The New York State Education Department's Office of Teaching Initiatives (OTI) will discontinue the printing of time-limited certificates ( Initial, Supplementary, Teaching Assistant Level I and II) on February 1, 2010. Instead, certification status will be verified via TEACH online services. Certificates that do not expire (Permanent, Professional, and Teaching Assistant Level III) will continue to be printed and mailed to applicants.
OTI has informed districts and BOCES that "Online verification of an employment applicant's certification status should be used in lieu of printed certificates for current, and potential, employees." The discontinuation of printing and mailing time-limited certificates is expected to save the state money and free staff to work on evaluating applications.