Alabama Teacher Licensure Guide for Online Master's Students

Who Licenses Teachers in Alabama, and Which Exams Does It Use?

Alabama licenses teachers through Alabama State Department of Education, Office of Teaching and Leading, and the exams it requires are the Praxis tests from ETS.

For the programs themselves, the online master's in education programs at universities in Alabama are ranked at the in-state price, and the national and specialty lists cover schools in other states.

How Do I Get an Alabama Teaching License With an Online Master's?

Getting an Alabama teaching license with an online master's runs through one of two approaches: a recommendation from a state-approved program at an Alabama college or university, or a professional certificate issued by another state. A program based in another state is not an Alabama college program, so an Alabama resident studying out of state is working toward the second.

Either way, the department's certification page has you create an AIM account, apply through the ACE system and be fingerprinted through Fieldprint, which supplies cards to people far from a site. Our elementary education and secondary education rankings rest on federal figures that say nothing about Alabama approval.

Which Exams Does Alabama Require for Teacher Certification?

Alabama requires the exams of its Alabama Educator Certification Assessment Program for teacher certification, and ETS lists them as the Praxis subject assessments, the Principles of Learning and Teaching, the edTPA and Foundations of Reading. Pearson delivers Foundations of Reading 190, which early childhood (P-3), elementary (K-6) and collaborative teacher (K-6) candidates must pass.

ETS says completers of traditional Class A and Class AA programs must pass the content tests, while Class B and alternative Class A completers must also pass the edTPA. Anyone testing outside Alabama must name the department, state code 7020, as a score recipient.

Can I Transfer a Teaching License to Alabama From Another State?

A teaching license can transfer to Alabama from another state only as a new Alabama certificate, and the board's rule on certificates issued elsewhere asks for a valid professional certificate in an area, grade level and degree level Alabama also offers. Counselors and other instructional support staff need a master's and two full years of P-12 work, and administrators need three years including one in a classroom. Instructional Leadership cannot be issued this way.

A certificate that names no degree level can be advanced when a master's program that required 30 semester hours is verified, with a transcript major in the field or 12 graduate hours outside internship credit. The 2020 Education Commission of the States comparison found no full reciprocity.

Does NC-SARA Membership Cover Teacher Certification for Alabama Online Master's Students?

Membership in NC-SARA does not cover teacher certification for Alabama online master's students: SARA does not address licensing board approval for programs such as teacher education. Alabama has been a member since January 2016, which speaks to a school's authority to enroll you online and leaves the department free to judge the program. What SARA does demand is notice: a participating school has to say whether its courses meet licensure requirements where you live.

What Should I Ask an Online Program Before Enrolling From Alabama?

Ask for the program's written finding on whether it meets Alabama requirements, because 34 CFR 668.43 obliges a school that advertises licensure to list the states where the program does and does not qualify and to warn you before enrollment when the answer is no or unknown.

Then put the Alabama questions: does the program lead to a professional certificate where it is based, will the transcript post a major in your teaching field, can internship hours be served near home, and which Praxis tests does it prepare you for? A school counseling applicant should ask whether the program is CACREP-accredited.

Does Alabama Require a Master's Degree for a Class A Professional Certificate?

Alabama requires a master's degree level program of at least 30 semester hours for a Class A professional certificate, as the board's definitions of certificate levels state. Class B is the bachelor's level and Class AA is a planned sixth-year program, which may end in an education specialist degree.

Credit that earned one level cannot count toward the next, so a Class B teacher planning an online master's should confirm the courses sit in a teaching field and have not been used before.

Which Certificate Do Alabama Principals and School Counselors Need?

Alabama school leaders hold a Professional Leadership Certificate, which starts at the master's level, while counselors hold a Professional Educator Certificate in an instructional support area. The department's Interim Employment Certificate serves people admitted to an Alabama college's Instructional Leadership or School Counseling program, and a separate approach exists for completers of a master's-level CACREP school counseling program. A superintendent may also request a Provisional Certificate in Library Media or School Counseling for a hire.

Test an online master's in educational leadership or school counseling against those categories before enrolling.