Teacher Certification
and Higher Education is dedicated to ensuring
a quality teaching cadre for Louisiana. The
office issues initial and upgraded teaching
certificates and also issues ancillary certificates
for those who work in a non-teaching capacity
in school settings (e.g., school nurses). Teacher
certification staff also assists those in support
positions in schools through the Tuition Exemption
Program for Teacher Aides and Paraprofessionals.
The Louisiana college/university
or approved private provider through which
an applicant completed a teacher education
program will recommend the candidate for an
initial certificate and will instruct the
candidate regarding paperwork to be submitted
to the Teacher Certification office. Non-education
majors who seek certification should contact
a teacher education unit at a college or university
to explore alternate certification options
and to have transcripts evaluated. Three new
alternate certification programs have recently
been implemented, one of which is the fast-track
Practitioner Teacher Program.
Exciting new directions
for Louisiana's teaching profession have emerged
through the work of the Blue Ribbon Commission
on Teacher Quality. In addition to the three
new alternate certification programs, the
"Teach Louisiana" website (www.teachlouisiana.net)
provides a new electronic Certification and
Recruitment Center that facilitates the hiring
of certified personnel in Louisiana schools.
Both licensing and quality of the teaching
force have been addressed by streamlining
the number of certification areas and by a
new certification structure that encourages
content-area specialization for teachers.
Further, well-trained certification counselors
housed at the Regional Education Service Centers
throughout the state provide one-on-one certification
counseling for districts and individuals.
Use the following link
to access Louisiana's new teacher certification
and recruitment website:
Teach
Louisiana
Regional Certification
Counselors
Beginning with the 2002-2003
school year, regional certification counselors
were employed to provide focused assistance
to schools, local education agencies (LEAs),
colleges/universities, and individual teachers.
Housed at Regional Education Service Centers
(RESCs) throughout the state, the counselors
provide services that are organized, coordinated,
managed, and facilitated at the regional level.
The link below will provide the names, addresses,
phone numbers, fax numbers, and email addresses
of the regional counselors.
Regional
Certification Counselors
Licensure Structure
In 2002 the State Board
of Elementary and Secondary Education adopted
a new licensure structure for purposes of
issuing professional teaching certificates.
The new licensure structure provides for Level
1, Level 2, and Level 3 professional licenses.
Level 1 is an entry-level license; Level 2
and Level 3 licenses are more advanced levels
and require renewal every five years, based
on evidence of successful completion of 150
continuing level units over the five-year
period. Additionally, the new structure imposes
limitations and renewal requirements on temporary
teaching authorizations.
Licensure
Chart Word
Licensure
Chart PDF
Teacher Preparation
Program Requirements & Structure
Certification in Louisiana
is based upon the completion of an approved
education program through a regionally accredited
college or university. The State Board of
Elementary and Secondary Education must approve
minimum course guidelines for undergraduate
teacher education programs for implementation
by a Louisiana higher education institution.
The minimum guidelines for certification in
PK-3, 1-5, 4-8, 6-12, and K-12 may be accessed
at the following link.
Teacher Preparation Program Requirements
& Structure Word
Teacher
Preparation Program Requirements & Structure
PDF
Teacher Education Institutions
Click on the link below
for a list of the regionally accredited public
and private universities in Louisiana and
additional information concerning the educational
institutions.
Teacher
Education Institutions
Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQs)
For a list of the FAQs
about teacher certification, click on the
link below:
Teacher
Certification FAQs
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON: LOUISIANA
TEACHER CERTIFICATION
