Watch what your colleagues shared about how certification changes will affect them at a recent hearing.
The State Department of Education (SDE) is proposing some dramatic changes that could upend critical certification regulations and put your teaching license at risk.
Hundreds of CEA members attended the first three of five scheduled public hearings on these certification changes, and urged SDE officials to reconsider their proposed regulation revisions. Watch what they had to say.
Teachers testified that the proposed certification changes in three areas — special education, literacy, and teacher leadership — are unrealistic, costly, and poorly conceived. They said the proposals set teachers up for failure; and will have a devastating impact on teachers, students, and school districts.
The SDE needs to hear from you too. Every additional voice adds to the impact and lets the SDE know how devastating changes will be for students, teachers, and public schools.
Teachers need to tell the SDE to reconsider these proposals by testifying at the final two hearings later this month. The hearings are scheduled for Tuesday, April 27 at the Education Connection (RESC), 355 Goshen Road, in Litchfield, and Thursday, April 29, at ACES, 205 Skiff Street, Hamden. Both will be held from 3 to 6 p.m.
Sign up to attend one of the hearings. If you can’t attend you can still submit written comments.
SDE officials need to hear why their proposals won’t work — and why the proposed certification changes would be damaging to teachers and students.
You can learn about the impact these proposals will have on teachers and join CEA’s efforts to change them by clicking here.
I began my teaching career as a Special Education Teacher 33 years ago, prior to IEP”s and all of the state and federal mandates that are required. I have been a School Psychologist for the past 18 years, I am still very much aware of the requirements and responsibilities that Special Education teachers must accomplish on a daily basis. Many very good Special Ed. Teachers have moved over to regular education. The amount of paperwork and constant changes that the state mandates without training or time, i.e. changes in CMT/CAPT/MAS that must be done quickly. At this time, agencies, courts, state, parents are turning to Special Education to service children due to emotional. criminal, attendance. learning and behavioral issues. More and more Special Education has become the answer for any child who is having difficulty, yet we have experienced Sped Teachers leaving this area. Special Ed. teachers are required to evaluate, do IEP’s, progress reports and PPT’s that others are not required. By changing the certification process, it would foolhardy to become a Special Education teacher.