Students with Disabilities Certification Pathway

New York State offers a number of pathways to teacher certification. One pathway is the: "Individual Evaluation for Additional Certificate Pathway". It is designed for teachers who hold a valid New York State Teaching Certificate, have a Master's Degree and wish to earn an additional certification, such as, Students with Disabilities Certification (All Grades) without having to earn an additional degree. Candidates for NYS certification through this "Individual Pathway" must meet certain Content Core and Pedagogical Core requirements and must also meet any non-coursework requirements, such as the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations and fingerprint clearance, as specified.

New York State is offering a new certification, Students With Disabilities - All Grades.  This certification will allow the teacher holding this certification to be certified in prekindergarten through grade 12 in the area of special education.  This new certification will provide certified teachers with many exciting opportunities to work with students with disabilities at a variety of grade levels and in a variety of settings.  While NYS is phasing out the special education certifications in the developmental levels of 1-6 and 7-12 over the next few years for those enrolled in a degree program, the new certification, Students With Disabilities - All Grades for those applying through the Pathway: Additional Classroom Teaching Certificate(Must hold a valid certificate) is the only certification they can apply for. The Grades 1-6 and 7-12 are no longer available to those applying via the Pathway: Additional Classroom Teaching Certificate(Must hold a valid certificate).

Certification Requirements Pathway: Additional Classroom Teaching Certificate                   
NYS requires that you have 15 credits in the Pedagogical Core and Additional Pedagogy areas, as well as coursework in liberal arts and sciences.However, depending upon the courses that you may have already taken either in your undergraduate or graduate studies, it can be and it is often less than the number of credits indicated. Most students end up needing 12 credits (4 courses) because because they typically have taken 3 credits in Teaching Literacy Skills Methods and completed the liberal arts courses in their  previous studies.  Click here for the list of requirements from the New York State Office of Teaching Initiatives website on the approved pathway.

What courses does Molloy University offer to help meet the requirements?
Graduate courses are offered in the program by Molloy to assist teachers in meeting the Pedagogical Core and Additional Pedagogy course requirements.

Please note that all of the courses are part of our graduate education master's degree program and the only difference in the coursework is that there are no requirements for field study or student teaching. NYS does not require teachers who are NYS certified to complete student teaching again when they are applying for additional certification. The program is only open to teachers who are already NYS certified and have a master's degree.

The following Molloy courses are offered to meet the requirements of the Individual Pathway in these areas:

Pedagogical Core (3 Credits)

• Teaching Literacy Skills Methods - 3 credits. - it has been our experience that most teachers have this course in their background, especially if they graduated from either an undergraduate or graduate teacher preparation program in NYS within the last 15 years or so. If you should need this course, we would suggests that you take: EDU 5062, Language and Literacy: Principles and Practices for Childhood Classrooms (Grades 1-6)

Additional Pedagogy (12 credits)

• Foundations of Special Education - Students with Disabilities- EDU 5275, Characteristics of Students with Disabilities, Developmental Delays, or Autism Spectrum Disorder   
• Assessment, Diagnosis and Evaluation of Students with Disabilities- EDU 5276, Assessment, Diagnosis, and Evaluation of Students with Disabilities
• Managing the Environment for Students with Disabilities - EDU 5283, Strategies, Methods & Environments for Teaching Childhood Students with Disabilities Pre K -12
  Please note: those who are applying under SWD Childhood 1-6 or Students with Disabilities Adolescent 7-12, the following courses can be used: EDU 5277 (Childhood) or EDU 5278 (adolescent)
• Curriculum and Instruction for Students with Disabilities  - EDU 5282, Curriculum, Content, Practices & Environmental Issues for Teaching Childhood & Adolescent Students with Disabilities Please note: those who are applying under SWD Childhood 1-6 or Students with Disabilities Adolescent 7-12, the following courses can be used: EDU 5279 (Childhood) or EDU 5280 (adolescent)

Molloy's online admission/registration system is called Lion's Den. The Lion's Den web page for Professional Studies courses can be found at: https://lionsden.molloy.edu/ICS/Professional_Studies/

Please note: when you search for the term please select "2025 Spring Institute"  as the term in the drop down. If you put in the term "2025 Spring" it will include the non-discounted courses that you are not eligible to take.

How many courses do you need to become certified?
The number of courses that you may need can be confusing because you may have courses that you have previously taken that can count towards your certification. However, most teachers need 12 credits because they typically have taken 3 credits in Teaching Literacy Skills Methods.  The only definitive answer about how many courses that you may need must come from NY State. We suggest looking at the courses that you have taken to see if any of those courses are similar to what is required by NYS. If any course that you've taken sounds similar, we would suggest holding off taking that course or courses until you receive the official notification from NYS.

To have a definitive answer as to how many courses you may need you must actually apply for certification by going to the following webpage: NYS Office of Teaching Initiatives  and file for STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES ALL GRADES to find out which courses that you have taken before may qualify. Do this as soon as possible - even before you enroll in any courses!  You can also visit your local BOCES Regional Certification Offices (RCOs) to have your transcripts evaluated. You  should telephone in advance to determine availability. Please visit:http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/certificate/regionalcenters.html for a list of local offices that can do transcript evaluations.

You will be informed of anything additional you need to take or any missing requirements.  Your credits don't "expire", so as long as you can produce an official college transcript for the courses and the courses match the NYS requirements, you will be able to get credit for them. There is a $100 fee to apply for Students with Disabilities All Grades certification, but once you've paid the fee you do not have to pay it again as long as you complete the process within two years and do not ask for more than two evaluations.

Practicum, Field study, Observations or Student Teaching
Under this pathway you are not required to do a practicum, field study, observations or student teaching. NYS does not require teachers who are NYS certified to complete student teaching again when they are applying for additional certification.

Course Schedule and Modality
The courses will be offered in one of two online formats: Asynchronous Online and Online Mixed. Please see the descriptions of each below: 

Asynchronous Online 

Online asynchronous course content is delivered online with no required virtual or instructional site meetings.  The course has a start date and an end date, but no set time you must log on to the course. You must log on to Canvas on the first day of class and continue to do so on a regular basis to complete assignments and participate in discussions in the time allotted by the professor.    

Online Mixed 
Online mixed course content is delivered online with scheduled virtual meetings combined with asynchronous learning activities.  Synchronous live meeting will be communicated in the syllabus.

The fall schedule is posted on the website in May.  The spring schedule is posted in October. The summer schedule is posted in February.

The courses will be taught using an online platform at Molloy called Canvas. Please see the "Canvas" link under the "explore" column for details on Canvas.

Tuition
Each course in the program is offered at $945 per 3-credit graduate course. This is a discounted tuition rate. Tuition is normally about $3,800 per 3-credit graduate course. The tuition is off-set by a professional development scholarship that is given to those teachers who already possess a master's degree, possess a valid New York State Teaching Certificate and are not pursuing a master's degree with Molloy University. No other discounts are offered. Students and teachers who are pursuing a master's degree at Molloy University are not eligible to enroll in the Students with Disabilities Certification Pathway courses.

Admission and Registration Procedure
The program does not have traditional deadline dates because courses are offered throughout the year and they do not follow a semester schedule. There are no defined overall start and end dates for the program. Therefore, you can apply to the program at any time. The registration process is rather simple because you are not applying for a Molloy degree. There is an online application that you need to complete, but that is for information purposes only. Everyone is accepted as long as you are a NY certified teacher. There is no application fee and GREs are not required. If you are enrolling in the program for the first time, there is a combined application/registration form that you will complete online.  Once you register for the first time you will be sent an email within one to two business days with your username to login your student account to access the system for future registrations and to access Canvas, our online learning platform.

You should register at least a week before the course start date at the latest in order to register for the first time. After that you can register up until the day before the class, but then you run the risk that a course could be full- our courses do close.

All registrations for courses are conducted online. Click here for the application/registration procedures. The online registration process differs if you are a continuing student or if you are a new student.

If you have any questions, contact Krista Lombardo at klombardo@molloy.edu 

Absences/Makeups
Hybrid courses are offered in an accelerated, part classroom and part online format. The number of classroom sessions is generally between 3-5 sessions. Missing even one session in this format can be very detrimental. Therefore, it is imperative that teachers attend each classroom session.  If you know that you are not going to be able to attend one or more sessions prior to registering for a course, please select another section of the course. Please do not contact the faculty member teaching the course regarding a make-up for a known absence prior to the start date. Make-ups are not permitted.  

Questions?
Email Krista Lombardo at klombardo@molloy.edu