STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5666

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     March 15, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education

        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the maximum percentage
          of students that can be exempted from the admission  requirements  for
          graduate-level teacher and educational leader programs

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 210-a of the education law, as amended  by  chapter
     2  454 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
     3    §  210-a. Admission requirements for graduate-level teacher and educa-
     4  tional leader programs. Each institution registered  by  the  department
     5  with  graduate-level  teacher  and leader education programs shall adopt
     6  rigorous selection criteria geared to predicting a candidate's  academic
     7  success in its program, including but not limited to, a minimum score on
     8  the  graduate record examination or a substantially equivalent admission
     9  examination, as determined by the  institution,  and  achievement  of  a
    10  cumulative  grade  point  average  of  3.0  or higher in the candidate's
    11  undergraduate program; provided, however, such graduate record  examina-
    12  tion or substantially equivalent admission examination requirement shall
    13  in  no  case  apply  to  certified teachers or school administrators who
    14  already hold a graduate degree. Each program may exempt  [no  more  than
    15  fifteen] up to fifty percent of any incoming class of students from such
    16  selection criteria set forth in this section based on a student's demon-
    17  stration  of  potential to positively contribute to the teaching profes-
    18  sion or other extenuating circumstances pursuant to the  regulations  of
    19  the commissioner. A program shall report to the department the number of
    20  students  admitted pursuant to such exemption and the selection criteria
    21  used for such exemptions.
    22    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09894-01-1