NJSS
SLE Supervision Eligibility Questions
Can a student who is placed in an unpaid or volunteer SLE be younger than 16 years old?
SLE Supervision Eligibility Questions and Answers
Once I complete my required SLE training coursework, is there an SLE teaching certificate or credential I should receive from the NJ Department of Education to verify that I have taken the required SLE classes and I am eligible to be appointed by the district to be an SLE teacher?
There is no form, teaching certificate or endorsement issued to teachers by the NJ Department of Education because eligibility to supervise SLEs is a training requirement only. The professional development certificates issued to you by the NJ Safe Schools Program at Rutgers, The State University of NJ and the OSHA 10 wallet card issued by OSHA are the documentation you have to prove you completed the required courses. School district personnel who have questions about SLE training requirements may view the list of required courses on the NJ Safe Schools Program website at www.njsafeschools.org/.
If an individual has a standard teaching certificate and has taught in the past, but is currently in non-teaching positions at a school district, can that person still be appointed to be the SLE teacher?
Yes. SLE appointments are not dependent upon the job title in which the individual is currently working. If the individual holds a standard teaching certificate and has at least one year of successful teaching experience under that standard certificate, the individual may be appointed by the district to be the SLE teacher. The teacher must complete the four required SLE courses found at www.njsafeschools.org.
Can a Co-operative Education Coordinator who does NOT hold a Special Education Certification supervise an SLE for a special education student?
Yes. There is no requirement in administrative code that a co-operative education coordinator or an SLE teacher hold a special education certificate to supervise special education students placed in co-operative education experiences and SLEs.
However, in that case the co-operative education coordinator or SLE teacher would work closely with the student’s special education teacher or transition coordinator to ensure that the goals of the SLE as expressed in the student’s IEP and student training plan are achieved.
Can a regular teacher, such as an English teacher, supervise students in an SLE without taking the required SLE courses?
Any teacher with a standard teaching certificate and at least one year of successful teaching experience may be appointed by the district to supervise SLEs. All teachers supervising students in any type of work-based experiences, paid or unpaid, must complete the required SLE training, which includes courses on how to design and implement student training plans, worksite safety, and state and federal child labor and wage and hour laws, regulations and hazardous orders. The course schedules and registration may be found at www.njsafeschools.org. The teacher has up to two years to complete the required training upon appointment by the district.
Who determines what employment experience in a hazardous occupation qualifies for a co-operative education-hazardous occupations certificate?
NJ Department of Education (NJDOE) uses federal and NJ Child Labor Laws and Regulations when determining which employment experiences qualify as a “hazardous occupation.” Eligible employment experience must be within 10 years of the date of application for a co-operative education coordinator (CEC) certificate. For a list of eligible hazardous employment experiences that satisfy the hazardous employment experience for the CEC-hazardous occupations certificate, see NJDOE’s Office of Career and Technical Education’s SLE Common Hazardous Occupations webpage: www.state.nj.us/education/cte/sle/hazards.htm Additional employment experiences may be submitted but NJDOE does not guarantee that such employment experiences will be accepted.
Currently, I am pursuing my certification to place students in SLEs. Is there a special endorsement needed in order to place students in a hazardous SLE, such as HVAC/R, electrical work or carpentry?
Yes – federal and state child labor laws and regulations and NJ Department of Education (NJDOE) administrative code require that (1) the students are enrolled in a NJDOE-approved vocational-technical education program in the occupation in which the student would be placed and (2) the student is supervised by a vocational-technical education teacher holding an endorsement for the occupation in which the student will be placed and who has completed the required SLE courses or (3) the student is supervised by a teacher holding either the old CIE certificate or the new CEC-Hazardous occupations certificate.
I’d like to obtain an “Emergency Certificate” for Co-operative Education Coordinator (CEC). Could you please explain what an “Emergency Certificate” is, what the guidelines are for its application, and how I can go about obtaining this certificate?
Emergency certificate information can be found at www.nj.gov/education/educators/license/esp/ The NJ emergency certificate is a one-year substandard certificate issued only to educational services certificate candidates who meet the requirements specified for each endorsement.
A district board of education may apply to the county superintendent for an emergency certificate for candidacy in authorized educational services areas if it can demonstrate its inability to locate a suitable certified candidate due to unforeseen shortages or other extenuating circumstances. The county superintendent may approve the application if he/she determines that there are no suitable certified candidates to fill the position.
The certificate is renewable annually up to a maximum of two times at the request of the district and approval of the county superintendent. Renewal is predicated upon demonstration of progress toward successful completion of coursework and tests required for issuance of a CE, CEAS or standard certificate. A candidate serving under an emergency certificate shall be employed under emergency certification for no more than a total of three years in any one educational services endorsement area regardless of the number of districts in which the candidate serves.
An emergency certificate is valid for employment only in the district requesting the emergency certificate.
Can a shop teacher who has completed the SLE coursework place a student in an SLE that is hazardous? The SLE paperwork states that it cannot be hazardous.
There two answers to the question above. First, any CTE teacher with a standard certificate can be appointed by the district to supervise CTE students in a co-operative education experience in their certificate’s area of endorsement if the teacher has completed the SLE courses. Therefore, a business teacher can supervise business CTE students in a business co-operative education experience, a carpentry teacher can supervise carpentry CTE students in a carpentry co-operative education experience, and a culinary arts teacher can supervise culinary arts CTE students in a culinary arts co-operative education experience.
The SLE forms to be used under these circumstances are the Co-operative Education Experiences, Non-Hazardous Occupations Forms or the Co-operative Education Experiences, Hazardous Occupations Forms, depending upon the nature of the co-operative education experience. These forms can be downloaded from the SLE homepage.
CTE teachers who do not hold a co-operative education experience certificate are not authorized to supervise co-operative education experiences outside their area of endorsement. Only teachers who hold a co-operative education coordinator certificate are authorized to supervise co-operative education experiences in content areas outside of their teaching certificate. Second, CTE teachers who have completed the SLE courses are also eligible to be appointed by the district to supervise any student in SLEs, other than co-operative education experiences, in paid and unpaid positions in non-hazardous occupations. All forms discussed above can be downloaded from the SLE homepage at: www.state.nj.us/education/cte/sle/.
I’ve moved to a new district. What do I do about transferring my SLE credentials from my old district to my new district?
If you move to a new school district and the new district appoints you to be an SLE teacher, simply present copies of your SLE course completion certificates to the new district. The new district will then report your SLE assignment, whether fulltime or part-time, on the annual job report submitted to the NJ Department of Education. (NOTE: As of 10/2013 for SY14-15, annual teacher assignment forms for districts are not required.) Appointments may be made at any time throughout the school year. There is no limit regarding the number of SLE teachers who can be appointed at a school district.
We are completing the certificated staff report and have a question regarding the SLE code 3134. Do the SLE teachers need a specific certification? One of my teachers has a Teacher of History certification and the other one has Teacher of English.
No, there is no specific certification for SLE supervision. It is a training requirement, so it doesn’t matter which standard teaching certificate the SLE teachers hold. If they are supervising SLEs fulltime, identify the teachers under code 3134. To identify a teacher who is supervising SLEs part-time, use code 3134 as a part of that teacher’s job assignment, and the teacher’s certificate code for his or her normal teaching assignment.
Can a student who is placed in an unpaid or volunteer SLE be younger than 16 years old?
No. The NJ Wage and Hour Regulations that address unpaid school-sponsored structured learning experiences, such as unpaid internships and volunteering, state that the student must be at least 16 years old. N.J.A.C. 12:56-18.2(a)1. In addition, the NJ Child Labor Regulations that address paid school-sponsored structured learning experiences, such as paid internships and cooperative education experiences, also require a student to be at least 16 years old. N.J.A.C. 12:58-1.2(d)2.