The special education high incidence alternative certification program at WSU provides an alternative route to the special education teaching profession and is geared toward individuals who have experience working as paraprofessionals.

The program prepares reflective practitioners who possess both theoretical understanding and practical skills for teaching students with mild to moderate disabilities. Candidates receive preparation to support them in meeting teacher licensure requirements in the first 30–31 credit hours (two years). Students must complete an additional 7 credit hours for the MEd degree. Courses are offered fully online. Candidates must continue full-time employment as a special education teacher while completing their coursework. Loss of employment or continuous improvement will result in dismissal from the program.

Admission

To be considered for admission to the special education high incidence alternative certification program, applicants must meet the following requirements:

• For full admission, students must have a GPA of 2.750 or better;
• Applicants with a GPA below 2.750 are required to meet one of the following:
  • GRE scores of at least 150 in verbal reasoning, 148 in quantitative reasoning, and 3.5 in analytical writing.
  • Miller Analogies Test (MAT) score of 400 or above. 
• Full admission to the WSU Graduate School;
• Signed documentation from a building or district administrator confirming the applicant has worked as a paraprofessional for at least one academic school year; and
• Letter of recommendation from a building or district level administrator that highlights the applicant's strengths as an educator.

Applications are evaluated when received for the special education high incidence alternative certification program.

Upon admission, students will be required to sign documentation that acknowledges their understanding of the following program requirements:

1. Successful completion of the first semester of coursework and submission of the fully completed and signed KSDE Form 24 to the program advisor is required to begin the required core courses.
2. Students must gain employment as a special education teacher of record at the start of their second semester and remain employed throughout the duration of their program. If employment is lost, students will not be allowed to remain in the program.
3. All preparatory and required core courses must be completed within two years.

Program Requirements

Background Check

Upon admission and prior to their first semester, all applicants admitted to this program must clear a criminal background check. There are two reasons for this requirement. First, it is part of the university’s due diligence before placing students in field settings. Second, the check may alert applicants or students to issues that may subsequently affect their ability to work in their chosen field. In instances when a person’s criminal history raises reasonable concerns that should be cleared to engage in the field experiences and/or subsequently obtain licensure/endorsement, WSU may take a range of actions, including rescission of admission or dismissal from the program, depending on the nature of the concern.

For more information visit advanced programs background check requirement¹.

Note: Students are eligible to take Praxis exams for teacher licensure after completion of all of the preparatory and required core courses.

Applied Learning

Students in the MEd in special education - high incidence, alternative certification are required to complete an applied learning or research experience to graduate from the program. The requirements can be met by completing a capstone research project in which the emphasis is on applying professional practices to research and is directly linked to applied learning. In addition, students who graduate from the graduate program in special education must experience at least 135 hours of field experience/internship in special education classrooms.