Legal Question in Education Law in New York

Hello, Thank you for your time.

When I was laid off last year, I decided to return to school to achieve my master's degree in education. I needed to complete within one year. I settled on USC's online program. As states have different requirements for teacher certification, USC had students sign documents stating that the student understands their own state requirements. However, throughout the program, it was necessary to make alterations to the program (this was the first time USC offered an online version of their education program). A requirement of several of the courses was to video record students within the classroom. The districts I "worked" in did not allow this-USC altered their requirements.

My state does not require a candidate to take the state exams before student teaching-apparantly USC does. I was placed by USC in a local school district to student teach. After three weeks of being in the classroom, I was told I would not receive credit for student teaching as I did not take the exam yet.

My question is this: If USC can make an exception and follow the requirements of my state/district for video recording, why could they not allow me to follow my state requirements in relation to student teaching?

I earned my MAT from USC this past June and now I have a $50,000 student loan. I am not certified to teach as I did not complete the requirement of student teaching. Do I have any recourse? Thank you. John Crofoot


Asked on 9/14/10, 7:46 am

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