Wyoming Teacher Licensure Guide for Online Master's Students

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

Wyoming licenses teachers through Wyoming Professional Teaching Standards Board, and the exams it requires are the Praxis tests from ETS.

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

Getting a Wyoming teaching license with an online master's depends on whether the program can end in an Institutional Recommendation, because the traditional route asks for an Institutional Recommendation from a regionally or nationally accredited teacher preparation program that includes student teaching. The board accepts online programs that meet Wyoming licensure requirements, meaning accredited, able to give the recommendation and leaving you eligible in its own state, and it does not evaluate transcripts.

Only graduates of the University of Wyoming and Montana State's Northern Plains Transition to Teaching program count as in-state. A bachelor's degree or higher in education qualifies for the traditional route, so the degree level is not the gate. Our elementary education and secondary education rankings do not measure approval.

Which Exams Does Wyoming Require for Teacher Licensure?

Wyoming requires a Praxis II exam for first-time initial licensure with an Elementary Education or Social Studies Composite endorsement, according to the board's testing page. Elementary candidates pass the 5001 Multiple Subjects exam, with qualifying subtest scores of 157, 157, 155 and 159, and Social Studies for grades 6 to 12 needs a 153 on exam 5581.

An out-of-state applicant takes the tests of the state where the program sits, not Wyoming's Praxis exams, and the board accepts any exam that state required. Adding an endorsement through demonstration of competency calls for a Praxis II.

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

A teaching license can transfer to Wyoming from another state when the standards behind it match Wyoming's, because the board describes reciprocity as an equal exchange. Equivalence means an accredited teacher education program, supervised student teaching and the tests your license state required. A license earned through an alternative route counts after three of the last six years taught in a state-accredited school, and years taught before you were fully certified do not count.

People who miss the work-history rule can ask for an Exception Authorization. The 2020 Education Commission of the States comparison below records experience-based requirements for some Wyoming applicants, as the three-of-six-years rule shows.

How Do I Show Knowledge of the U.S. and Wyoming Constitutions for a Wyoming License?

You show knowledge of the U.S. and Wyoming Constitutions for a Wyoming license through coursework or through two online exams, and the board accepts either. Qualifying courses cover U.S. history before 1865 and study the Constitution.

Without that coursework, the exams are two multiple-choice tests of 20 questions each, taken in the Educator Portal as part of the online application. Retakes are allowed. The Education Commission of the States comparison records that out-of-state candidates must complete a course or pass an exam, so an online master's from an outside school does not cover it.

Does NC-SARA Membership Cover Teacher Licensure for Wyoming Online Master's Students?

Wyoming online master's students will not find teacher licensure covered by NC-SARA membership. NC-SARA says SARA does not address licensing board approval for teacher education programs. Wyoming joined in May 2015 through WICHE, while the Professional Teaching Standards Board grants the license, so confirm the board's view separately. SARA does require schools to notify you whether a program meets licensure requirements where you live.

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

Ask an online program before enrolling from Wyoming whether it has decided that its curriculum leads to a license for you. 34 CFR 668.43 requires a school promoting licensure preparation to list the states where the program does and does not meet requirements and to notify you ahead of enrollment if it does not or has not determined.

Then ask the Wyoming questions. Will the school sign an Institutional Recommendation? Will you be eligible for licensure in its state? Which state's tests apply? If the program is an alternative route, has the board accepted programs like it?

Which License Do Wyoming Principals and School Counselors Need?

Wyoming principals add an endorsement to a license in a teaching field, and the board requires an educational leadership program that leads to an Institutional Recommendation. The School Principal endorsement lasts five years, and there is no provisional route before the program is done, though an internship permit can place you in a job.

A school counselor holds a Professional Services endorsement and needs an Institutional Recommendation for a master's in school counseling. Wyoming statute asks for a master's in that particular field of specialization, so the degree has to be in school counseling itself. Hold programs in educational leadership and school counseling to those two endorsement rules.