51³Ô¹ÏÍø

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Office of Teaching Initiatives

Certification

Pupil Personnel Service Permanent Certificate or School Counselor Professional Certificate Experience Requirement

For the Permanent certificate in the pupil personnel service (PPS), individuals must complete at least two years of acceptable PPS experience or its equivalent (360 days). Full-time and part-time experiences are acceptable. The PPS certificate titles are: School Counselor, School Psychology, School Social Worker, School Attendance Teacher, School Nurse Teacher, and School Dental Hygienist. Note: For theÌýProfessionalÌýSchool Counselor certificate, three yeas of acceptable school counseling experience is required.

Certification During the Experience

For certain experiences, aÌývalid and appropriate PPS certificateÌýmust be held during the experience. An appropriate certificate is a certificate title that matches the position title (e.g., a school counselor would hold a School Counselor certificate).

Experiences that require a valid and appropriate certificate include but are not limited to: employment in a public school, BOCES, Early Intervention provider, or other position that requires certification in 51³Ô¹ÏÍø State; and employment in a public school in another U.S. state or U.S. territory.

Acceptable PPS Experience

Experience for the Permanent PPS certificate or Professional School Counselor certificate may be gained in the following settings.

  • external link, BOCES, or while holding a valid and appropriate certificate.
  • or in another U.S. state or U.S. territory, where the school is recognized by the public-school district or other governmental entity in which it is located.
  • Universal Pre-K (UPK)
  • Hospital with an approved K-12 educational program
  • Department of Corrections, Division for Youth, or Office for People with Developmental Disabilities with an approved K-12 educational program
Examples of Unacceptable PPS Experiences
  • Occupational and physical therapy positions filled by individuals through the civil service
  • Mental Health Counseling, Creative Arts Therapy and Dance Therapy
  • Dug and Alcohol counseling experience while not holding a NYS pupil personnel certificate or being appointed as a civil service position
  • Professional experience gained outside of a school or self-employment
  • Experience not in the title of the certificate
  • Employment by a company (where the educator is not an employee of the school)
  • Independent contractor experience