ESL/Bilingual Education Licensure

In many areas of the United States, a growing number of K-12 teachers in public school settings are becoming English as a Second Language (ESL) certified to meet the growing demand coming from English Language Learners (ELLs) in the area.

The Department of Education defines ELLs as students enrolled in an elementary or secondary school:

• Who were not born in the United States and whose native language is not English
• Whose level of English proficiency may deny them the ability to succeed on state tests and in English-led classrooms, or otherwise prevent them from fully participating in society

Licensed educators seeking ESL certification may have a license in elementary education or a secondary education subject. Although many teachers seeking an ESL add-on endorsement at the secondary level are licensed in English or Language Arts, it is common for teachers of other subjects to seek ESL certification so as to best serve their multilingual classrooms.