Section 25.43  Standards for Certification of Special Education Teachers

a)         The Standard Special Certificate shall be issued in the following special education areas to persons who hold a bachelor's degree from a recognized college or university and meet the general education, professional education and area of specialization requirements:  educable mentally handicapped, learning disabilities, social/emotional disorders, trainable mentally handicapped, blind and partially seeing, deaf and hard of hearing, and physically handicapped.

b)         Area of Specialization:  32 semester hours, with work in each of the following areas:

1)         Survey of characteristics, needs and education of all types of exceptional children.

2)         Measurement and evaluation of all types of exceptional children.

3)         Nature, needs and problems of children with particular handicapping conditions (physical, mental, social and educational) including history and philosophy.

4)         Other areas of exceptionality related to the particular handicapping condition.

5)         Curricular adjustments:  methods and materials in educating the particular group of handicapped children, including implications of theory and research.

6)         Laboratory and field experiences, including observation, demonstration, participation and student teaching in the area of exceptionality.

c)         Coursework must be offered in each of the above areas to total 32 or more semester hours.  One course in each area will generally suffice in meeting the requirements for paragraphs (b) (1), (2) and (3) above. Greater concentration of coursework is needed in paragraphs (b) (4), (5) and (6) above to properly prepare a Special Education teacher.