Bilingual cross-endorsements for CT educators
The requirements for a bilingual cross-endorsement outlined on this page are general guidelines. Approval and/or acceptance of specific coursework will be determined once an application, fee, and official transcripts have been submitted for review.
Most current bilingual endorsements are specific to the subject and grade level to be taught and require that you also meet coursework requirements for the non-bilingual endorsement for the specific content area to be eligible for the bilingual endorsement.
For example, to be eligible to add the elementary bilingual endorsement, you must first complete all coursework required for the current elementary endorsement (#305). To become eligible to add the bilingual secondary language arts endorsement, you must first complete all coursework required for the secondary English endorsement (#015). Then you must also complete the bilingual coursework and testing described in the bulleted list below.
There are two newer bilingual endorsements, which do not require you to meet content requirements for a nonbilingual endorsement. The secondary bilingual humanities endorsement (991) requires at least 15 semester hours of content coursework in the humanities, in addition to the bilingual coursework and testing described below. The secondary bilingual STEM endorsement (992) requires at least 15 semester hours of content coursework in STEM fields, in addition to the bilingual coursework and testing described below.
There is no bilingual special education endorsement. It is up to the employing district to determine if a certified special education teacher has the required language skills to serve in a bilingual program. There are also no bilingual special subject endorsements to teach special subjects such as PE, health, art, music, etc.
Once you meet content coursework requirements for an appropriate non-bilingual endorsement, or meet content requirements for the secondary bilingual humanities or bilingual STEM endorsements, the requirements to add the specific bilingual endorsement include:
- At least 18 semester hours of credit completed at ONE regionally accredited college to include coursework in the following areas:
- First and second language acquisition;
- Linguistic and academic assessment;
- Cross cultural sensitivity and communication and implications for instruction;
- Strategies for modifying English content area instruction;
- Methods of teaching ESL; and
- Methods of teaching bilingual education.
- In addition, applicants must generally demonstrate written competency in English with a passing score on the Praxis ® Core Academic Skills for Educators (Core) writing test, AND oral and written competency in the language of instruction by passing the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL®) Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and Writing Proficiency Test (WPT) tests in the non-English language of instruction being requested. Once you have completed the majority of the coursework, please submit an application and nonrefundable fee to determine whether some testing may be exempted on the basis of certain degrees.
A list of approved courses for bilingual endorsement is available.
Please note: Coursework for all endorsements must result in the award of college-level credit posted to an official transcript from a regionally accredited college or university.