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Master of Arts in Teaching and Pre-K Academy Provisional License Process

Students enrolled in the Master of Arts in Teaching program and the Pre-K Academy Certificate program may qualify for a provisional license, provided that certain requirements are met.

Before you can initiate the process for a Provisional License, you must have a job offer in the state of Arkansas.                              Do NOT begin this process until you have met all the requirements listed below.

To remain eligible for a provisional license, you must:
  • Be continually enrolled and in good standing in the program
  • Maintain employment at the school for which the provisional license was issued
  • Meet the requirements established by the Arkansas Department of Education

1) Program Requirements

All majors must be currently enrolled in a course or enrolled in a future course. Enrollment checks are completed every semester.

For Special Education MAT candidates only

Complete six (6) credit hours — ELSE 5003 SPED Academy 101 and an approved 3-credit-hour special education course.

2) Praxis Exams

If you are unsure which Praxis exam is required for your licensure area, please visit the Arkansas Department of Education website. You can find the exam(s) you need to take by the area you are getting licensed in.

The Foundations of Reading exam for Elementary and Special Education is not required for a provisional license. It is required to get a standard license after completion of the MAT program.

3) Offer of Employment

Ask the superintendent or designee to complete the Provisional License Recommendation form that states your employment as teacher of record, in the area(s) in which you are getting your license. You will submit this to the PEP Office email to Mrs. Woolard at swoolard@astate.edu.

4) Central Registry and Criminal Background Check

A central registry and criminal background check must be completed. Dates must not be older than one year at the time of licensing.

Instructions for Background Checks are available. Please read the instructions carefully to ensure backgrounds are processed quickly and efficiently.

Check the clearance of the central registry and criminal background checks >>

You can log in to your AELS account to view your background. Click "view current license information" and look under Non-Criminal Background Information (NCBC). You should have 3 approvals: FBI, ASP, and Central Registry. All 3 need to be within 1 year. FBI and State are fingerprints, Central Registry is the Child Maltreatment check.

5) Completion of ArkansasIDEAS Professional Development

Registration Process for ArkansasIDEAS
  1. Go to http://ideaslms.aetn.org/login/index.php 
  2. To register, click, "Create New Account." You will be taken to the registration form.
  3. Follow the quick start instructions from there, and you should be able to register and take courses.
  4. After you complete your registration, it will take about 15 minutes for the system to process your information and create your course list. You may need to log out after registration and then log back in 15 minutes later to see the course listings.

For more information regarding creating an account or registering, see the LMS User Guide. Feel free to call the ArkansasIDEAS Help Desk at 1-800-488-6689 or email ideas@aetn.org if you have any questions, concerns, or need more information on receiving professional development.

All of the following courses on ArkansasIDEAS must be completed:

Course Topic Hours Course ID
Child Maltreatment Training 2 hours ERB25003
Mental Health Awareness 2 hours TLC22002
Family and Community Engagement 2 hours PIB22001
Teen Suicide Awareness and Prevention 2 hours HWB23001
Bullying Prevention 2 hours ERC20073
Dyslexia 1 hour HWG14003
Human Trafficking Awareness 1 hour ERB18062

Arkansas History

     *Not required if an Arkansas History course is part of your coursework

 2 hours AHB25002
Professional Licensure Standards Board (PLSB) – Arkansas Code of Ethics Training Video 1 hour ERC19048
Professional Licensure Standards Board (PLSB) - Code of Ethics for Arkansas Educators: Ethical Scenarios in Education (2020) 1 hour ERC20059
Professional Licensure Standards Board (PLSB) - Social Media Guidelines 3 hours TCC14435

After completion, you will send your entire Record of Learning as a PDF to the licensure specialist with the Ethics Training Verification Form.

Instructions: Log in to ArkansasIDEAS and click Record of Learning at the top of the page. Scroll to the bottom of the page and change the dropdown option to PDF Landscape. You will then click Export, and a list of all your completed courses will be downloaded.

All Elementary Education (K-6), Middle School Social Studies (4-8), and Social Studies (7-12) applicants must have a 3-hour Arkansas History college course or complete the 45-hour ArkansasIDEAS program of study. This is NOT required for a provisional license, but it is required for a standard license.

6) Apply Online and Send all Required Documents to the Licensure Specialist

All documents listed above must be emailed to Mrs. Woolard in order to proceed 

  • Provisional License Recommendation
  • Ethics Training Verification Form
  • Record of Learning from ArkansasIDEAS

7) Send Official Transcripts to the Arkansas Department of Education

The Department of Education will require your official bachelor's degree transcript, as well as your official transcript from A-State showing that you are enrolled.

Transcripts can be requested through the National Student Clearinghouse via Banner9 Self-Service or A-State's website.

It is the student's responsibility to request official transcripts.

Process

All listed documents must be included in one email and sent to Mrs. Woolard. Incomplete information will delay licensure or potentially not get processed at all. 

Once your application has been submitted, Mrs. Woolard will review for confirmation of recommendation from Dr. Mary Elizabeth Spence, the Professional Licensure Officer. This review process could take from 1 to 14 days, depending on the licensure workload. You will receive an email from Mrs. Woolard if anything is missing to approve your recommendation.

AELS Licensure Information

To check the status of your license, go to the Arkansas Department of Education's Licensure website. If your licensure status has not changed from pending to approved after 4 weeks, please reach out to Mrs. Woolard at swoolard@astate.edu.

When this process is complete, you will be able to print your license from your Arkansas Department of Education AELS account with your new licensure area added on.

Questions Regarding Licensure

A downloadable and printable version of these instructions is available:

Reach out to the Office of Professional Education for any questions regarding licensure!

Address:
Office of Professional Education
PO Box 720
State University, AR 72467

Sara Woolard
Educator Licensure Specialist
swoolard@AState.edu
870-972-2099

Dr. Mary Elizabeth Spence
Professional Licensure Officer
mspence@AState.edu
870-972-2099

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