Teaching Students With Severe or Multiple Disabilities, C.A.S.

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Associate Professor Giuliani, Graduate Program Director, (516) 463-5143, George.A.Giuliani@hofstra.edu

The Advanced Certificate for Teaching Students with Severe or Multiple Disabilities is designed for teachers who are certified in special education who wish additional pedagogical knowledge, skills, and experiences for Teaching Students with Severe or Multiple Disabilities in early childhood, childhood, middle childhood, or adolescence. The goal of this annotation program is to prepare teachers to effectively meet the needs of students with Severe or multiple disabilities using varied and alternate strategies for developing communication and language skills, as well as functional curriculum in content areas. Teacher knowledge of the application of assistive technology and the use of alternative assessment methods are considered essential to effective instruction. This program leads to the New York State Annotation for Teaching Students With Severe or Multiple Disabilities (students may select from one of the two programs listed below).

Admission Requirements

Applicants for the Annotation for Teaching Students with Severe or Multiple Disabilities must be certified in special education.

Program Requirements for Early Childhood (Birth-Grade 2) - Semester Hours: 18

SPED 204 - Collaborative Partnerships With Families of Children With Disabilities Semester Hours: 3
or
SPED 226 - Early Intervention and Related Services in Early Childhood Special Education Semester Hours: 3
SPED 209 - Early Intervention: Infant Stimulation Semester Hours: 3
SPED 210 - The Creative Arts in Special Education Semester Hours: 3
SPED 216 - Assessment and Diagnosis in Early Childhood Special Education Semester Hours: 3
SPED 238 - Field Experience Semester Hours: 3
SPED 259 - Introduction to Applied Behavior Analysis for Special Educators Semester Hours: 3

Program Requirements for Childhood (Grades 1-6) or Adolescence (Grades 7-12) - Semester Hours: 18

SPED 204 - Collaborative Partnerships With Families of Children With Disabilities Semester Hours: 3
or
SPED 226 - Early Intervention and Related Services in Early Childhood Special Education Semester Hours: 3
SPED 238 - Field Experience Semester Hours: 3
SPED 242 - Psychoeducational Assessment in Special Education Semester Hours: 3
SPED 248 - Education of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders Semester Hours: 3
or
SPED 249 - Understanding Physical, Sensory and Health Disabilities Semester Hours: 3
SPED 259 - Introduction to Applied Behavior Analysis for Special Educators Semester Hours: 3
SPED 277 - Technology and Assistive Technology in Special Education Semester Hours: 3

Graduation Requirements

For All Certificate/Diploma Programs

Completion of all program requirements.
A minimum grade point average of 3.0 in overall graduate course work.

Teacher Certification Requirements

Upon successful completion of a school-based program, students will be eligible to apply for the University’s recommendation for New York state certification. The state requires applicants to have passing scores on each of the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations (NYSTCE): the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test (LAST), the Assessment of Teaching Skills-Written (ATS-W), and the appropriate Content Specialty Tests (CSTs). The state will not issue certification to individuals not receiving passing scores on all New York examinations.

In addition to fulfilling the required courses of study, the Commissioner’s Regulations mandate that all prospective teachers, pupil personnel and education leaders receive instructions regarding:
   1.    Identification of Child Abuse and Maltreatment.
   2.    Fire and Arson Prevention.
   3.    School Violence Prevention and Intervention.
   4.    Prevention of Alcohol, Tobacco and Drug Abuse.
   5.    Highway and School Safety/Prevention of Child Abduction.

New York State legislation also requires all persons seeking certification as special education teachers or school administrators working in special education to have training in the area of children with autism. All of these requirements must be completed before the conferral of the degree and recommendation for certification. Candidates for certification in New York state must also demonstrate satisfactory performance on the requisite state assessment. No degrees will be conferred without the completion of all of these requirements. Please contact the Office of Certification and Educational Support Services for information regarding fingerprinting, examinations and seminars.

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