MARYLAND
STATE RESOURCES

Candidates must hold a bachelor's degree or higher. 

Must pass the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators with a 156 for reading and 162 for writing. For Special Education, teachers must pass Special Education: Foundational Knowledge with a 145 and Teaching Reading: Elementary Education with a 159. Starting July 1, 2025, Maryland also requires a Pedagogy test. 

More information can be found here: https://marylandpublicschools.org/about/Pages/DEE/Certification/testing_info/index.aspx   

The State of Maryland requires special education teachers to get their license through the Educator License division of the Maryland State Department of Education. This includes passing certain Praxis tests, as seen above in Testing Requirements, and at least a bachelor’s degree. Typically the department will issue a conditional certificate until the teacher is hired with a local education agency (LEA). Then, the LEA will confirm and the teacher will receive a professional certificate.  

More information about licensing can be found here: https://marylandpublicschools.org/about/Pages/DEE/Certification/index.aspx  

Licensure categories for special education in Maryland: 

• Special Education 

• Infant/primary (birth - grade 3) 

• Elementary/middle (grades 1-8) 

• Secondary/adult (grades 6-adult) 

• Deaf and Hard of Hearing 

• Severely and Profoundly Disabled 

• Blind/Visually Impaired 

Professional licensing in Maryland can be done by utilizing the alternate routes established by the state. Information on those routes can be found here: https://marylandpublicschools.org/about/Pages/DEE/Program-Approval/MAAPP.aspx  

Maryland also has a guide that provides information about alternative routes to licensing. That guide can be found here: https://marylandpublicschools.org/about/Documents/DEE/ProgramApproval/MAAPP/Alternative-Preparation-Program-Directory-A.pdf  

In addition, Maryland does allow teachers who would like to add the special education certification to their teaching license to take the required Praxis tests, as referenced in the Testing Requirements section.  

The state of Maryland publishes a guide that outlines its approved programs, organized by licensure area. The state also provides a guide to alternate approved programs.

• Maryland’s Association for the Education of Young Children (part of the NAEYC): https://mdaeyc.org/ 

• Educator’s Rising - https://educatorsrising.org/who-we-are/#affiliates 

• Maryland State Education Association (MSEA)  https://marylandeducators.org/ 

• Maryland State Education Association Aspiring Educator Groups: https://marylandeducators.org/about-msea/aspiring-educators/ 

• Maryland Chapter of the Council of Exceptional Children (CEC) https://maryland.exceptionalchildren.org/  

• The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant is a federal program that assists students pursuing careers in primary and secondary education. TEACH differs from other grant programs because receiving the TEACH Grant means committing to a four-year service obligation. 

• ​​The Workforce Shortage Student Assistance Grant (WSSAG) Program is for students who plan on working in specific career/occupational programs upon graduation.  Eligible fields include child care, human services, teaching, nursing, physical and occupational therapy, social work, and public service.

• ​​The Teaching Fellows for​ Maryland Scholarship is awarded to students who pledge to work as public school or public prekindergarten teachers in Maryland upon completion of their studies at schools that have at least 50% of the students in the school eligible for free or r​educed-price meals (FRPM).​