Registrar's Office

Instructions for Fingerprinting in New York City

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All Student Teachers at Bank Street College must be fingerprinted and cleared by the NYCDOE or an appropriate state agency prior to entering a school for their fieldwork practicum.

• Printable instructions for getting fingerprinted if you are planning to be a student teacher or a working teacher in the New York City Department of Education

Only Student Teachers officially registered as such by Bank Street to teach in a city public school or other individuals offered jobs (and with a job letter to prove it) within the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) will be granted fingerprinting services by the NYCDOE at 65 Court Street in Brooklyn. If you do not fit this description, please go back and follow the instructions for being fingerprinted by the New York State Department of Education.

If you are going to work in a New York City public school, you must report directly to 65 Court Street in Brooklyn with the appropriate documentation as indicated in the list of acceptable documents.

If you have already been fingerprinted by the New York State Education Department, you will not need to be re-fingerprinted. (You will, however still need to report to 65 Court Street in Brooklyn for a picture ID.) The fingerprinting information can be sent to the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) by filing the OSPRA-103 form. You can find more information and download the OSPRA-103 form on their website:
http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/DHR/MostPopularClicks/Fingerprinting.htm?#fingerprinting

The status of your fingerprinting with the NY State Education Department can be checked by logging in to the TEACH system. It will indicate whether your fingerprint information was received from the NYCDOE.

You may not commence your student teaching placement until you are cleared by the NYC Department of Education.

After you have been fingerprinted by the city, make sure you send the information on to the state. Complete an Authorization to Forward Criminal History Record Information from the City School District of the City of New York to the New York State Education Department (OSPRA 104) form and mail it to the NYCDOE at the address on the form. The NYCDOE will forward the results of your criminal history background check to OSPRA for review. No fee is due to OSPRA for this service.