For the 2024-25 school year, NYC Public Schools is offering NYC Extended Certification Programs, enabling qualified current NYCPS teachers to pursue a Students with Disabilities (grades B-2, 1-6, or 7-12) certification or a Bilingual Extension (grades PK-12) through the completion of free graduate-level coursework. By earning one of these additional licenses, teachers can increase their professional flexibility, while also gaining the skills and training to serve some of their highest-need students more effectively.
Please note that we do not currently offer any ENL certificate programs. For teachers interested in ENL program options, please visit the Clinically Rich Intensive Teacher Institute (CR-ITI) page.
Accepted candidates will either enroll in a cohort through a partner college or university or will be a part of the NYC Specialized Teacher Enhancement Pathway’s (NYC STEP) school-embedded certification program. After completing their certification program, participants commit to teaching in their new certification area for the following two years.
- Participants are responsible for the cost of NYSED certification exams and any missing prerequisite classes.
You can learn more about different program pathways on the TeachNYC website.
NYC Extended Certification Programs Through Institutions of Higher Education (IHE)
Qualified applicants who are accepted to one of the NYC Extended Certification Programs’ IHE cohorts will be assigned to a particular partner college or university’s certification program, based on their desired certification area and qualifications.
Participants will complete program coursework while simultaneously continuing to be a valuable member of their school’s teaching staff and depending on their program, may be required to support students in their desired license area while completing their courses. IHE cohorts will last for either 2 or 3 semesters and will feature in-person, virtual, and hybrid classes.
NYC Specialized Teacher Enhancement Pathway (NYC STEP)
NYC STEP is designed to be a supportive and school-embedded training program for current teachers with an applicable base certificate to leverage their skills and experiences to meet the needs of students with disabilities and multilingual learners. Teacher participants will complete self-guided, graduate-level, online coursework, and receive coaching and support from high-quality NYCPS teacher facilitators.
Participants will begin coursework and job-embedded training in the summer and participate in training throughout the school year. Once a teacher completes the program, they can apply the credit equivalency toward an additional certification through the Additional Classroom Teaching Certificate Individual Evaluation pathway.