New York State
Department of Health
New York Early Intervention System (NYEIS) Electronic Mailing List
Limited
allowance to utilize Emergency COVID-19 Teaching Certificates in the Early
Intervention Program
Dear
Early Intervention Agency Provider,
The
New York State Department of Health Bureau of Early Intervention (Department)
has received several inquiries from agency providers regarding the
permissibility of employing individuals with Emergency COVID-19 Teaching
Certificates granted by the New York State Education Department (SED).
Upon
review of SED guidance regarding Emergency COVID-19 Teaching Certificates, the
Department has decided the following:
Individual providers with an Emergency COVID-19
Teaching Certificate, who already possess a master’s degree and are working
toward a Professional Certificate (in Students with Disabilities (SWD),
Birth-Grade 2), can be employed by a Department approved early
intervention (EI) agency to provide EI services for the period that their
Emergency COVID-19 Teaching Certificate remains in effect, subject to the below
conditions.
Individual providers with an Initial Emergency
COVID-19 Teaching Certificate (those who possess a bachelor’s degree only), cannot
be employed by a Department-approved EI agency to provide EI services. The
Department does not consider providers with this teaching certificate to meet
the criteria for qualified personnel under the EI approved program. Therefore,
this certificate is not acceptable for EI purposes and individuals with this
certificate cannot provide early intervention services.
Please note: Individuals who have an emergency teaching certificate must be employed by an agency and are not eligible for individual DOH approval to provide EI services.
In
order for an approved EI agency to employ individual(s) with an Emergency
COVID-19 Teaching Certificate (SWD, Birth-Grade 2) to provide (EIP) services,
the agency must submit information about the candidate to the Department for
review and approval. If you are seeking to employ individual(s) with an
Emergency COVID-19 Teaching Certificate (SWD, Birth-Grade 2) with a master’s degree,
you must provide the Department with copies of the following credentials for
review:
- Department
provided Emergency COVID-19 Teaching Certificate Cover Sheet,
- Copy
of the applicant’s SED Emergency COVID-19 Teaching Certificate with date
issued/date of expiration of the individual to be employed,
- Copy
of the individual’s master’s degree,
- The
number of Student teaching hours completed to date (specifically working
with students with disabilities, Birth-5 years), and
- The
number of weeks of Student teaching (specifically working with students
with disabilities, Birth-5 years)
- Please
see the Department provided Emergency COVID-19 Teaching Certificate Cover
Sheet for reporting these hours.
The
required documentation must be emailed to provider@health.ny.gov including “Emergency COVID-19
Teaching Certificates Candidate Request” in the subject line of your email.
After review of the submitted documentation, the Department will send a reply
to the sender of the email, informing the agency whether the prospective
employee meets the requirements to deliver EIP services. The candidate
cannot deliver EIP services prior to written approval by the Department. The
agency should retain proof of this approval in their records for future
monitoring.
If
an individual is allowed by the Department to provide EI services with an
Emergency COVID-19 Teaching Certificate, your agency will need to add the
individual to your agency’s Employee/Contractor List in NYEIS, ensuring that
their certification is documented in NYEIS in the following manner:
Please refer to Unit 9: Provider Management in the NYEIS User Manual for general instructions about adding an employee to an agency’s Employee/Contractor List. For individuals with an Emergency COVID-19 Teaching Certificate, the approved EI agency first enters data regarding the individual provider’s personal demographics (names, address, etc.,) into the Employee Information section. Thereafter, the EI agency will enter data regarding Qualified Personnel License information in the Primary Professional Information section, as directed below:
- License Number: Enter
Control Number listed on the Emergency COVID-19 teaching Certificate,
- License Name/Profession: Select “Teacher of Students with Disabilities (Birth
– Grade 2)” from drop down,
- From Date: Enter the
effective date listed on the Emergency COVID-19 Teaching Certificate
issued by the New York State Education Department,
- To Date: Enter the
expiration date listed on the Emergency COVID-19 Teaching Certificate
issued by the New York State Education Department, and
- License Type: Select
“Teacher Certification – Emergency COVID-19” from drop down.
The
EI agency must establish policies and procedures to ensure the individual
employee certified pursuant to the SED Emergency COVID-19 Teaching Certificate
does not continue to deliver EI services beyond the expiration date of their
Emergency COVID-19 Teaching Certificate. Provided, however, that if such
employee receives a non-provisional/non-emergency teaching certificate from SED
for SWD, Birth-Grade 2, the EI agency may retain them as an employee.
If
you have any questions regarding this information, please send an email to provider@health.ny.gov, with “Question about Emergency
COVID-19 Teaching Certificate” in the subject line.
Attachments:
Emergency COVID-19 Teaching Certificate Cover Sheet
Emergency COVID-19 Teaching Certificate NYEIS Instructions