Graduate Special Education Licensure

The Graduate Special Education Licensure is online and designed for practicing teachers looking to transition to the field of special education.This pathway allows working teachers to earn their Minnesota Academic and Behavioral Strategist (K-12) license while also pursuing a Master of Science degree.The program is open to those in other fields and other states that would benefit from the curriculum. The teacher certification program supports fall and spring starts. Prospective students are encouraged to apply early.100% online format with limited residency**Earn an additional license as a K-12 Academic and Behavioral Strategist (ABS) in less than two years.Designed in a format that accommodates your life.Earn an optional master's degree in Special Education while working toward your additional Minnesota teaching license.Total Licensure Credits:32 credits for those currently holding an active Minnesota teaching license. If you are not currently licensed to teach in Minnesota, please see the section titled "Out of state considerations and those not currently licensed"An additional 7 credits for a Master's in Special Education.The Academic and Behavioral Strategist (ABS) license prepares teachers to serve the needs of students with mild to moderate academic and social needs in the disability areas of learning disabilities (LD), emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD), developmental cognitive disabilities (DCD), other health disorders (OHD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The ABS offering at St. Scholastica is a second license, added to either an elementary, secondary, or K-12 teaching licensure. The role of the Academic Behavioral Strategist is to collaborate and consult with families, classroom, and special education teachers and other service providers to design and implement individualized education program plans that serve students with mild to moderate disabilities.Our graduate licensure program was created in collaboration with the K-12 community. Coursework is grounded in research and best practices and instills teachers with the knowledge, skills and dispositions needed to promote learning for students with disabilities. The program will build reflective practitioners who work to facilitate inclusion as a way to meet the needs of academically and behaviorally diverse learners in order to provide them the educational experiences in which they are encouraged, valued, and respected. In addition to fostering students' efficacy, addressing the attitudes and biases of others toward individuals with disabilities is equally important. The varied courses, school-based projects and assessments, and field experiences enable the mastery of core skills for teaching special education, and those specific to an Academic and Behavioral Strategist.