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SPECIAL
EDUCATION EDUCATOR CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
When Required
This certificate, or another appropriate certificate, shall be required for
anyone employed by the Department of
Education as a special education teacher in grades kindergarten to twelve. This
certificate shall also authorize
teaching in the adult education high school diploma program and other adult
education programs. Specialized areas
for special education include mild/moderate or severe/profound disabilities,
specific learning disabilities,
emotionally disturbed, severely multiple handicapped, mentally retarded,
autistic and early childhood. Specific
areas are: special education hearing impaired, special education visually
impaired, special education deaf/blind,
special education blind, special education deaf, special education orthopedic
handicapped and other health related
areas.
Validity of Certificate
This certificate shall authorize the holder to be a teacher of special students
in grades kindergarten through twelve.
Special Education teachers at the middle or junior high or secondary level must
have completed a subject area
major in the subjects they are assigned to teach.
Professional Educator Class I Certificate
On and after
August 7, 2003, to receive Professional Educator Class I Certificate for special
education, an applicant
shall present evidence of meeting the following requirements:
A. Holds a bachelor's degree from an approved and/or accredited institution;
B. Has a minimum of 42 semester hours of credit in five of the six general
academic areas: English, natural science,
mathematics, social studies, foreign language and fine arts;
C. Has completed a major or the equivalent consisting of 36 semester hours in
special education in the following
course work: introduction to the education of exceptional children,
characteristics of students with special needs,
behavior management, assessment of students with mild/moderate disabilities,
curriculum and methodologies for
students with mild/moderate disabilities at the elementary, middle, junior high
and high school levels, language and
speech development, and collaboration with home, school and community,
educational psychology, adaptive
technology and student teaching (supervised observation, participation and
full-time responsible teaching in special
education classrooms in both an elementary school or middle school or junior
high or secondary school totaling at
least 6 but not more than 12 semester credit hours); OR
D. Has completed a
major in any of the specialized areas for special education at an approved
and/or accredited
institution;
E. Has successfully completed the required assessments
(since 9/12/05)
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