Kansas Teacher Certification Requirements
- Kansas teachers are required to have a minimum of a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university, and to complete a state-approved teacher education program before applying for a teaching certificate. A list of schools in Kansas offering a state-approved program is available on the Kansas State Department of Education website. If you completed your degree and teacher education program at an out-of-state school, you may need to take additional courses to meet the Kansas requirements if the program is not equivalent to Kansas standards. If you have a degree in the subject you wish to teach, but did not complete a teacher education program, you will also need to complete additional coursework before getting your certification.
- Kansas requires teaching certificate applicants to demonstrate recency on their applications. This means that you must have at least eight credit hours or one year of accredited teaching experience within the past six years in order to qualify for a teaching certificate. You will need to provide a signed verification form to certify this experience.
- To earn your Kansas teaching certification, you must pass the required examinations for the subject and grade level you wish to teach. For your initial license, you need to pass the Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT) test for your grade level: Early Childhood, Grades K-6, Grades 5-9 or Grades 7-12. The minimum passing score for the PLT is 161. In addition to the PLT test, you need to pass a content knowledge test for your area of specialization. The Early Childhood and Elementary education tests cover all curriculum areas, while the tests for middle school and above are subject specific. The passing scores on these tests vary by test. Some Kansas teaching certificate applicants are exempt from the exam requirements. If you hold a valid teaching license in another state and have completed a comparable test; meet specific experience requirements; or are certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, you do not have to take the exams.
- When you apply for a Kansas teaching certificate, you must also authorize a criminal background check of both the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. To initiate the background check, submit a fingerprint card with your application for the certificate. You can request a fingerprint card and instructions via the Kansas State Department of Education website.
- If you completed your teacher education program at a school in Kansas, the licensure coordinator at your school will provide you with all of the application materials you need. If you graduated from a school outside of Kansas, complete the Out of State Application, also available on the Kansas State Department of Education website.