Emergency Certification for Teachers in Alabama

<p>Persons who are interested in attaining an emergency certificate in Alabama are able to do so via the Alabama State Department of Education. An emergency certificate is not available for special education fields, traffic safety education, school psychology, or speech-language pathology. The general requirements for obtaining an emergency certificate are summarized below. </p> <p /> <table border="1"><tr><td>Education Required</td><td> Bachelor's degree</td></tr> <tr><td>Exam Requirements </td><td> None</td></tr> <tr><td>Certification Renewal Period </td><td>Two years</td></tr> <tr><td>Requirements for Renewal </td><td> Submission of required documents, forms and non-refundable application fee</td></tr> <tr><td>Average Salary (2019) </td><td> $53,195 (teachers in AL)*</td></tr> <tr><td>Estimated Job Growth (2016-2026) </td><td>8% (primary and high school teachers nationally)**</td></tr> </table><p><i>Sources: *Salary.com; **U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</i> </p> <h3 id="section---GeneralRequirements">General Requirements</h3> <p>The candidate will need to have a minimum of a bachelor's degree which was issued from an accredited university and pass a background clearance that is conducted by the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation (ASBI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The background clearance process will include the collection of the applicant's fingerprints in order to check their criminal history and is handled through Gemalto Cogent. The full instructions regarding the fingerprinting process can be found on the Alabama State Department of Education website. Applicants are required to undergo this process even if they have done so in another state or during their service in the military or law enforcement. </p> <h3 id="section---DeclarationOfCitizenshipOrLawfulPresence">Declaration of Citizenship or Lawful Presence</h3> <p>Applicants for emergency teacher certification must also complete a form that verifies their US citizenship or that they have the legal right to live and work in the United States. Approved documents such as a driver's license, birth certificate, passport or United States naturalization documents, among others, can be used to prove an applicant's citizenship. Legal presence can be proven through the use of a valid tribal enrollment card, a foreign passport with a valid, unexpired US visa, a consular report of birth abroad of a citizen of the United States of America or a notation by the US Department of Homeland Security indicating the bearer's admission to the United States. A full list of the approved documents can be found on the application form which can be downloaded from the Alabama State Department of Education website. </p> <h3 id="section---ApplicationProcess">Application Process</h3> <p>While the interested individual can complete the application form, the form can only be submitted by an employing Alabama county/city superintendent or eligible nonpublic/private school administrator. The candidate will also need to submit transcripts from the degree program that was achieved, a personal barcode data page and verification of United States citizenship. It is possible to apply for an emergency certificate for two teaching fields, but separate applications must be completed. </p> <p>A non-refundable application fee is due for each application that is submitted. This payment may be made via an online portal on the Alabama State Department of Education website or with a cashier's check. </p> <h3 id="section---CertificateRenewal">Certificate Renewal</h3> <p>An emergency certificate is valid from July 1 to June 30 for two consecutive scholastic years. At this point, the holder of an emergency certificate can re-apply for another two consecutive years. After those four years, the candidate would have been expected to undertake a professional Alabama certification in order to continue teaching. </p> <p>If the candidate is taking a year off from a Provisional Certificate or an Interim Employment Certificate (IEC), the emergency certificate will only be valid from July 1 to June 30 of one scholastic year.</p>