All students are required to secure and maintain a program-aligned instructional position throughout the duration of their enrollment at Relay.  

Additionally, students enrolled in an educator preparation program at Relay must secure and maintain an instructional position that matches the certificate/endorsement area sought and complies with state- and/or program-specific requirements for qualifying clinical experiences prior to beginning their qualifying clinical experience. For details, follow the link for your program in Appendix F: Educator Preparation Program (EPP) Handbooks.

If students’ employment situations change (e.g., loss of position and/or membership; change in subject and/or grade level; PK–12 cohort change; leave of absence from their teaching position) during their enrollment at Relay, they must notify Relay within one week by submitting a student record update form from the Relay Support tab of their Portal. They must also send an email to their advisor via [email protected] if they have not secured a new teaching placement. Once they have secured a new teaching placement, they must submit a student record update form through the Relay Support tab of their Portal within one week of securing the new position.

Additionally, changes to employment may require a student to update their area of study. Requests to change one’s area of study can be made at any time using the major/area of study change form on a student’s status page.
 

• If the request is made before the term’s census date and is approved, the change will go into effect for the current term.

• If the request is made after the term’s census date and is approved, the change will go into effect for future terms.

Changes to a student’s program or area of study may require additional coursework, delay program completion, and/or result in additional fees. For students enrolled in Relay educator preparation programs, changes to a student’s program or area of study may require a change to the student’s endorsement, additional coursework or exams, additional clinical experiences, or could result in ineligibility to pursue certification/licensure through Relay. For more information about the implications of a change in instructional position for educator preparation program completion and certification/licensure, students can refer to their program’s EPP Handbook.

Students who take a leave of absence from their instructional role while enrolled in Relay coursework may need to retake courses or take a leave of absence from Relay, depending on a variety of factors such as the length of the leave of absence from a teaching position and the coursework requirements during the leave. Students who are enrolled in clinical practice coursework that aligns with their educator preparation program’s qualifying clinical experience must be able to meet the required number of teaching hours for the term in order to meet state requirements in the educator preparation program. Students who fall short of the minimum required hours will need to either retake the clinical practice course or enroll in a clinical practice extension course in order to meet educator preparation program completion requirements and be eligible for Relay’s institutional recommendation for certification/licensure. Retaking or enrolling in clinical practice extension coursework also extends the amount of time required to complete a program. Students who will be on a leave of absence from their instructional role for a full term will be required to take a leave of absence from Relay. Students are advised to talk with their advisor as early as possible to learn more about the implications of a leave of absence from their instructional role.
 

Below, please see students’ responsibilities for when changes to employment occur. 

Loss of Position and/or Membership

If students lose their instructional position and/or they are no longer a member of a partnering organization such as Teach For America or New York City Teaching Fellows, it is their responsibility to inform Relay within one week by submitting a student record update form from the Relay Support tab of their Portal. and sending an email to [email protected] and to their advisor.

Students who have lost their instructional position must secure a new position in a placement that aligns to their academic program within 30 consecutive calendar days of their final date of employment, with an extension for winter break. Once students secure new positions, they must notify Relay as soon as possible by submitting a student record update form from the Relay Support tab of their Portal. Students enrolled in an educator preparation program who obtain a new position that does not align with the certificate/endorsement sought and does not comply with state- and/or program-specific requirements for qualifying clinical experiences may be required to change endorsement areas, programs, and/or take additional coursework or exams in order to complete their program, which may delay program completion and/or result in additional fees.

Please note, students who have lost employment within 30 calendar days of the end of the spring term may have until their due date for the school authorization and instructional role form for the upcoming year to secure employment.  This extension may have certification implications if your school year starts before that due date; please speak with your certification officer to determine if this is applicable. For additional information applicable to residents who do not successfully secure a full-time teaching placement by the first day of the fall term in their second year in the program, please see Residency Assessments and Gateways.

Students will be subject to administrative withdrawal if they fail to notify Relay of their loss of employment and/or membership within one week and/or fail to secure new positions within 30 consecutive calendar days, with an extension for winter break. Relay is required by most states to remove or expire provisional-level teaching certificates/licenses if a student is withdrawn from their educator preparation program.

Relay may immediately process administrative withdrawals for students who lose their positions and/or memberships due to sufficient evidence that they have physically, sexually, emotionally, or otherwise harmed a PK–12 student and/or colleague, or committed a felony or misdemeanor. Relay will determine what is considered sufficient evidence of harm. Please see the Code of Conduct for further details.

Subject and/or Grade-Level Change

The subjects and grade levels of students’ instructional positions must match their Relay program/majors/areas of study and, when appropriate, their Relay concentrations/area(s) of study. For students enrolled in a Relay educator preparation program, instructional positions must also match the certificate or endorsement sought and comply with state- and/or program-specific requirements for qualifying clinical experience. A change to a student’s instructional position may necessitate a change to their program, major/area of study, educator preparation program pathway, and/or endorsement. If students change their instructional positions, it is their responsibility to inform Relay within one week by submitting a student record update form from the Relay Support tab of their Portal immediately and notifying their advisor.

Requests to change one’s major/area of study and/or concentration can be made at any time using the major/area of study change form on a student’s status page.
 

• If the request is made before the term’s census date and is approved, the change will go into effect for the current term.

• If the request is made after the term’s census date and is approved, the change will go into effect for future terms.
   

Changes to students’ program or major/area of study may require additional coursework, delay program completion, and/or result in additional fees. For students enrolled in Relay educator preparation programs, changes to a student’s program or major/area of study may require a change to the student’s endorsement, additional coursework or exams, additional clinical experiences, or could result in ineligibility to pursue certification/licensure through Relay. For more information about the implications of a change in instructional position for educator preparation program completion and certification/licensure, students can refer to their program’s EPP Handbook.

PK–12 Student Cohort Change

Graduate students must make every reasonable effort to work with a consistent group of students that matches their Relay program throughout the academic year, and when appropriate, their Relay concentration and/or endorsement. If significant changes to their group of students occur during the year, but the graduate student’s subject and/or grade level remain the same, it is the graduate student’s responsibility to inform Relay within one week by sending an email to their advisor. Please note, if a student’s teaching subject and/or grade level has changed, please see Subject and/or Grade Level Change. This is only if their student grouping changes and their subject/grade level remains the same.