Office of Teaching Initiatives

At its July 2024 meeting, the New York State Board of Regents voted to extend the validity period of COVID-19 certificates that expire on August 31, 2024 or January 31, 2025 by changing the expiration date of such certificates to August 31, 2025. This amendment only affects certificates with those specific expiration dates; it does not apply to previously expired COVID-19 certificates or those with expiration dates after 1/31/25. As of today, the TEACH system has been updated to reflect the updated expiration dates for these certificates.

The deadline to apply for the Emergency COVID-19 certificate was September 1, 2022. The application for this certificate is no longer available.

Candidates who are seeking certain certificates and extensions may be eligible for the Emergency COVID-19 certificate, allowing them to work in New York State public schools or districts for two years while taking and passing the required exam(s) for the certificate or extension sought.

• Certificates. The Emergency COVID-19 certificate is available for candidates who are seeking one of the following certificates that require exam(s): Initial or Professional certificate in the classroom teaching service * , Initial or Professional certificate in the educational leadership service (School Building Leader, School District Leader, School District Business Leader), Initial Reissuance * , Teaching Assistant certificate, School Administrator and Supervisor (SAS) Provisional Renewal, Supplementary certificate, Transitional A certificate through the Option B pathway, Transitional B certificate, Transitional C certificate, or Transitional D certificate.
• Extensions. The Emergency COVID-19 extension is available for candidates who are seeking the following extensions.
  • Extensions that require an exam: Bilingual Education extension, Gifted Education extension, Subject in Grades 7-9 extension, or Subject in Grades 5-9 or 7-12 for Students with Disabilities extension.
  • Extensions or annotations that do not require an exam, if candidates hold an appropriate valid Emergency COVID-19 base certificate (please see above bullet): American Sign Language extension, Coordinator of Work-Based Learning Programs for Career Awareness extension, Coordinator of Work-Based Learning Programs for Career Development extension, General Science in Grades 5-9 and 7-12, Grade Level Extensions to Teach Students with Disabilities, Language Other Than English – Early Childhood Education and Childhood Education Extension, Severe or Multiple Disabilities annotation, Specific Subject in a Special Class in Grades 7-12 Limited Extension, Subject in Grades 5-6 Extension, or Supplementary Bilingual Education extension.
  • Emergency COVID-19 certificate
  • Emergency COVID-19 extension
  • Complete or completed a New York State registered teacher or educational leadership preparation program leading to Initial or Professional certification, or a registered extension program, prior to the Fall 2022 term, including traditional programs and Transitional B, C, and D programs;
  • Graduate or graduated from an acceptable out-of-state teacher or educational leadership preparation program and have less than three years of acceptable experience in another state prior to the Fall 2022 term (e.g., not eligible for the “Endorsement of a Certificate” pathway);
  • Are seeking Initial or Professional teacher certification through the "Individual Evaluation" pathway;
  • Are seeking a Teaching Assistant certificate and have not passed the Assessment of Teaching Assistant Skills (ATAS);
  • Are seeking a Transitional A certificate through the Option B pathway, or a Transitional B, C, or D certificate;
  • Held an Initial teacher or school building leader certificate, have less than three years of experience, and are seeking an Initial Reissuance;
  • Hold or held a Transitional G certificate, or have acceptable postsecondary teaching experience, and are seeking an Initial or Professional teacher certificate; and
  • Hold a valid New York State teacher certificate and are seeking an additional Initial or Professional teacher certificate, Supplementary certificate, or certain extensions.

  * The Emergency COVID-19 certificate is not available for candidates who are seeking the following career and technical education (CTE) certificates because these certificates do not require a NYSTCE exam: Initial CTE certificates, Initial Reissuance CTE certificates, Professional CTE Certificate through the "CTE Certificate Progression - Initial/Transitional A Issued Prior to 5/9/2017" pathway, and Professional CTE certificate through the "CTE Program Certificate Progression - Initial/Transitional A Issued Prior to 5/9/2017" pathway.