For Immediate Release

April 13, 2022

ALBANY, NY – United University Professions, the nation’s largest public higher education union, praised the state Board of Regents for its unanimous decision April 12 to remove the edTPA requirement for new teacher certification.

UUP has been outspoken in its opposition to the edTPA--which stands for Educative Teacher Performance Assessment—for nearly a decade. The union has argued that the multi-part edTPA was overly cumbersome—and served to deter students considering teaching as a career.

“After years of calling for the elimination of the edTPA, UUP strongly supports the Regents’ decision to do away with this restrictive, unnecessary barrier for students who want to become teachers,” said UUP President Fred Kowal. “With the edTPA no longer an impediment, we are hopeful that students who are looking at teaching as a career will move forward with their plans and attend a SUNY university or college to attain their goals.”

“UUP applauds the Regents’ decision to eliminate the edTPA requirement,” said UUP statewide Vice President for Academics Alissa Karl. “Our members who work in SUNY’s teacher education programs are now able to prepare and assess teacher candidates without the unnecessary interference of the edTPA.”

UUP, through its statewide Teacher Education Committee, has worked closely with the Board of Regents and New York State United Teachers to reform—and ultimately remove—the edTPA since it became part of New York’s teacher certification process in 2014.

In January, Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state needs approximately 180,000 new teachers over the next 10 years to meet the state’s needs. According to NYSUT, enrollment in New York’s teacher education programs has dropped by 53% since 2009. The New York state Retirement System projects that a third of New York teachers could retire over the next five years.