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CTLE credits are the Continuing Teacher and Leader Education hours that New York requires of holders of Professional teaching certificates and Level III Teaching Assistant certificates. A Professional certificate holder must complete 100 CTLE hours in each five-year registration period, and at least 15 percent of them must address language acquisition for English Language Learners. Holders of an ESOL certificate or a bilingual extension need 50 percent. This guide explains how CTLE hours are counted, who can award them, and how districts can plan the language acquisition hours their teachers need.
Table of contents
Executive Summary
New York ties professional development to certificate registration. Every five years, holders of Professional certificates register with the State Education Department through the TEACH system and attest that they completed their CTLE hours with approved sponsors.
The rule that most affects schools is the language acquisition requirement. Every Professional certificate holder, not only ESOL teachers, must spend at least 15 of their 100 hours on learning that addresses the needs of English Language Learners. For districts, that means language acquisition is a whole-staff professional development topic, and the district’s own CTLE plan is the simplest way to make those hours count.
Key Takeaways
- Professional certificate holders and Level III Teaching Assistants need 100 CTLE hours per five-year registration period.
- At least 15 percent of CTLE hours (15 for teachers) must address language acquisition for English Language Learners.
- Holders of an ESOL certificate or a bilingual extension must complete 50 percent of their hours in language acquisition.
- CTLE must come from a NYSED-approved sponsor; districts and BOCES become sponsors through an attestation.
- A vendor named in a district’s professional development plan can deliver CTLE for that district without being a sponsor itself.
- One CTLE clock hour is at least 60 minutes of instruction; a college semester hour counts as 15 clock hours.
What District Leaders Need to Know
- Language acquisition is a whole-staff requirement. Math, science and elective teachers all need their 15 hours.
- Your PD plan controls which vendors count. If an outside provider is neither an approved sponsor nor listed in your plan or addendum, its hours cannot be counted as CTLE.
- Small EL populations may qualify for a waiver. A district or BOCES with fewer than 30 English Language Learners, or where they are under 5 percent of enrollment, can ask the Commissioner each year for an exemption under CR Part 154; an exemption does not reduce the 100-hour total.
- The assessment context is changing. New York gave its last NYSESLAT in spring 2026 and moves English Learners to WIDA ACCESS in 2027, which makes language acquisition hours a natural place to prepare staff.
- Records protect teachers. Sponsors issue certificates of completion with their sponsor identification number; teachers should keep them.
Funding Options
| Funding source | Eligible uses for CTLE | How to access |
|---|---|---|
| Title II, Part A | Professional development for all teachers | Formula grant through NYSED |
| Title III, Part A | Supplemental PD for teachers of English Learners | Formula grant; supplement, not supplant |
| Title IV, Part A | PD on the effective use of technology | Formula grant through NYSED |
| BOCES services | Shared professional development, CTLE sponsorship | Cooperative service agreements |
See what Title II funds can be used for and what Title III funds can be used for.
District Benchmark
Consider a district with 400 teachers holding Professional certificates and 12 ESOL teachers. Over a five-year period, the classroom teachers need 15 language acquisition hours each, 6,000 hours in total, and the ESOL teachers need 50 each, another 600. Spread evenly, that is about 1,320 language acquisition hours a year.
A district that offers one 15-hour, job-embedded course on English Learners in its CTLE plan can cover the whole-staff requirement in a single offering per teacher, instead of leaving each teacher to find hours alone.
What Are CTLE Credits?
Definition. CTLE (Continuing Teacher and Leader Education) is the professional development New York requires for holders of Professional certificates and Level III Teaching Assistant certificates. One CTLE clock hour equals at least 60 minutes of instruction from a NYSED-approved sponsor; for college courses, one semester hour equals 15 CTLE clock hours.
CTLE hours are attributed to content, pedagogy or language acquisition. The language acquisition category covers learning that addresses the needs of English Language Learners, including the integration of language and content instruction.
CTLE Requirements at a Glance
| Certificate holder | CTLE per 5 years | Language acquisition minimum |
|---|---|---|
| Professional certificate (most teachers) | 100 hours | 15% (15 hours) |
| ESOL certificate or bilingual extension | 100 hours | 50% (50 hours) |
| Level III Teaching Assistant | 100 hours | 15% (15 hours) |
Who Can Award CTLE Credits?
Only NYSED-approved sponsors can award CTLE. School districts and BOCES become sponsors by submitting an attestation through TEACH, with a Professional Learning Plan Statement of Assurances. New York colleges, teacher centers, teacher unions and New York professional organizations also file an attestation. Out-of-state colleges, government agencies and other organizations submit a full application with a $600 review fee. Sponsor approval lasts five years and can be renewed.
The rule that matters for districts: an approved sponsor can award CTLE to anyone who attends. A vendor that is not a sponsor can still deliver CTLE to a district’s teachers if the district names it in its professional development plan or an addendum. If neither applies, the hours do not count.
How to Plan CTLE Language Acquisition Hours
- Count who needs what. List staff by certificate type and registration date.
- Choose sustained offerings. One 15-hour course applied in classrooms is more useful than five unrelated workshops.
- Name the provider in your plan if it is not an approved sponsor.
- Tag the hours correctly as language acquisition on certificates of completion.
- Check waiver eligibility if your English Learner population is very small.
- Remind teachers to keep records with the sponsor identification number.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Consider a New York district where half the secondary teachers have not yet completed their language acquisition hours. It could add a 15-hour course for content teachers to its CTLE plan, scheduled across eight weeks with classroom practice between sessions. Teachers would complete their language acquisition requirement, and the district would gain a shared set of routines for supporting English Learners in content classes as the state moves to WIDA ACCESS.
Common Mistakes
- Assuming only ESOL teachers need language acquisition hours.
- Booking an outside provider without listing it in the district PD plan.
- Recording language acquisition hours as general pedagogy on certificates.
- Leaving the requirement to the final year of the registration period.
- Choosing one-day workshops that do not change classroom practice.
Recommended Actions
Immediate (this month)
- Pull a list of staff registering in the next 18 months and their language acquisition hours.
- Check that every outside PD provider is either a sponsor or in your plan.
Medium-Term (this year)
- Offer one sustained language acquisition course for content teachers.
- Align it with your WIDA transition and CR Part 154 obligations.
Long-Term (strategy)
- Build a five-year CTLE calendar tied to your English Learner program goals.
- Measure whether language acquisition PD changes classroom practice for ELLs.
Questions District Leaders Should Ask
- What share of our teachers are on track for their 15 language acquisition hours?
- Which providers deliver our CTLE, and are they all sponsors or in our plan?
- Does our language acquisition PD reach content teachers, or mostly ESOL staff?
- How will we prepare teachers for WIDA ACCESS in 2027?
FAQ
How many CTLE credits do teachers need in New York?
Professional certificate holders and Level III Teaching Assistants need 100 CTLE hours in each five-year registration period.
What is the CTLE language acquisition requirement?
At least 15 percent of CTLE hours must address the needs of English Language Learners. For ESOL and bilingual extension holders, the minimum is 50 percent.
Who can give CTLE credits?
NYSED-approved sponsors, including districts and BOCES. A vendor named in a district’s PD plan can deliver CTLE for that district.
How long is a CTLE hour?
At least 60 minutes of instruction for most approved activities.
Where can I find approved CTLE sponsors?
NYSED’s Office of Teaching Initiatives publishes the list of approved CTLE sponsors on its website.
How do I track my CTLE hours?
Keep the certificate of completion that the approved sponsor issues for each activity. Teachers do not send CTLE documentation to NYSED when they re-register; they must keep it for at least three years after the end of the registration period in which the hours were earned, in case the Department asks for it (NYSED).
>Related Resources- Teacher Professional Development Requirements by State
- English Learners in New York
- CR Part 154
- Massachusetts SEI Endorsement
- What Can Title II Funds Be Used For?
Conclusion
New York’s language acquisition rule says something many states only imply: every teacher teaches English Learners. Districts that treat those 15 hours as a planned, sustained investment, delivered through their own CTLE plan, meet the requirement and build the capacity their classrooms need.
Sources: NYSED, Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE); NYSED, CTLE Clock Hours; NYSED, Language Acquisition; NYSED, CTLE Sponsor Information; NYSED, Re-Registration; 8 NYCRR 80-6.3; 8 NYCRR 80-6.10; 8 NYCRR 154-2.3.
Fifteen Hours That Could Change a Classroom
Picture a chemistry teacher with three newcomers in fourth period, who completes her language acquisition hours in a webinar she barely remembers. We ask content teachers to make lab instructions, discussions and assessments accessible to students at several levels of English, often with no specialist in the room. The intent is there; the time and the routines usually are not.
A district can use its CTLE plan to offer one sustained course that teachers apply with their own students. Telo AI’s 15-hour course for a whole staff, AI for Every Teacher, is one example: eight weeks with three live sessions, core modules on safe AI use, planning and feedback, a track for each teacher’s context, including an English Learner track on language objectives and speaking practice, and three classroom cycles. Whether its hours count as CTLE depends on the district’s plan.
Fifteen hours is a small share of a teacher’s career, and for the newcomers in that fourth period it can decide whether chemistry is something they watch or something they do.
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