UPDATE October 15, there was a miscommunication with the NJDOE and you do have to take the Praxis exam.
Recently, I blogged about the consternation over NJ’s new 1820 Computer Science Credential. After much craziness with the NJ Department of Education (NJDOE), I learned it was mostly nothing to worry about. I had a very pleasant conversation with one Nick, who is a supervisor at the NJDOE and I have promised him I will clear up some confusion.
The NJDOE has been slammed in the last four months because of the fee holiday. People were applying for anything and everything. They are catching up and processing is improving (10 weeks now, hoping to get better) and the phone queueing is mostly gone. So I had an experience of 4 months wait time because of that. Laws without a plan, unfortunately, but the NJDOE was dealt a bad hand.
I was erroneously issued a CEAS just today (prompting my conversation with Nick). I was also incorrectly told I have to take a Computer Science Pedagogy class (I don’t). They are going to fix that for me and I have been directed to reapply (yeah, I’ll have to pay for it this time… anything to get past this!). I understand I will be fast tracked and receive a standard certification.
I asked him about ongoing concerns with Elementary and Middle School teachers, especially having to take the Praxis. I’m going to bold his response:
The new Computer Science credential is something districts can choose to use, but do not have to use. Each district will still be able to decide which credentials it requires of teachers to teach Computer Science. If the 1820 credential is required, it is because the district has made that decision. It is not an add on credential, it is a typical CE/CEAS (I understand this changed in just the last 6 months).
You can see all the credentials, including CE/CEAS Computer Science here:
https://nj.gov/education/certification/certsandtitles/
My interpretation is: this date of July 1, 2027 is only an issue if your district chooses to make it an issue. K-6 teachers will only have to have it if the district wants it (I hope that is laughable). Middle School teachers get a little more complicated because of the old K-8 credential, but it still comes down to whether the district wants it. High schools are most likely to require it, but it doesn’t look like even they have to require it.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to the NJDOE and even ask for Nick, the supervisor, if you are in any way in doubt of any of this. I’m just the messenger.
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