Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024
(a) Application. In order to qualify for
State funds pursuant to Education Law, section
3033 and this Part, a school district or
board of cooperative educational services shall submit an application and plan
in a form prescribed by the commissioner. Such application and plan shall be
submitted for approval by the commissioner no later than the date specified by
Education Law, section
3033(2). Such application
shall contain an assurance by the chief executive officer of the school
district or board of cooperative educational services that the plan to
establish and implement a mentor teacher-internship program has been approved
by the board of education or board of cooperative educational
services.
(b) District internship
plan. The plan shall provide evidence of its development in accordance with the
provisions of article 14 of the Civil Service Law, and shall contain the
following components:
(1) a statement of the
number of interns and mentors to participate in the program during the school
year for which funding is requested and the percentage of all eligible persons
in the district or board of cooperative educational services who will
participate as interns in the program.
(2) a description of:
(i) how the needs of the interns for training
and support will be assessed;
(ii)
the training and professional support to be provided to the interns, which may
include, but shall not be limited to, participation in the district or board of
cooperative educational services staff development program, a teacher resource
and computer training center or a post-secondary institution program;
and
(iii) how the mentors will
guide and support their interns, including the portion of time each intern will
have direct contact with the mentor, provided that the role of the mentor shall
not be construed as limiting or supplanting the authority of school
administrators or supervisors to supervise or evaluate the performance of the
interns and that information obtained by a mentor through interaction with an
intern shall not be made available to supervisors or used in the evaluation of
such intern;
(3) the
process and criteria for the selection of mentors for interns, including the
selection of persons eligible to serve as mentors from a list of eligible
persons developed by a selection committee composed of certified or licensed
personnel employed by the school district or board of cooperative educational
services, a majority of whom shall be classroom teachers. Such classroom
teachers shall be chosen by the certified or recognized teachers employee
organizations representing teachers in the school district or board of
cooperative educational services whenever such organizations exist;
(4) the process and criteria for selection of
interns;
(5) a description of the
training to be provided to mentors including a description of the extent to
which this training will be coordinated with the district staff development
program;
(6) a program evaluation
system which shall include, but shall not be limited to, criteria for
assessment of mentor performance, and criteria for assessment of intern
performance in areas including, but not limited to, instructional planning and
management, classroom management, presentation of subject matter and
communication skills; and
(7) an
operational budget, in a form satisfactory to the commissioner, which
identifies all funds and resources deemed necessary for the implementation of
the program. Such budget may include up to 10 percent of the salary of each
mentor per mentor-intern relationship and up to 10 percent of the salary of
each intern, and other estimated costs of the program including, but not
limited to, the reasonable cost of evaluation, training and materials.
Equipment costs shall not be included.
(c) Reporting requirements. Following each
school year in which a school district or board of cooperative educational
services has implemented an internship plan, the school district or board of
cooperative educational services shall file with the department a report which
shall include the names of the interns who have successfully completed the
mentor teacher-internship program and their areas of certification and
licensure, the certificate titles or license areas and the number of years of
teaching experience of the teachers who have served as mentors, a description
of the teaching assignments of each mentor and intern, and copies of each
intern's summative evaluation form together with other evaluation and
descriptive information as the commissioner may require. Such information shall
be submitted in a form prescribed by the commissioner.
(d) Variances.
(1) A variance may be granted from the
requirement of subparagraph (b)(2)(iii) of this section that information
obtained by a mentor through interaction with an intern shall not be made
available to supervisors or used in the evaluation of such intern upon a
finding by the commissioner that a school district or board of cooperative
educational services has entered into an agreement negotiated pursuant to
article 14 of the Civil Service Law, concerning the use of such information
whose terms are in effect and are inconsistent with such requirement.
(2) A variance may be granted from any of the
specific requirements of this Part upon a finding by the commissioner that:
(i) such requirements have been substantially
met;
(ii) all requirements of
section
3033 of the Education Law have been met;
and
(iii) the granting of a
variance is consistent with the purposes of the mentor teacher- internship
program.