Post-baccalaureate certificate offering opportunity for licensed teachers to add an additional endorsement/certificate in Special Education. 

The Advanced Certificate is a post-baccalaureate certificate program designed for certified/licensed teachers who earned a conferred bachelor’s degree and educator certification/licensure in general education and want to advance their skills with specialized knowledge to support all children, including students with disabilities. 

Students discover, practice, demonstrate, and reflect on the competencies identified in the special education endorsement standards, engage in clinical experiences in PK–12 schools, and demonstrate proficiency through performance-based summative assessments. Upon meeting the state- and certificate-specific admissions and completion requirements, students may be eligible to receive the added endorsement, pending the state’s determination to issue or deny a student’s application for the added endorsement.

Clinical Experience

All Advanced Certificate students must secure and maintain a program-aligned instructional role throughout their enrollment in order to complete clinical experience requirements for the Advanced Certificate. Program clinical experiences are also designed to meet qualifying clinical experience requirements for Relay’s state-approved educator preparation programs leading to additional endorsement/certification in special education, where applicable. 

All students are supported in their clinical experience placements through clinical practice seminars that connect theory to school context by engaging students in deliberate practice and focused reflection. Individualized continuous improvement plans are created to support students in targeting areas of interest and growth within their school communities.

The Curriculum
Students engage in rigorous post-baccalaureate coursework aligned to the Relay competencies and focused on examining mindsets, supporting diverse learners, and being responsive to learner needs. Relay’s curriculum was designed to support students as they develop into culturally responsive and inclusive educators for all students. The development occurs through an intentional pathway composed of foundational courses, content pedagogy courses, clinical practice courses, and a selection of flex courses. Required flex courses may be included in the pathway to meet state- and program-specific requirements for certification/licensure.

Program Information
Relay’s Advanced Certificate program requires the successful completion of 21 credit hours. The Advanced Certificate recommended completion time is three consecutive terms. Students seeking the Advanced Certificate typically start the certificate during the summer term and the course load per term varies.

Program offerings vary by student location. A complete listing of Advanced Certificate program offerings by location can be found in the Student Handbook. A more detailed description of the Advanced Certificate program and links to academic plans can be found in Advanced Certificate Program Description. 

Professional organizations, societies, states, and licensing jurisdictions have specific requirements for membership, certification, or licensure. In the states in which Relay is an approved in-state educator preparation provider, Relay works to align Relay’s program(s) offered in the state to the state’s educational requirements for educator certification/licensure. Students should be aware that the professional organizations, societies, states, and licensing jurisdictions are responsible for defining, amending, and executing approval requirements and decisions for membership, certification, or licensure. Relay can provide the public-facing information for the professional organizations’, societies’, states’, and licensing jurisdictions’ requirements for membership, certification, or licensure. Relay can provide guidance regarding a state’s licensure requirements for states in which Relay is an approved in-state provider and to the students who seek licensure in the same state. Relay may not be able to provide assistance to a student regarding the interpretation or understanding of a state’s licensure requirements for states in which Relay is not an approved, in-state education preparation provider. Students intending to seek licensure of any type must take full responsibility for ensuring that their degree program at Relay meets the licensing requirements of their local states, school districts, professional associations, or agencies. See Relay’s Licensure Disclosures webpage for more information. Details about each of Relay’s state-approved educator preparation programs can be found in Educator Preparation Program Descriptions.