacher preparation programs to begin by the fall of 2008. Although the first class of new teachers under a revised certification structure would be a few years away, the alternative teacher preparation programs could begin placing teachers in the classroom as early as the fall of 2008. We propose more extensive consultation with the field immediately and to provide the Board of Regents with recommendations in June.  Regulations could then be drafted for discussion and action in the fall of 2007.

 

 

 


Reexamining the Special Education Certification Structure

 

            In 1996, then Chancellor Hayden convened the Regents Task Force on Teaching with the charge to examine teaching and teacher education in New York State to ensure that all teachers have the necessary knowledge and skills to teach all students to the Regents Learning Standards.  In 1998, the Regents approved their policy statement on teaching entitled “Teaching to Higher Standards: New York’s Commitment.” With that policy statement came the following reforms in New York:

 

·          The elimination of uncertified teachers (temporary licenses);

 

·          The creation of alternative pathways to recruit experienced professionals into the teaching profession;

 

·          The requirement that all teacher education programs meet high standards and demonstrate their effectiveness through programmatic accreditation;

 

·          The requirement that new teachers have a major in the subject for which they are certified;

 

·          The requirement that new teachers pass a Content Specialty Test before they begin to teach;

 

·          The requirement that teachers receive 175 hours of professional development tied to the Learning Standards every five years;

 

·          The requirement that all teachers have a more rigorous annual professional performance review;

 

·          The requirement that teacher preparation programs ensure that all teachers are prepared to teach all students to the Regents Learning Standards; and

 

·          A system to hold all teacher education institutions accountable for students’ performance on the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations.

 

·           

 

Certification Structure Change

 

In addition to these reforms, the Regents also made a significant adjustment in the certification structure for all teachers. The new structure focused on the developmental level of students whereas previously general education certificates were either PreK-6 or 7-12, and special education certificates were K-12. The Regents established for most certificates a new four-level structure, including:

 

·        Birth to Grade 2;

·        Grade 1 to Grade 6;

·        Grade 5 to Grade 9; and

·        Grade 7 to Grade 12.

 

This four-level certificate structure applied to both general education and special education. In addition, new teachers in special education certified on or after February 2, 2004 are now required to complete all requirements for certification as a general education teacher to ensure that students with disabilities have access to teachers who are qualified to teach them to the Regents Learning Standards in Grades K-12.  Table 1 – Special Education Certification Structure (at the end of the report), shows a listing of possible special education certificates before and after February 1, 2004. Prior to February 1, 2004, there was one special education certificate K-12. After the new system, it is possible to have up to 45 separate certificates.

 

            Teacher preparation programs were revised to align with the new certification structure, including special education, and began accepting candidates in September 2000.  The first class to graduate from the newly designed programs was in May 2004. Over the past two years, the Department has been reviewing the data on the number of certificates issued for special education and examining how the Transitional B certificates (alternative teacher preparation) are being employed in the area of special education. Provided below is the result of that review of data for special education teachers under the new teacher certification structure.

 

What Do the Data Show Us?

 

Prior to 2004, special education teachers had one certificate - K-12. Under the new structure required for teacher preparation programs enacted in 2000, we have issued 15 separate special education teaching certificates (although as Table 1 demonstrates as many as 45 different certificates are possible).  Table 2 - First Level Certificates Issued in New York State, shows the number of certificates issued in 2002 when there was only one K-12 special education certificate, in 2003 when it was possible to be certified under the old or new regulations, and in 2004 and 2005 when there were 15 different certificates in special education issued. Table 2 suggests that the structure itself may be a contributing factor to the shortage of special education teachers in grades 7-12 because students interested in special education at the 7-12 level must choose one of 43 different certificate options as compared to one option prior to 2004 and the scope of practice and employment opportunities for each title is far narrower than the scope of practice for the old K-12 title.

 

            Table 3 – Analysis of Need for Special Education Teachers, shows a distribution of:

 

·          the number of students with disabilities in different age groups (i.e., Birth-5, 6-11,  12-13 and 14-21);

 

·          the number of certificates issued to teachers to serve students in those age ranges (i.e., Birth to Grade 2, Grade 1 to Grade 6, Grade 5 to Grade 9 and Grade 7 to Grade 12); and

 

·          the number of students in teacher preparation programs for students with disabilities at each developmental level (i.e., Birth to Grade 2, Grade 1 to Grade 6, Grade 5 to Grade 9 and Grade 7 to Grade 12)

 

Table 3 shows the following:

 

 

 

Table 3 illustrates that, as schools rely more on teachers certified under the new system, there will be fewer teachers of special education available for high school assignments, especially for Grades 10-12, which require a title at the Grade 7-12 developmental level.

 

Table 4 - Transitional B Certificates Issued, identifies the number of Transitional B certificates (alternative teacher preparation) issued by the Department for the last six years and the percent of those certificates issued in the area of special education. Since its inception in 2000-01, there has been a significant growth in the percentage of Transitional B certificates issued for special education. In 2000-01, 2 percent of the Transitional B certificates were issued for special education. By 2005-06, to address the shortage of certified teachers, that percent rose to 31 percent. The overwhelming majority of these Transitional B certificates were issued for New York City teachers. New York City has reported that, for the 2006-07 school year, 1,334 new special education teachers were hired with a total of 54 percent of them from the Teaching Fellows program (Transitional B certificates).  Table 4 suggests that New York City’s ability to hire special education teachers relies heavily upon the use of the alternative teacher preparation program.

 

Table 5 – Percent of “Special Classes” for Students with Disabilities Not Taught by Highly Qualified Teachers 2005-06, shows the percentage of special classes for students with disabilities that were taught by teachers who were NOT highly qualified as defined by NCLB. The table shows significant problems in New York City, Rochester and Syracuse for both the elementary and middle/high school classes.  Table 5 is another indicator that some urban communities may not be able to recruit teachers with appropriate certification for special education assignments.

 

In general, the data point to potential problems as more teachers with K-12 certificates retire and not enough 7-12 special education teachers are available to replace them.

 

Guiding Principles

 

            It is clear from the data that college students are not entering teacher preparation programs for students with disabilities - Grades 7-12. It is further evident that, over a period of time, as more of the K-12 special education teachers retire this shortage will worsen unless addressed.  As the Department and representatives of the educational community meet to begin to examine this issue in greater detail and provide recommendations for the Board of Regents to consider, the following are guiding principles which we will use:

 

·          New York needs teachers at all levels to serve students with disabilities.

 

·          New York needs to ensure that special education teachers continue to receive the appropriate academic preparation and support to enable them to teach all students with disabilities to the Regents Learning Standards.

 

·          New York needs to meet the needs of all instructional delivery models including inclusive classrooms, self-contained classrooms and resource rooms.

 

·          New York needs to simplify the special education certification structure to make it easier for all individuals to understand and to create a more user-friendly approach for prospective teacher education students.

 

·          New York needs to create more flexibility among the developmental levels to allow students to begin their teaching careers in the elementary grades and to move to a middle or secondary assignment as their careers mature.

 

·          New York needs to ensure that our structure is aligned with federal requirements in both IDEA and NCLB.

 

Departmental Activities to Date

 

Over the last two years, the New York State Education Department has closely monitored the data with regard to teacher supply and demand for students with disabilities and has provided first of its kind data to school districts. We are now developing a management information system for certificates issued that will enable us to disaggregate data for each region of the State to identify where newly certified teachers are located and in each certificate title where there may be severe shortages at present and in the future.

 

            We have discussed the data and related issues with many organizations, including:

 

·          Higher Education Support Center of Syracuse University which represents teacher education institutions with special education teacher preparation programs;

·          Professional Standards and Practices Board for Teaching;

·          New York City Department of Education;

·          New York State United Teachers;

·          BOCES District Superintendents;

·          Teacher educators who are members of the New York Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and New York State Association of Teacher Educators;

·          Commissioner’s Advisory Council on Teacher Education;

·          New York State Association for the Education of Young Children (NYSAEYC);

·          New York State Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NYSAECTE)

·          New York State Associate Degree Early Childhood Educators; and

·          Commissioner’s Advisory Panel on Special Education.

 

Through all of these discussions, we have been seeking advice on ways in which we can create a viable teacher certification structure in special education that would be consistent with the guiding principles.  We explored a number of different options for restructuring special education certificates.

 

            To date, we have received significant feedback but no agreement on the best way to restructure the special education certificate titles. The key issue is how to ensure appropriate academic preparation for teachers while still making teaching students with disabilities attractive as a career.

 

Next Steps

 

            As we begin our meetings with the constituency groups, we will be asking them to comment on a series of issues and questions which would help us ensure that we have enough special education teachers at all developmental levels and to ensure that these teachers have appropriate special education and academic preparation. Some of the questions to be discussed include:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Table 1

Special Education Certification Structure

 

Old System (Prior to February 1, 2004)

 

9010 - Special Education K-12

 

New System (Effective February 1, 2004)

 

9013 - Students with Disabilities Birth - Grade 2
9014 - Students with Disabilities Grades 1 - 6
9015 - Students with Disabilities - Generalist Grades 5 - 9
9026 - Students with Disabilities - English Grades 5 - 9
9037 - Students with Disabilities - Mathematics Grades 5 - 9
9042 - Students with Disabilities - Social Studies Grades 5 - 9
9022 - Students with Disabilities - Biology Grades 5 - 9
9024 - Students with Disabilities - Chemistry Grades 5 - 9
9027 - Students with Disabilities - Earth Science Grades 5 - 9
9038 - Students with Disabilities - Physics Grades 5 - 9
9019 - Students with Disabilities - American Sign Language Grades 5 - 9
9023 - Students with Disabilities - Cantonese Grades 5 - 9
9025 - Students with Disabilities - Chinese Grades 5 - 9
9028 - Students with Disabilities - French Grades 5 - 9
9029 - Students with Disabilities - German Grades 5 - 9
9031 - Students with Disabilities - Greek Grades 5 - 9
9032 - Students with Disabilities - Hebrew Grades 5 - 9
9033 - Students with Disabilities - Italian Grades 5 - 9
9034 - Students with Disabilities - Japanese Grades 5 - 9
9035 - Students with Disabilities - Latin Grades 5 - 9
9036 - Students with Disabilities - Mandarin Grades 5 - 9
9039 - Students with Disabilities - Russian Grades 5 - 9
9043 - Students with Disabilities - Spanish Grades 5 - 9
9044 - Students with Disabilities - Urdu Grades 5 - 9
9051 - Students with Disabilities - English Language Arts Grades 7 - 12
9063 - Students with Disabilities - Mathematics Grades 7 - 12
9066 - Students with Disabilities - Social Studies Grades 7 - 12
9046 - Students with Disabilities - Biology Grades 7 - 12
9048 - Students with Disabilities - Chemistry Grades 7 - 12
9053 - Students with Disabilities - Earth Science Grades 7 - 12
9064 - Students with Disabilities - Physics Grades 7 - 12
9045 - Students with Disabilities - American Sign Language Grades 7 - 12
9047 - Students with Disabilities - Cantonese Grades 7 - 12
9049 - Students with Disabilities - Chinese Grades 7 - 12
9054 - Students with Disabilities - French Grades 7 - 12
9055 - Students with Disabilities - German Grades 7 - 12
9056 - Students with Disabilities - Greek Grades 7 - 12
9057 - Students with Disabilities - Hebrew Grades 7 - 12
9058 - Students with Disabilities - Italian Grades 7 - 12
9059 - Students with Disabilities - Japanese Grades 7 - 12
9061 - Students with Disabilities - Latin Grades 7 - 12
9062 - Students with Disabilities - Mandarin Grades 7 - 12
9065 - Students with Disabilities - Russian Grades 7 - 12
9067 - Students with Disabilities - Spanish Grades 7 - 12
9068 - Students with Disabilities - Urdu Grades 7 - 12

 

Table 2

First-Level* Certificates Issued in New York State

                                                                                                                                       NYS

                                                                                                                                       Total

   2002

                 Special Education K-12                                                                                    4,075

                                                                                                Annual Total                   4,075**

   2003

                 Special Education K-12                                                                                    7,114

                 Students with Disabilities (Birth-Grade 2)                                                                 3

                 Students with Disabilities (Grades 1-6)                                                                   27

                 Students with Disabilities (Grades 5-9), Generalist                                                    4

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 5-9 - English                                                       2

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 5-9 - Spanish                                                      1

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 7-12 - Social Studies                                           1

                                                                                                Annual Total                    7,152

   2004

                 Special Education K-12                                                                                      229

                 Students with Disabilities (Birth-Grade 2)                                                              489

                 Students with Disabilities (Grades 1-6)                                                              2,382

                 Students with Disabilities (Grades 5-9), Generalist                                                415

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 5-9 - Concentration In Biology                              1

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 5-9 - English                                                       8

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 5-9 - Mathematics                                               1

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 5-9 - Social Studies                                            6

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 7-12 - Biology                                                   11

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 7-12 - Chemistry                                                 1

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 7-12 - English                                                   40

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 7-12 - Earth Science                                           1

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 7-12 - Mathematics                                           13

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 7-12 - Social Studies                                         65

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 7-12 - Spanish                                                    1

                                                                                                Annual Total                    3,663

   2005

                 Students with Disabilities (Birth-Grade 2)                                                           1,063

                 Students with Disabilities (Grades 1-6)                                                              3,280

                 Students with Disabilities (Grades 5-9), Generalist                                                724

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 5-9 - Concentration In Biology                              1

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 5-9 - English                                                     17

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 5-9 - Mathematics                                               7

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 5-9 - Social Studies                                           14

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 7-12 - Biology                                                   21

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 7-12 - Chemistry                                                 2

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 7-12 - English                                                   92

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 7-12 - Earth Science                                           4

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 7-12 - Mathematics                                           32

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 7-12 - Physics                                                    1

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 7-12 - Social Studies                                       136

                 Students with Disabilities - Grades 7-12 - Spanish                                                    4

                                                                                                Annual Total                    5,398


Table 3

 

Analysis of Need for Special Education Teachers

2003 - 2005[1]

Students Receiving Special Education Services[2]

SWD Certificates Issued***

9/04 - 6/05[3]

Number of special education teacher candidates enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs[4] - Fall 2004, 2005****

Age

Total

Percent

Certificate Levels

Total

Percent

Certificate Levels

Total

Percent

2003

2005

2003

2005

2004

2005

2004

2005

2004

2005

2004

2005

Birth-5

88,775

92,299

18.6%

19.21%

Birth-2

487

1,063

14.2%

19.7%

Birth-2

1,597

1,617

13.75%

13.6%

6-11

162,832

164,366

34.2%

34.11%

1-6

2,379

3,280

69.5%

60.8%

Birth-2 & 1-6

1-6

1,064

7,816

2,379

5,819

9.16%

67.29%

20.0%

48.9%

12-13

72,039

67,595

15.1%

14.01%

5-9**

427

763

12.4%

14.1%

1-6 & 5-9

5-9

138

320

125

203

1.19%

2.75%

1.0%

1.7%

14-21

152,762

157,164

32.1%*

32.7%

7-12

132

292

3.9%

5.4%

7-12

681

766

5.85%

6.4%

Total

476,406

481,424

100%

100%

 

3,425****

5,398

100%

100%

 

11,616

11,906

100%

100%

 

*Rounded.

**Includes Generalists and Specialists.

***Includes certificates with bilingual extensions.

****Some programs lead to certification in more than one developmental level and, therefore, these numbers should be considered estimates.

*****In addition to the 3,425 certificates issued in 2004 under the new certification system, 229 special education K-12 certificates were also issued in 2004 for individuals who qualified for the old certificate prior to the deadline, but the certificate was not issued until after the deadline.

For 997 teacher candidates (8.4%), certificate levels are unknown.


Table 4

 

Transitional B Certificates Issued

 

Total Certificates Issued

Number of Special Education Certificates

Percent of Total

2000-01

260

4

2%

2001-02

853

52

6%

2002-03

1,848

153

8%

2003-04

2,929

731

25%

2004-05

1,905

485

25%

2005-06

2,018

625

31%

 

Table 5

 

Percent of “Special Classes” for Students with Disabilities

Not Taught by Highly Qualified Teachers 2005-06

(Numbers in parentheses show the percent in 2004-05)

Special Classes for Students with Disabilities in Core Subjects

New York State - All Public Schools

Need/Resource Capacity (N/RC Category)

High N/RC Districts

New York

City

 

Buffalo

 

Rochester

 

Syracuse

 

Yonkers

Elementary

7.9  (8.8)

14.0 (16.7)

7.7 (0.6)

12.1 (14.5)

8.9 (6.0)

0.0 (1.1)

Middle/secondary

10.3 ( 9.5)

24.6 (24.8)

3.8 (3.8)

15.2 (6.7)

15.4 (9.8)

0.3 (2.8)

Other

1.7 (2.7)

2.9 (4.7)

0.6 (0.6)

7.4 (7.8)

3.5 (4.0)

0.0 (3.4)

Total

8.2 (8.1)

19.0 (20.6)

3.8 (2.4)

13.4 (11.5)

10.6 (7.5)

0.2 (2.7)

Note: Elementary assignments are special classes in Grades K-6 or when all students are eligible to take the New York State Alternative Assessment.

Middle/secondary assignments are special classes in Grades 7-12.

 



* Provisional, Internship, Conditional Provisional, Transitional B, Initial and Conditional Initial.

** 2003-04 was the last year in which the old special education K-12 certificate was issued. The dramatic increase in certification in 2003 as compared to 2002 is a result of existing teacher education candidates completing requirements prior to the new certification requirements taking effect. Those K-12 certificates issued in 2004 (229) were for individuals who qualified for the old certificate prior to the February 1, 2004 deadline, but the certificate was not issued until after the deadline.

[1] Source: Bilingual Special Education University Improvement Project (VESID)

[2] Source: VESID

[3] Source: Office of Teaching

[4] Source: Office of Higher Education and VESID