NYSUT and its higher ed affiliates are working closely with parents and students who are sharing their frustration over the flawed edTPA rollout.
Tom Pinto, one concerned parent from Eastchester, has written his Regents and spoken with media about the unfairness of changing the rules mid-game for prospective students.
"When 40 percent or so of parents find out their kid has failed this test and cannot be certified, there's going to be an even greater uproar, not only to SED but to legislators: 'How did you let this happen?'" Pinto said.
"Hopefully, there will be a remedy to the situation before parents see that a degree in teaching doesn't let their son or daughter teach."
Thousands of New York college students have signed a petition on Change.org started by SUNY Cortland education major and senior Melissa Howard that asks state legislators to suspend edTPA indefinitely.
Students are speaking out in letters to the editors and in commentaries. Among them is Tom Pinto's son, Thomas, an education major and senior at SUNY Brockport who is facing the edTPA this spring.
"We've been asked to learn in weeks what we should have started to learn in freshman or sophomore year," Thomas Pinto said in an interview on WGRZ TV in Buffalo.
Campus newspapers, television stations and newspapers across the state are also covering the edTPA story. To find links to recent media coverage and the student petition, visit www.nysut.org/edTPA.