Teaching experience requirements

Educators who have appropriate teaching experience for an endorsement area may be able to waive the institutional recommendation from a college.  However, they must still meet all coursework and testing requirements for the endorsement area. To obtain Connecticut certification, you must:

• Document 20 or more school months of appropriate full-time teaching experience in one school or district under a valid certificate. That may be in a public school in another state or in an approved nonpublic school. 
• If your endorsement area requires a bachelor’s degree or more, provide an official transcript from a regionally accredited college or university that verifies you have successfully completed all required general academic and professional education coursework. 
• Pass subject-specific assessments for endorsements where a test is required. See the Guide to Assessments for Educator Certification in Connecticut for additional information.

NOTE: Only coursework resulting in credit awarded to an official transcript of a regionally accredited college or university can be accepted to meet certification requirements.

If you haven’t completed an educator preparation program and don't have the experience to waive the planned program requirement, you must complete a state-approved program at a regionally accredited college or university for the grade levels and subject you would like to teach. For a list of Connecticut’s approved educator preparation programs, please see the Guide to Approved Educator Preparation Programs in Connecticut.