New Approach to Certification in SPE

A new approach to certification in Collaborative/Special Education in Grades 6-12.

  • You must have a Bachelor’s degree and a GPA of at least 2.5 to be eligible for this program.
  • You will apply for admission at the following page: JSU Undergraduate Admissions - Undergraduate Admissions
  • You will apply as a NON-DEGREE-SEEKING student. 
  • There are 5 courses that will be taken as part of the program.
    • SPE 300 Survey of Exceptional Children and Youth
    • SPE 427 Behavior and Classroom Management
    • SPE 332 Medical, Legal, and Ethical Issues
    • SPE 348 Collaboration in Elementary and Secondary
    • SPE 330 Assessment of Teaching and Learning
  • Once you are enrolled in coursework, you may apply for a Provisional Certificate in Teaching Field (PCTF) and begin teaching in a 6-12 SPE classroom. 
  • You must teach for at least 1 year prior to applying for certification through the ALSDE. 
  • You must also pass the Special Education Praxis and complete modules through the ALSDE prior to applying for certification. 
  • You can finish the coursework at JSU in approximately 1 year, but you must have it completed within 3 years in order to apply for certification. 
  • If you have certification in other areas and have hosted JSU teacher candidates before, you may have scholarship hours available to you. You may contact Sunshine Williamson at aswilliamson@jsu.edu to find out. 
  • If your school system is a business partner with the Chamber of Commerce, you could be eligible for a 20% tuition discount. To find out if your school is a business partner, please visit: https://www.jsu.edu/partnerships/.  

Here is the information from the website:

JSU Office of Student Accounts - Tuition & Fees

Questions may be emailed to the Administrative Assistant for the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Mrs. Sheryl Pesnell, spesnell@jsu.edu