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Endorsements

What is an endorsement?

An endorsement is the specific subject matter or content area listed on your teaching certificate in Washington State. All certificates must have at least one endorsement, and some endorsement areas cannot stand alone. For questions or details on adding an endorsement, please see the OSPI website.

How can I earn an endorsement?

Test-only process
Completing a preparation program plus a test
National Board certification

What is the dual endorsement requirement?

Beginning September 1, 2019, a teacher who obtains a bilingual education, English language learner, or science endorsement must earn and/or hold a second endorsement in another endorsement area.

Can I teach out of endorsement?

You can teach outside of your endorsement area if certain conditions are met. Use the assignment rules and lookup tool to find matches between endorsements and preparation programs.

If individuals are assigned outside of their endorsement area, the following needs to happen:

  • The out-of-endorsement assignment needs to be approved by the local school board.
  • The district and the teacher “mutually develop a written plan” for assistance to the teacher. The plan needs to provide “a reasonable amount of planning and study time associated specifically with the out-of-endorsement assignment.” Plans might include mentoring, PLC time with teachers in the content area, taking a course, independent study, and so on. The plan does not have to include acquiring the endorsement, although it may.
  • Teachers cannot be subject to non-renewal or probation based on evaluations of their teaching effectiveness in the out-of-endorsement assignments.
  • There are other specific provisions in WAC related to teaching special education out-of-endorsement.

There are no out-of-endorsement provisions for CTE teachers.

What are specialty endorsements?

Educators can receive a specialty endorsement after demonstrating specific skills and knowledge in a highly specialized area of instruction. Specialty endorsements can appear on an educator’s certificate and provide visibility and evidence of their professional preparation and learning accomplishments.

Specialty endorsements are not connected to assignment policy and do not require passing a statewide assessment. A teacher must already hold a certificate with at least one other endorsement area before earning a specialty endorsement.

Specialty endorsement options for teacher certificates

  • Environmental and sustainability education
  • Gifted education
  • Elementary mathematics specialist
  • Other specialty endorsements as approved by PESB

Specialty endorsement options for teacher, ESA, and administrator certificates

  • Elementary computer science
  • Secondary computer science
  • Other specialty endorsements as approved by PESB

Learn more