Field Experience and Student Teaching

Students must acquire current (less than one year old) clearances showing no record in order to apply for Pre-Professional Educator Status (PPES) and participate in field experience, including student teaching. Copies of these clearances must be submitted to York College's Education Department and the student's placement school. Students must also retain the original clearance files for their own records.

It is the student's responsibility to complete all three required clearance check processes. This must be done in a timely fashion, as it could take up to 12 weeks to receive clearances. PPES approval and field experience, including student teaching, cannot proceed until these clearances are on file in the Education Department. The student is responsible for the cost of mailing these applications. 

General Information About Clearances

• No student may enter a school to conduct any “field experience” without having clear, up-to-date clearances on file at York College of Pennsylvania. "Up-to-date” means valid from the first day of the semester through the last day of the semester.
• Teacher Education candidates with any type of record are not permitted to progress in their program, unless and until the offense is officially resolved and a “clean” clearance (with no record) is produced.
• Clearances are mandatory for PPES approval and all field experiences, including student teaching. If students renew their clearances every year after their first field experience, they should then have their clearances in time to enter the schools for the next stage of experiences.
• Clearances must be less than one year old at the start of the experience (and for some placements, they may not be more than one year old during the entire experience). Valid on/before the first day of the semester and on/after the last day of the semester.
• Clearances must be submitted to the School of Behavioral Sciences and Education. Clearances must be physically on file at York College prior to entering placement schools.
• Students should always retain their original clearances and provide copies to York College's Education Department and any school placement.

View procedures for securing clearances as of February 2023, as well as the latest PDE procedures.

Three Required Clearance Forms

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), anyone working with or observing children in public and private schools, IUs, and vocational-technical schools are required to provide proof of the following clearances:

1. Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance (Act 151)
2. Pennsylvania State Criminal Record Check (Act 34) 
3. Federal Criminal History Record (Act 114) 

Child Abuse History Certification

1. Access the Child Abuse History Certification online application.
2. If registering for the first time, choose Submit a New Record Check. 
3. Read the directions on the next page, and then click Next.
4. Fill in all the information requested (remember: the Keystone ID is a username created by the user), including security questions and the security riddle (if the security riddle is unclear, go back to the initial website to get a new question). Click Finish after completing all fields.
5. You will be provided with a temporary password at the email address provided.
6. When you receive the email, go back to the initial webpage and choose Login. If entering for the first time, you will be prompted to change your password. (It is important that you write down your username and password for future access!)
7. There will be a series of pages to fill in, but remember to select School Employee Not Governed by Public School Code for the purpose of the clearance. (Do not choose Volunteers Only version.)
8. When asked about the Certificate Delivery Method, remember to answer Yes, you would like to have a paper copy sent to your home or mailing address.
9. You must pay for the clearance online using either a debit or credit card and then sign electronically.
10. The website states that you will be provided with updates regarding the status of your clearance and will be notified when it is ready to be printed. While the website states that the process is automatic, it has been known to take up to two weeks for the clearance to be generated.

Criminal Record Check — PA State Police

1. Access the Criminal Record Check online application.
2. Click on Submit a New Record Check. (Do not choose Volunteers Only version.)
3. Select Individual Request.
4. Reason for Request — select Employment
5. Accurately complete the information requested and click Next.
6. Verify, then click on Proceed. 
7. Enter your personal information again and click Enter the Request. 
8. Click on Finished.
9. Click Submit on the Review page.
10. Enter your credit card information and click Next. 
11. Click on the hyperlink for the control number.
12. Very Important: Write down the control number and the date it was processed.
13. Click on Certification Form.
14. Print this form. If you have issues with printing, you will need the control number and date you processed the clearance in order to access it on another device for printing.

FBI Background Fingerprinting Check

1. Access the IdentoGO online application.
2. Enter your Service Code to get started: 1KG6RT (Purpose: Universities/Colleges). Click Go. 
   Note: All teacher education students use this same code to be fingerprinted for PDE. 
3. Click Schedule or Manage Appointment and complete all Essential Info; then click Next. 
4. Complete all Additional Info for Agency Identifiers then click Next. (You will create a security question and answer; write this down for future reference.) 
5. Complete all Citizenship information; then click Next.
6. Complete all Personal Questions information; then click Next. (You do not have an authorization code.) 
7. Complete all Personal Information; then click Next.
8. Complete all Address information; then click Next. 
9. Choose the Identification Document you will bring to your enrollment; then click Next. 
10. Search for an Enrollment Center for a location to be fingerprinted; then click Next. 
11. Select Date and Time for your fingerprinting appointment; then click Next. (Scheduled appointments take priority over walk-ins.) 
12. Print the enrollment screen. You will also receive an email from IdentoGO confirming your appointment. 
13. Click Submit 
14. You will be prompted to confirm the appointment. Your payment will be made at the IdentoGO Center via credit card, business check, or money order. 
15. You will receive an email from PASafeCheck (status@dev.PASafeCheck.identogo.com) within 72 hours with a link to access your unofficial copy, called the Civil Applicant Response. It is important that you are at a computer where you can print and save the unofficial copy, as this will be a one-time access only link.

Submitting Clearances to Required Locations

When your three clearances are obtained, please make three copies for the following purposes:

1. Submit a copy of each clearance to the Education Department Office at York College of Pennsylvania (Life Sciences, Room 134).
2. Keep a copy of each clearance to share with a future placement school.
3. Keep a copy of each clearance for your own records.

All education majors who wish to pursue teaching certification must obtain PPES before they are eligible to enroll in professional preparation coursework.

When applying for PPES, please consider:

• PPES applications must be submitted as a packet, which includes photocopies of all requirements listed on the application.
• It is strongly suggested that education majors apply for PPES by the end of their first semester sophomore year or as soon as requirements are met.
• Professional Preparation courses require many field experience hours; therefore, the earlier students can enroll in these courses, the better their scheduling and workload will be distributed.

York College of Pennsylvania is a Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) approved program. YCP students who successfully complete all courses in their education program (including student teaching) may apply for teaching certification in Pennsylvania if they possess a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher upon graduation. Students must wait until the month of their graduation to apply for certification through PDE, utilizing the Teacher Information Management System (TIMS) certification system. 

Visit the PDE's Certification webpage for all information about certification, including the certification tests and scores required for each major and the TIMS certification application 

Certification Testing Score Requirements

We recommend that students register for their certification exams the semester prior to student teaching. The exact tests needed for each major are outlined on the PDE's Certification Testing webpage (click on Certification Testing and Score Requirements to download the PDE's spreadsheet; refer to the tab labeled Instructional). Note that you can achieve a "Passing Score" or "GPA Qualifying Score." If you do not achieve the passing score for your major, you may be eligible for certification depending on your GPA (see the Qualifying Score column for your graduating GPA).

Instructional Add-Ons

Certain certification areas can be "added-on" to your original certification. You must first possess certification in the area in which you majored at YCP before adding on certification in another area. Additionally, you cannot use the GPA qualifying option to add on another certification area; the GPA qualifying option is only for certification in the area of your college major. 

Only certain areas are eligible for add-on. More information on instructional add-ons can be found on the PDE's Instructional Add-Ons webpage.

Pennsylvania Teaching Certificate Testing Companies

• ES Pearson — PECT Exams (required for certification in Early Elementary PK-4)
• ETS — PRAXIS II Exams (required for certification in Middle Level Education 4-8, Secondary Education 7-12, Music Education PK-12, Spanish Education PK-12‌, and Special Education PK-12)

For more information about acquiring and keeping your Pennsylvania teaching certificate, please refer to PDE's Certificate Status Circular for Educators.

Note: It is imperative that you review all resources — including links, manuals, and videos — prior to initiating your online certification application.

Pennsylvania Careers and Job Postings

Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has created a database of vacancies in PA school districts. This is a great place to start when searching for a Pennsylvania teaching position within your certification area. 

It is also recommended that you visit school district websites directly to review vacancies, as there may be more up-to-date positions posted by school districts on their Human Resources webpages.

York College Career Development Center is also a valuable resource for students and recent graduates. Professionals in the Center can assist with job searching and interviewing skills. Résumé reviews and career coaching are also available.

Out-of-State Careers and Teacher Requirements

York College of Pennsylvania's Education program is approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). Students who successfully complete all courses in their education program — including student teaching — may apply for teaching certification in Pennsylvania if they possess a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher upon graduation. 

Because York College of Pennsylvania is a Pennsylvania-approved program, students wishing to apply for out-of-state certification must work directly with the Department of Education in each respective state. We recommend all students apply for and acquire certification through Pennsylvania prior to applying for out-of-state teaching certification. Many states will convert a candidate's Pennsylvania certification to their own state's certification upon application. 

It is the student's responsibility to work with the out-of-state licensing agency. For a listing of each state's Department of Education website, refer to the U.S. Department of Education's State Contacts list.

Students are assigned to a student teaching placement within a 55-mile radius of the York College campus. Students' home addresses are also taken into account when securing placements. 

Placements are usually hosted in York County school districts. However, student teachers are occasionally placed in schools located in Adams, Cumberland, or Lancaster Counties.

Transportation for Student Teaching is the responsibility of the student.

Students are not permitted to request specific grade levels, schools, or cooperating teachers per York College's agreement with local school districts. 

Check out the Field Experience Handbook and Student Teaching Handbook for details about these learning experiences.