Special Education (with licensure), M.Ed.

Special Education

Specialization leading to a Master of Education  degree.

(37 to 44 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.

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 with exceptionalities. 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; and/or multiple disabilities. The Mild/Moderate Intervention Specialist concentration prepares teachers and professionals from related disciplines to work with children and youth ages 5 through 21 who have specific learning disabilities, behavior disorders, and/or other health impairments.

With additional licensure-related courses, this degree may lead to an Ohio Intervention Specialist license.

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

Admission

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. 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  with a grade of B- or better, and satisfying all other licensure program admissions to be admitted into a licensure program. A score at the 50% percentile on the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) or the Graduate Record Examination on each section will also fulfill the GPA requirement.
2. 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.
3. 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. All teaching licensure students are required to complete portfolio requirements using TaskStream. Students are responsible for housing various required and optional artifacts that demonstrate their level of competency in the Ohio Standards for the Teaching Profession. 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.

Internship Eligibility Requirements for Teacher Licensure

Eligibility for internship placement requires that student interns have satisfactorily met all of the conditions noted below. If these conditions are not completely fulfilled, field placement will be denied and the student will be administratively withdrawn from relevant coursework. For questions, please contact the Office of Field Services (Julka Hall 187; 216-687-4616) or the Education Student Services Center (Julka Hall 170; 216-687-4625).

1. At the time of placement application, all student interns must have an approved Program of Study on file with the Education Student Services Center (Julka Hall 170) and have signed the Verification of Good Moral Character Statement on that form. In addition, Early Childhood majors must supply Field Services (JH 187) with three acceptable letters of recommendation attesting to their good moral character and suitability for any pre-K teaching assignment.
    
2. Interns must have achieved and maintained an overall grade-point average of at least 3.0 for all 400 and-above-level work required for licensure. No more than six credits of 400-level-or-above course work with a grade of C may be used to meet licensure requirements. Coursework may be repeated with the approval of the COEHS Advising Office; however, it should be noted that repeating a graduate course does not eliminate any earlier recorded grade for that course on your transcript or its continued inclusion in the calculation of Hours Earned, Quality Points, and GPA.
    
3. All interns must submit a negative TB (tuberculosis) test report (Mantoux version) to the Office of Field Services. If seeking licensure in Early Childhood or as an Intervention Specialist in Special Education (Early Childhood, Mild/Moderate or Moderate/Intensive), documentation must also be submitted verifying full immunization against Hepatitis B (three shots). In addition, candidates for Early Childhood licensure must supply proof of having satisfactorily passed a physical examination.
    
4. Interns who do not already hold an Ohio teaching license or certificate must complete a civilian background fingerprint check and submit a valid copy of a Clearance Report from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to Field Services. Electronic fingerprinting and BCI checks can now be obtained by appointment in the ESSC (Julka Hall 170) with prior fee payment at the Office of Treasury Services (MC 115).
    
5. Separate completion and submission of an online application (https://coehsplace.csuohio.edu/ofs/index.cfm) for practicum or student teaching placement is needed. Applications for summer and fall placements must be received by February 15; those for spring placements must be received by September 15. Summer placements are made at the discretion of program faculty and may be limited and/or restricted. Please note that in addition to submitting an application, students must ultimately register for practicum and student teaching.
    
6. Placement requires satisfactory completion of all specified prerequisite coursework. (Please see your program checklist for a complete list of these courses.) Where mandated by specific programs, ongoing development of a professional portfolio may also be required to confirm satisfactory progress in achieving program outcomes before internship placement.
    
7. Eligibility for the final internship further requires that students have taken all required state licensure examinations prior to the start of student teaching. Score reports must be submitted to the Office of Field Services.