Special Education, M.Ed. (with licensure)

Special Education

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Specialization leading to a Master of Education  degree.

(37 to 41 credits)

The program provides advanced course work in the education of learners with exceptional needs. Program options permit concentrated study in one of three areas: Early Childhood Special Education, Learners with Mild/Moderate Educational Needs, and Learners with Moderate/Intensive Educational Needs. While all three concentrations include course work and fieldwork that may be applied toward Ohio licensure as an Intervention Specialist, eligibility for such licensure may require further study, depending on the student’s previous educational background. In addition, students must successfully complete the appropriate Praxis II examinations required for licensure and highly qualified teacher status (HQT) by the State of Ohio.

If courses were taken previously as part of a Cleveland State baccalaureate degree program, special education courses generally need not be repeated. However, students need to select appropriate graduate elective offerings in consultation with an academic advisor to make up the requisite number of credit hours for the desired concentration. The College of Education and Human Services is committed to preparing special educators to work within diverse educational settings and communities. Therefore, all three program options require that students have a working knowledge of issues related to the education of culturally and linguistically diverse students, gifted children, children with special needs, and gender issues in education concentrations. To that end, completion of EDC 500 , or its equivalent, is a prerequisite to all special education concentrations.

The goal of the Early Childhood Intervention Specialist concentration is to prepare professionals to work with children from birth to age eight who have special needs. In addition to Ohio licensure as an Early Childhood Intervention Specialist, this concentration provides course work and fieldwork needed for the Mental Retardation/ Developmental Disabilities (MR/DD) Early Intervention Certificate.

The Moderate/Intensive Intervention Specialist concentration prepares teachers and professionals from related disciplines to work with children and youth ages 5 through 21 who have moderate, severe, or profound mental retardation; severe emotional disorders; or multiple disabilities. The professional who completes this concentration will have advanced skills in curriculum design and implementation, interdisciplinary teaming, and working with parents of children with exceptional needs.

For further information, contact the Department of Teacher Education at (216) 687-4600.

Admission

NOTE:  Effective as of October 1, 2015, requirements for admission into a teaching licensure program at the undergraduate and graduate levels changed to the requirements listed below.  Please note that October 1, 2015, was the official deadline for declaring intent to pursue 2014-2015 teaching licensure and program requirements.

In addition to the requirements of the College of Graduate Studies as described in this catalog, candidates pursuing a teaching license through the Ohio Department of Education must satisfy the following admission requirements:

1. Test requirement.  Candidates must receive acceptable scores within the past six years on one of the following content knowledge tests, demonstrating performance in approximately the top 50% of the national distribution:
   1. ACT: math 20, reading 20, English 20
   2. SAT:  math 510, reading 500, writing 490
   3. Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators (CASE):  math 150, reading 156, writing 162
   4. GRE:  quantitative 152, verbal 151, writing 3.5
   5. Miller Analogies Test: 50th percentile rank for total group
2. Undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better.  Candidates admitted as a non-degree graduate student must earn a GPA or 3.0 or above after completing 12 graduate credit hours, including EDB 601 , and satisfying all other licensure program admissions to be admitted into a licensure program.
3. Proficiency in math and English at the college level.  Grade of B- or better in a college level math and college level English class.   (Candidates for the Chinese language teaching licensure are required to satisfy the program’s TOEFL admission requirements in lieu of this requirement.)
4. Background check.  All prospective licensure candidates must pay for an initial BCI/FBI check at the time of their initial visit to the Education Student Services Center (except for MUST and international students, who are required to have a BCI/FBI check prior to starting their first field experience).  Throughout their licensure program, candidates are required to pay for and complete additional BCI/FBI fingerprinting checks to ensure that a valid report is always on file with the Office of Field Services as required for field placement. Prospective candidates with criminal records indicating convicted offenses considered by the Ohio Department of Education to be “absolute bars” to licensure will be denied acceptance to the college and any registration permissions for subsequent semesters will be revoked.  Prospective candidates with criminal records indicating convicted offenses eligible for rehabilitation will be referred to the Ohio Department of Education Office of Professional Conduct to determine whether they will be able to obtain a teaching license.
5. Post-baccalaureate and graduate candidates who complete all academic content courses prior to CSU professional course work (e.g. adolescent/young adult or middle grades licensure areas) must take and pass the relevant Ohio Assessments for Educators content knowledge assessment prior to admission.  Candidates who need to take content courses at Cleveland State are allowed to take content knowledge assessments prior to student teaching.

Upon formal admission to the College, students must prepare a Program of Study with the assistance of an assigned advisor.

Note: Before completing an admission application, individuals who wish to obtain Ohio Department of Education licensure in order to work in public schools should obtain counseling from the Education Student Services Center, Julka Hall 170, telephone (216) 687-4625.

Apply Now: http://www.csuohio.edu/graduate-admissions/how-apply

Graduate Licensure Admission

An individual with a baccalaureate degree from a college or university with full academic accreditation who is seeking a State of Ohio teaching or school services license may apply for Graduate Licensure admission status. This status is for individuals who are not seeking a master’s degree; however, candidates for Graduate Licensure must satisfy the same admission requirements as degree-seeking candidates.

Portfolio

All teaching license students are required to maintain a portfolio while completing their professional coursework and field experiences.  Students who begin a teaching licensure program in Fall 2012 or later are required to purchase a subscripton to Taskstream, which they will use to submit all required portfolio components.  At various checkpoints, students must meet specific criteria to be eligible to continue to the next phase of their program.  For complete information on portfolios, students are advised to speak with an advisor and access the Student Portfolio Handbook available at the following:  http://www.csuohio.edu/cehs/students/taskstream/taskstream.html.