Licensure
1122 W. Campus Road
Joseph R. Pearson Hall, Rm 211
Lawrence, KS 66045-3101
phone: (785) 864-9602
abranham@ku.edu
First, we generally recommend you apply for a Kansas license, even if you plan to move out-of-state. This establishes your record with the Kansas State Department of Education and will ease the application process in most other states, especially Texas, Illinois, and California.
Students often ask if another state is "reciprocal" with Kansas; essentially, there are no "reciprocal" licenses. Each state has its own application process and different requirements, which you must complete to be licensed there. For example, almost all states require their own fingerprinting, and many states, like Illinois and Texas, have developed their own standardized tests as well. To complicate this, the rules are constantly changing. State department web sites will usually have the most up-to-date information.
The cost for getting licensed in a new state will range from $200- $500, depending on requirements; the average is $250, including fees, fingerprints and exams.
In most cases, if you do not have all the licensure exams completed for a particular state, they will issue you a temporary license, which gives you a one-year period to complete the exams. In most states it will be much easier to take the exams after you have moved there.
Many states will have a form that asks for the "institutional recommendation" or "verification of completion of an approved program." Throughout your career, you will send this form to your KU Licensure Officer at the School of Education. (Do not send it to the KU Registrar's office, as this will slow processing by 2-3 weeks.) It's very helpful if you attach a note with your KUID, your email address, and the year you finished our program.
The language of licensure, varies from state to state. In most states, you will be applying for an "initial" or "standard" license. Some words, such as "provisional" mean different things in different states: in Colorado, your first license will be a "provisional. In Kansas, "provisional" means that you are only partially completed with the coursework for a new licensure area. Be sure to ask for clarification if you have questions.
Licensure applications for any state cannot be signed until all final grades are recorded at KU. If you have "incompletes" your application will be delayed and it is your responsibility to contact the KU Licensure Officer when you have finished the coursework.
If you wait until July to start an out-of-state application, you probably will not get your out-of-state license before your job starts in August. We are lucky that in Kansas, processing is very fast (4-6 weeks at KSDE) but some states may take up to 4 months to process your application. In these cases, the combination of holding a current Kansas license and the knowledge that your out-of-state application is “in process” will usually make a district comfortable with hiring you. Visit with the Human Resources person at your employing district; he or she will be able to help you understand the process and timeline in the new state.
Always allow 2-3 weeks for processing forms in my office at KU; summers are particularly busy.
Please contact the KU Licensure Officer if you have other questions!
Alisa Branham
abranham@ku.edu
785-864-9602
| Early | Take PLT and Subject exams in late fall or early spring (register a month in advance, takes 6-8 weeks to get scores). |
|---|---|
| 2-4 months Before Completion | Get application packets from other states. Go to www.ksde.org, then to "licensure", then to "approved programs" and scroll to the state desired. Order application packets from the web site or by phone. If you have questions about the applications, make an appointment with the Licensure Officer; she will be happy to explain the process to you. |
| 2-4 months Before Completion | Get fingerprinted for Kansas Certification and mail cards to KSDE; background checks are taking 4-6 weeks and must be cleared before KSDE can issue a license. Clearances are effective for only six months. You may want to complete any out-of-state fingerprinting at the same time, but read their instructions carefully. |
| By May 1 or Dec 1 | File all Kansas and out-of-state applications with the Licensure Office, 211 JRP, to receive priority service after grades are available. |
| And | Order official transcripts from the Registrar's Office using the form at www.registrar.ku.edu. Ask them to "hold for current semester grades" and, if you are completing a degree, "hold for degree conferred." Most states will require at least one official transcript and you may want to order a second for your employer or your personal file. The cost is $8.00 per transcript. Ask for separate envelopes; most out-of-state applications will require a sealed envelope. |
| Ca. June 5 or Jan. 5 | Applications will be processed after final grades are posted. For the large group completing in Spring, it normally takes 10 days to complete your group. You'll usually get your Kansas license by mail about 3 weeks later. |
| By June 30 or Jan. 30 | You should receive final KU transcripts (if you ordered them) and the Kansas license by mail. We suggest you include a photocopy of your Kansas license with applications to other states. Normally, you will be mailing completed out-of-state application packets during this week, including your transcript(s), application forms, proper fees, and perhaps fingerprinting cards, depending on the instructions from each state. By forwarding the out-of-state application packet July 1, you are allowing 4-6 weeks for processing, which normally is just fine for a job that starts in mid-August. |
Other questions? Contact Alisa at abranham@ku.edu.
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