ALABAMA
STATE RESOURCES

Alabama requires all educators to hold at least a Bachelor's degree. More information can be found here: https://weteachalabama.com/become-a-teacher/ 

Alabama teachers must complete the Alabama Educator Certification Assessment Program (AECAP), which consists of the Praxis and the edTPA Performance Assessments. Learn more about the required Praxis exams here and the edPTA Performance Assessments here.

For initial certification in Alabama, all candidates must:

• Earn a baccalaureate degree and participate in a teacher education program

• Complete a student teaching internship

• Pass the required assessments

• Apply for certification through the Alabama State Department of Education

More information can be found here: https://www.alabamaachieves.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/TEA_2022111_Overview-of-Alabama_s-Educator-Certification-Approaches_V1.0.pdf 

Alabama offers several alternative routes to teaching certification:

• Conditional Certificate In A Teaching Field (CCTF) - available to those enrolled in Alternative Teacher Preparation Organizations (ATPO)

• Provisional Certificate In A Teaching Field (PCTF) - individuals entering the field of education in certain K-12, 4-8, and 6-12 teaching fields

• Temporary Special Education Certificate (TSEC) - may only be requested by an employing Alabama county/city superintendent

• Business And Industry To Educational Administrator Certificate (BIEA) - for individuals seeking administrative certification with an Alabama city/county school system

More information can be found here: https://www.alabamaachieves.org/teacher-center/teacher-certification/alternative-certificates/ 

The Alabama Department of Education maintains a list of approved teacher preparation programs: https://www.alabamaachieves.org/teacher-center/teacher-preparation-programs/ 

• Alabama Council for Exceptional Children - https://alabama.exceptionalchildren.org/ 

• Future Teachers of Alabama (Alabama Education Association) - https://myaea.org/future-teachers-of-alabama 

• Alabama NBCT Scholarship - https://myaea.org/nbct-scholarship 

• Teach in Bama - https://education.ua.edu/student-resources/teach-in-bama/ 

• Black Belt Teacher Corps Teach for Alabama Scholarship - https://online.uwa.edu/tuition/scholarships-partnerships/bbtc-scholarship/ 

• TEACH Grant - https://alabamapartnershipforchildren.org/our-work/t-e-a-c-h/ 

• UWA-Teach - https://www.uwa.edu/uwa-teach/