North Carolina teaching licenses are issued by the Department of Public Instruction, based on the policies and procedures adopted by the State Board of Education. An alternate route to teaching in NC allows you to obtain a position and begin teaching right away, without any prior teacher training or experience; this route is known as "Lateral Entry." For more information, check out Becoming a Lateral Entry Teacher. The following are the qualifications for lateral entry (per RALC):
QUALIFICATIONS FOR LATERAL ENTRY
All lateral entry and prospective lateral entry teachers must have a bachelors degree from a regionally accredited college or university and
Either:
- Have a major that is relevant to the teaching area or
- Have 24 semester hours of course work in core area or
- Have a passing score on the Praxis II subject assessment test(s) for the area of licensure
- Elementary, Exceptional Children (if teacher of record [meaning you give the grades in the core areas]), B-K if teaching K, and ESL (if teacher of record) must have passed the Praxis II before you can lateral entry
Plus one of the following:
- Have a cumulative 2.5 GPA or
- Have five years of relevant experience that occurred after the bachelor's degree ( as determined by the LEA in collaboration with the licensure section of DPI; not the RALC) or
- Pass the Praxis I tests with one of the following:
- GPA of 3.0 for all coursework in the senior year or
- GPA of 3.0 in the major or
- GPA of 3.0 on a minimum of 15 semester hours of coursework after the bachelor's degree, related to the teaching area/licensure area completed in the most recent five years
Once hired, you must:
- complete a minimum of six semester hours of coursework from your plan of study during each year of employment on a lateral-entry license (maximum of three years to complete all coursework)
- attain a passing score on the appropriate Praxis II subject exam(s)
during the first three school years of holding the lateral entry license if the exam(s) was/were not the basis of qualifying for the license
Additional information and resources regarding alternative routes to teaching in North Carolina can be found at:
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