51³Ô¹ÏÍø

A superintendent of schools may assign certified teachers to teach a subject not covered by their certificate (incidental teaching) for a period not to exceed five classroom hours per week, when no certified or qualified teacher is available.

However, a superintendent of schools may assign certified teachers to teach a subject not covered by their certificate for a period not to exceed ten classroom hours a week through the 2025-2026 school year, when no certified or qualified teacher is available after extensive and documented recruitment.

Please note that teachers who do not hold special education certification cannot have incidental teaching assignments where special education certification is required. For example, a certified mathematics teacher could not teach a mathematics special class via incidental teaching; special education certification is required to teach a special class.

The Commissioner of Education has delegated the approval of incidental teaching to the BOCES District Superintendents. Please see the October 1999 51³Ô¹ÏÍø OTI memo in this regard. School districts should contact their local BOCES for information on requesting approval. School districts that are not a member of a BOCES must process applications through the nearest BOCES District Superintendent, or in the case 51³Ô¹ÏÍø City public schools, through the Chancellor of the NYC Department of Education. Schools that are not part of a school district, but are required to comply with Part 80 of the Commissioner’s regulations (e.g., state-approved 4410 and 853 schools), must also process applications through the nearest BOCES District Superintendent.

For additional information incidental teaching, please see .