Admission & Program Requirements Special Ed

Special Education License Admission Process

Step One:  Transcript Review

Please send us copies (email or mail) of any and all official post-secondary transcripts for review.

Transcript Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
• Minimum of a 2.75 cumulative GPA.
• A minimum of six transcript credits in each core content area (English, math, science, and social studies) with a GPA of 3.0 or greater.  A candidate who does not meet the core content requirement may demonstrate content knowledge with a passing score on the Praxis Middle School Content Knowledge Exam (5146).

Credentials will be reviewed by the CESA 9 Excellence in Teaching Program admissions team.  Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) guidelines will be used to verify that the candidate possesses the necessary degree or concentration of courses to ensure basic skills and mastery of subject matter knowledge.

Email transcript(s) to etphelp@cesa.org OR you can mail them to:

Please indicate in your email or letter that you are seeking a Special Education licensure.  Once transcripts are reviewed by our team, we will let you know if you are a qualified candidate for our program and may invite you to apply.

Step Two: Apply

The following items need to be submitted before an interview is scheduled.

• Complete and submit our online application.
• Submit a $75.00 application fee.  Payment can be made by check or money order directly to CESA 9 or by PayPal through our website.  This fee is non-refundable.
• Submit a current resume.  This can be submitted with your application as an attachment or emailed to etphelp@cesa9.org.
• Submit three letters of recommendation.  These can be submitted with your application as attachments or emailed to etphelp@cesa9.org.
• CESA 9 will conduct a criminal background check.  Candidates will give permission for the background check which CESA 9 personnel will conduct.

Step Three: Interview

Selected candidates will be invited for an entrance interview prior to final admissions approval.  This interview will help the admissions team determine if the candidate has the disposition desired for teaching and meets program requirements.  All applicants will be notified of the status of admission (admission approved, admission denied).  All admission decisions by the Excellence in Teaching Program team are final.

Step Four: Acceptance

Once you are offered acceptance, you will receive access to our Handbook, which details all program requirements.  In addition, the following items will need to be submitted prior to being officially enrolled/admitted on September 1, 2021:

• Submit a $600 non-refundable deposit to hold your spot in the class.
• Complete and submit a payment agreement which will be sent from the CESA 9 business office.
• Complete and submit our Affirmative Action Plan, Handbook Acknowledgement, Attendance Policy Acknowledgement, and Additional Requirements Acknowledgement (if applicable).
• Submit a copy of your Wisconsin License with Stipulations, Substitute Teacher License, OR Paraprofessional License.

Experience Working with Children

A student may be admitted to the Excellence in Teaching Program with less than 20 hours of experience working with children, but must complete this experience prior to beginning their clinical experience.

Special Education License Program Completion Requirements

Coursework

• Participants are expected to complete all online coursework.
• Participants are expected to attend and be engaged for the duration of every face-to-face class and attend all professional activities as required by the Excellence in Teaching Program.
• Required documents are expected to be done in a timely manner.
• Courses 1-5 must be completed no later than the beginning of the student teaching experience.
• Participants will demonstrate proficiency in the Wisconsin Teacher Standards through reflections, projects, presentations, discussions, artifacts, and demonstrations of their competence through their coursework and clinical experience.
• A passing score on the Foundations of Reading Test (FoRT) or other measures as determined by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction must be achieved before receiving a license.

Clinical Experience

The CESA 9 Excellence in Teaching Program incorporates varied and unique experiences throughout the program including intensive, supervised, and supported experiences for both pre-teaching and student teaching whereby the latter is a full semester (or equivalent) assignment.  The clinical experience will be in accordance with PI 34.023 and 118.19(3)(a).  Placement in a clinical experience can include:

1. District-requested license with stipulations.  Candidates must possess a license with stipulations.  These candidates perform all onsite duties of a full-time educator and are compensated by the school district.  These placements meet the requirements of PI 34.023(2).  
2. Traditional student teaching.  These placements will be full-time (full school days) for an equivalent of one semester (18 weeks).  These placements are not compensated.  Placements meet the requirements of PI 34.023(2).