Registering with SED

Overview

The 2015 New York State budget included requirements for certain certificate holders to register with the State Education Department (SED) and complete Continuing Teacher & Leader Education hours (CTLE hours).  Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2015 specified that these requirements were to be in effect as of July 1, 2016.    These regulations are Part 80-6 of Commissioner’s Regulations.

Registering with the State Education Department

As of July 1, 2016, any holders of a certificate that is valid for life must access their TEACH accounts and choose a registration status during the 2016-2017 school year.  Level III Teaching Assistants who are practicing in a NYS School District or BOCES must select a registration status on their TEACH account.

Practicing is defined as employed 90 days or more during a school year by a single applicable school in New York in a position requiring state certification. A day of employment includes a day actually worked in whole or in part, or a day not actually worked but a day paid. An applicable school is defined as a NYS public school or BOCES.

This registration process is done using the State Education Department’s (SED) TEACH system and is required every 5 years thereafter.  For additional information on how to register with SED, please visit their website

Teaching Assistants who are required to register can select one of the following registration statuses available to them according to SED:

Registered: The certificate holder has notified the Office of Teaching Initiatives they wish to be registered.  This status is for Level III teaching assistants who are working in a NYS public school or BOCES for more than 90 days in a single school year.  SED considers this full-time employment for registration purposes.  

Inactive: The certificate holder has notified the Office of Teaching Initiatives they do not wish to be registered and are not practicing in an applicable school.  If a Level III teaching assistant is not working in a public school or BOCES or is working less than 90 days in a single school year, this status applies.  If the Level III teaching assistant then returns to full-time employment in a NYS public school or BOCES then he/she would update the registration status to ‘Registered’. 

Not Registered: The certificate holder has not notified the Office of Teaching Initiatives they wish to be Registered or Inactive.   

The act of selecting a registration status is connected to one’s employment status in the public schools or BOCES. 

Note:  Individuals whose Level III Teaching Assistant certificates are issued after July 1, 2016 will be automatically registered when the certificates are issued.  These individuals will then be required to re-register in five years, during the month of their birth.