Change to CTE Middle School Mandate

Attention: All Technology and Engineering Educators
Date: December 7, 2014
Re: Proposed Rule Making – Pathways to Graduation
Priority: Highest

NYSTEEA is concerned that as the language currently stands, implementation of the pathways will actually obstruct the career and STEM based reforms that are intended.  NYSTEEA has submitted a letter to Commissioner Tangorra (briefly outlined below) explaining our concerns and offering recommendations for moving forward.

Now it is time for you to respond to SED!  Your input is vital to echo the comments of NYSTEEA and other CTE organizations supporting the concept of graduation pathway options but expressing concerns about the current Rule Making language and the possible negative effects that it could have on local CTE programs.

PLEASE make your voice heard and ask others in your network to do so as well.  It is imperative that SED hear from all education stakeholders including parents and students, school faculty, staff, and board members, as well as business, industry, and community partners.

NYSTEEA has created talking points for you to consider when responding to the Proposed Rule Making.  Act now because the last day to respond is December 19, 2014. NYSTEEA’s complete letter and speaking points as well as  the referenced SED documents are posted at www.nysteea.org. 

Briefly, NYSTEEA expressed the following concerns with the Proposed Rule Making:

1.      The language creates a two tiered system that will incentivize schools to not offer technology education (or other CTE) courses and programs,

2.      The language does not clearly support and encourage school implementation and development of “Pathways that utilize career-focused integrated course and programs”, and

3.      The language misrepresents the term “STEM” by only acknowledging a mathematics or science assessment substitution and negates the Technology and Engineering component, which is critical to the concept of STEM.

NYSTEEA made theserecommendations for moving forward:

1.      To only allow for an exam to be substituted in place of a social studies Regents exam if a student has completed an equal pathway of courses and experiences that expose students to career content, financial literacy, and a related school to work experience.

2.      To develop universal criteria for pathways to graduation in each of the identified areas (Humanities, STEM, CTE, LOTE and the Arts), which should include a school to work experience, career exploration course content, financial literacy course content, and an equal amount of seat time required in and across all pathways offered to New York State students.

3.      To include technology and engineering education programs in any/all efforts the NYSED is labeling as STEM, or change the label to math/science.  In which case, the Board of Regents could identify a Math & Science Graduation Pathway, develop and allow for the substitution of a Regents exam in technological literacy, or endorse the use of the International Technology & Engineering Education Association’s capstone exam for Engineering By Design, or develop and allow for the substitution of a Regents examination in Career & Financial Management, which could be used for technology and engineering as well as any CTE graduation pathways.

Thank you in advance for making your voice heard and standing up for our students.  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at ajlatnystea@westelcom.com.

Sincerely,

Alta Jo Longware
NYSTEEA President 2014-15

September 15, 2017

On Tuesday, September 12, 2017 the New York State Board of Regents recommended to the Commissioner of Education to amend the regulation 100.4 one unit of Technology and ¾ unit of Home and Career Skills.  The new regulation stipulates that schools can now provided 1 ¾ units of study in any of the six CTE disciplines which includes Technology Education, FACS, Agriculture, Business, Health Sciences, Trade and Technical Education. Any CTE courses must be taught by persons certified to teach in that particular CTE subject area. It is important to reiterate that this is not an elimination of the middle school mandate but a restructuring.  

Unit of Study Requirements for Career and Technical Education in Grades 7 and 8 [P-12 (A) 3]
Your Committee recommends that section 100.4(c) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education be amended, as submitted, effective September 27, 2017. These amendments allow for greater flexibility in meeting the unit of study requirements in grades 7 and 8 in Career and Technical Education (CTE).  Regent Mittler voted in opposition.

Reminder: Districts that have effective FACS and Technology Education programs should continue to meet the unit of study requirement in the traditional manner. 

Information for School Districts:
It is important superintendents and principals understand that this is not an elimination of the technology education mandate. Administrators do not have to change their current program if students are receiving 1 ¾ units of study from any of the six CTE disciplines which includes Technology Education, FACS, Agriculture, Business, Health Sciences, Trade and Technical Education.You can help with this by letting your principal know that as long as they meet the current regulation they will be in compliance with the NEW regulation.

If they are NOT currently compliant with regulation 100.4 they must become compliant with the new regulation which provides some flexibility for them. The mandate can only be fulfilled with a CTE certified educator teaching within their content area.

History of this Regulation Change:

  • On Tuesday, May 9, 2017 the New York State Board of Regents approved an emergency regulation to give schools the flexibility to meet the Technology and Family Consumer Science middle school mandate in new ways. This opened a 45 day comment period where many stakeholders contacted the Board of Regents and State Education Department.
  • As recently as the end of March, this item was scheduled for July or September and the summer was to be used to create the content modules by the CTE content areas—to fold everyone into the process.
  • A statewide conference call was held with representatives of the superintendents and middle-level principals to discuss the elimination of the middle level mandate ALL TOGETHER. The State Education Department presented the Introduction to CTE model as a reason to KEEP the 1 ¾ unit. The Department reverse course during the conference call and decided to support the CTE model while providing some flexibility to administrators.
  • The current proposal was then scheduled for consideration by the Board of Regents at the May meeting.
  • It is very important for everyone to realize that this item was “rushed” to accommodate promises made by the Department’s senior managers to superintendents in the field that a regulation change would happen for the 2017-18 academic year.  It was proposed as an emergency item because there wasn’t enough time left to follow normal protocol and have change in place for 2017-18 as promised.
  • Only schools with openings for Technology or FACS for 2017-18 can use the flexibility to hire from the broad CTE pool of which Technology and FACS are a part.
  • There are not enough Technology and FACS teachers to staff the current openings, let alone those for the Fall. As we know, many districts are out of compliance. This gives districts a chance to hire one of our CTE colleagues to fill positions that will never see a Technology or FACS applicant.
  • Contractual issues govern staffing in individual districts. We must be mindful that programs do not get cut where teachers are in existence.

Information from the Board of Regents Meeting in located at the Board of Regents website.

Comments the Regents made during the Meeting can be found here.
Information about what happened at the meeting can be found here.

The original proposal Unit of Study Requirements for Career and Technical Education in Grades 7 and 8. See it here: https://www.regents.nysed.gov/common/regents/files/517p12a3.pdf

Certification Name Change 2017

The attached white paper titled: Request for Certification Title Change: Technology Education to Technology and Engineering Education was written in combination by Mark Hardy at SUNY Oswego and Clark Greene at Buffalo State University. The paper outlines the many entities in NYS that have changed their name who mission is to support and prepare teachers to teach Technology and Engineering Education. Then helps demonstrate the need for NYSED to match these name changes for certification title to Technology and Engineering Education.

Certification name change white paper

NYSED/CTE Rule Making

New York State Education Department, Albany NY

aYou will find information and hyperlinks related to CTE Graduation Pathways on this page, please check this page from time to time for updated information that will assist in supporting the move to make true CTE graduation pathways for the students of New York State a reality.You will find information and hyperlinks related to CTE Graduation Pathways on this page, please check this page from time to time for updated information that will assist in supporting the move to make true CTE graduation pathways for the students of New York State a reality.