Professional Growth/Staff Development
Sample policy 6160, Professional Growth/Staff Development, was revised to more closely align with current practices associated with professional growth and staff development, as well as to conform with the current terminology used in the Commissioner's regulations. Further, content covered in other policies was removed from the policy as duplicative.
Since 2000, districts and BOCES have been required to annually adopt a professional development plan. In December 2019, the Board of Regents adopted amendments to the Commissioner's regulations related to professional development plans which, among other things, changed the phrase "professional development" to "professional learning." This shift in terminology is consistent with the changes to the standards adopted by the Professional Standards and Practices Board for Teaching (PSPB) and is intended to emphasize the importance of educators taking an active role in their continuous professional development. In light of the these changes, Policy Services added a brief section which addresses professional learning plans to sample policy 6160. Further, references to "professional development" were changed to "professional learning" in order to conform the policy with the current terminology used in the Commissioner's regulations.
The beginning of the policy was also revised to more closely align it with current practices associated with professional growth and staff development. This was accomplished by removing outdated (and potentially confusing) language and indicating that professional learning opportunities may be provided for via video conference, prerecorded videos, and/or online discussion boards, among other things. Finally, language related to conference request forms was removed as duplicative as this topic should be covered in other policies and documents including sample policy 6161, Conference/Travel Expense Reimbursement.