The State Education Department (SED) has established new assessments for teacher certification, including the addition of the edTPA assessment, and has made changes to the certification of school building leaders. The edTPA is a complex performance assessment with multiple components, including requiring that student teachers be video recorded while teaching students in kindergarten through grade 12 classrooms. In addition, those candidates seeking an initial school building leader certificate who have not passed the current school building leader exam and met all other graduation requirements by May 1st, 2014 will be required to pass two new exams.

Concerns have been raised about the cost of the new assessments, potential high failure rate, validity and reliability of the new assessments and that teacher preparation and school building leader programs may not have had adequate time to effectively prepare future teachers and school building leaders for these new requirements. Furthermore, privacy concerns have been raised about the video taping of k-12 students and the security of the retained videotapes. It is important to ensure that our students pursuing a career in education are adequately prepared to take new certification exams. Assembly members Glick and Nolan have introduced legislation dealing with these issues: A.9207 and A.9252.

The Assembly Standing Committees on Higher Education and Education seek testimony examining the changes in the teacher certification process, the preparedness of teacher preparation programs and the impact on future teachers and school building leaders.

Persons wishing to present pertinent testimony to the Committee at the above hearing should complete and return the enclosed reply form as soon as possible. It is important that the reply form be fully completed and returned so that persons may be notified in the event of emergency postponement or cancellation.

Oral testimony will be limited to 10 minutes duration. In preparing the order of witnesses, the Committee will attempt to accommodate individual requests to speak at particular times in view of special circumstances. These requests should be made on the attached reply form or communicated to Committee staff as early as possible.

Ten copies of any prepared testimony should be submitted at the hearing registration desk. The Committee would appreciate advance receipt of prepared statements.

In order to further publicize these hearings, please inform interested parties and organizations of the Committee's interest in hearing testimony from all sources.

In order to meet the needs of those who may have a disability, the Assembly, in accordance with its policy of non-discrimination on the basis of disability, as well as the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has made its facilities and services available to all individuals with disabilities. For individuals with disabilities, accommodations will be provided, upon reasonable request, to afford such individuals access and admission to Assembly facilities and activities.

---

Persons wishing to present testimony at the public hearing on New statewide teacher and school building leader certification requirements are requested to complete this reply form as soon as possible and mail, email or fax it to: