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Updated 02/13/09...wl

Initial Certification

Application

Thank you for inquiring about initial certification in the State of Maine.  Links for the initial certification application and certification requirements are found below.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

To apply for initial certification evaluation, you must:  (1) complete page 1 of the application; (2) enclose an official transcript of your undergraduate (showing bachelor's degree and date conferred ‑ required for all endorsements and certificates except career and technical education teacher endorsements) and graduate transcripts (if applicable); (3) if you hold certification in another state, submit a copy of your teacher or educational specialist certificate from that state; (4) list the certificate or endorsement code and the grade level on application; (5) enclose appropriate non-refundable fee; and (6) include an explanation of questions answered with "YES".

FEES:  

Initial Teacher/Educational Specialist Certificate	$100
Each Additional Teacher Endorsement (beyond initial endorsement)	$35
Initial Administrators	$200
Administrative Portfolios Reviews (In addition to the initial $200)	$300

 

Please make check payable to:  Treasurer State of Maine.  You may also elect to use M/C or VISA. 

FINGERPRINTS:

You may receive an evaluation for a certificate before having your fingerprints taken.  However, prior to being issued any type of Maine certification, you must have your fingerprints taken through a process approved by the Maine Department of Education.  Information regarding approved fingerprint sites and on-line registration in Maine is available at

http://www.informe.org/cgi-bin/doe/fingerprint.pl

or by calling the Certification Office.  For information regarding the approved process for having fingerprints taken outside of Maine, please call the Certification Office for an out-of-state fingerprint packet. There is a one-time $55 fee for this process, whether you are fingerprinted in Maine or submit an out-of-state fingerprint packet.

TRANSCRIPTS:

Send only official college transcripts. The transcript must show your degree and date conferred, Social Security number (when possible), all courses for which you have received credit, the registrar’s signature and the embossed seal. We do not accept copies of transcripts, scanned transcripts, or computer generated grade reports. If you have transcripts from colleges outside the United States, you must submit a foreign transcript evaluation completed by a company recognized by this office.  Please call us for the forms. All transcripts and degrees must be from an accredited college, whether the college is inside or outside the USA. If you already hold a Maine certificate in another area, you do not need to send transcripts that you have sent to us previously.  

RESUME:

Career and Technical Education teachers & School Nurses only: need to send a notarized resume of paid work experience related to the endorsement area. The resume must include number of years/weeks, dates, description of work experience. Sample resume

EXAMINATIONS:

If you have taken and passed the appropriate assessments, please include score results with your application package. To register for examinations, contact the Educational Testing Service at www.ets.org/praxis/me.

"YES" QUESTIONS

1. If you answered “yes” to Question 1: for each conviction, attach a brief explanation stating the date and nature of the conviction.  If additional information is requested from the Department of Education, you may need to provide attested copies of the Judgment and Commitment papers (including probation conditions).  These documents may be obtained from the Clerk of Courts where you were convicted. 
2. If you answered “yes” to question 2 and/or 3:  attach an explanation for each situation.
3. If you answered “yes” on a previous application and there have been no additional convictions, submit a statement that there have been no new convictions since the previous “yes” was submitted.

 

Chapter 115 Part I Section 4.4:

Any bachelor’s degree, graduate degree, or required semester hours of academic study shall have been earned at an accredited four-year institution. For purposes of this rule, an accredited institution is a college, university, or other post-secondary institution accredited by one or more of the following:

1. One of the six regional accrediting agencies:
   1. The New England Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools
   2. The Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools
   3. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
   4. The North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools
   5. The Northwest Association of Secondary Schools and Higher Education
   6. The Western Association of Colleges and Schools
2. The National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education
3. Any other national institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as an accrediting authority.

WAIVERS and EXCEPTIONS:

1. For initial certification a maximum of six semester hours of course requirements may be met through documenting, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner, that the applicant has taught the course at a post-secondary college or university for at least two semesters.
2. A maximum of six semester hours of course requirements may be met through CLEP Exam(s) with a minimum score of 60 on subject examinations for courses not already taken.
3. A course requirement may be met through a two-year community college, if a minimum grade of ‘C-“ was received for the course and the specific course is part of an articulated agreement with a regionally accredited four-year college or university. The articulation agreement would be that the specific course would be accepted as a transfer credit towards a bachelor’s degree at the 4 year college. The certification candidate is responsible for providing the Department with documentation meeting the criteria.
4. Student teaching may be waived upon documentation of one school year of successful teaching in Maine in the endorsement area, as long as the Commissioner has granted a waiver to teach prior to the end of the school year and if the applicant has had a support team.

TESTING:

1. The qualifying scores on the Pre-Professional Skills Test  (PPST/PRAXIS I) for certification areas requiring a bachelor’s degree are as follows:

Applicants for initial teacher certification must achieve a composite score of 526 on the three sections of the PPST, with no single score on any section being more than three points lower than the required score above.

2. The qualifying scores on the Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST/PRAXIS I) for career and technical education certification areas are as follows:

 

Applicants for initial teacher certification must achieve a composite score of 513 on the three sections of the PPST, with no single score on any section being more than three points lower than the required score above.

3. Out-of-State Certified Teachers and Educational Specialists
   Applicants holding a current full teaching certificate from another state who are seeking a teaching certificate in the same endorsement area in Maine will not be required to take the PPST or Principles of Learning and Teaching examinations.  Provide a copy of the certificate with your application package.

Applicants holding a current full educational specialist certificate from another state who are seeking a certificate in the same area in Maine will not be required to take the Principles of Learning and Teaching examinations. Provide a copy of the certificate with your application package.

PLEASE SUBMIT ALL OF YOUR APPLICATION MATERIALS TOGETHER IN ONE PACKAGE.  INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL BE RETURNED. YOUR PACKAGE SHOULD INCLUDE:

1. A completed and signed application, list the code and grade level on the application
2. Official graduate and undergraduate transcripts showing courses, degree and date conferred;
3. Foreign transcript evaluation (if applicable);
4. ETS scores, if applicable;
5. Where applicable, a copy of out‑of‑state teaching certificate, Maine RN license (524), driver's license and driver education license issued by the Secretary of State (530), or NCSP or Maine psychologist license (093);
6. Appropriate non-refundable fee; and
7. If you answered yes, your explanation and, if necessary, court documents.

A complete application package will enable the Certification Office to process your application in a timely manner. 

Certification requirements                          Initial Certification application in Word

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