Director of Special Education Post-Master's Certificate

The Director of Special Education program is designed for those who have a professional license, a Master's degree in Special Education, Educational Administration and Foundations, School Psychology, Social Work, or Speech-Language Pathology, and at least two years of experience in schools with students with disabilities. The program is designed to prepare educational professionals for leadership, organization, and administration of special education programs in Illinois. Completion of this post-Master's, non-degree certificate program enables qualified individuals to meet Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) standards leading to endorsement as a Director of Special Education. Candidates for the endorsement must also pass the State of Illinois DOSE Content Area Test.

Application for New 2018-20 Cohort Opens January 1, 2018

We will begin accepting applications on January 1, 2018 for the next 2-year, weekend academy cohort to begin August 2018. We are seeking dynamic professionals who desire to promote positive school outcomes through a career in special education administration and who desire to complete their program as efficiently as possible while maintaining a busy professional work life. Participants in the cohort will:

begin the program in August, 2018 with a planned completion of May or August 2020;
meet four weekends each academic semester at the ISU Normal, IL campus on Friday evening and Saturday;
participate in other online learning activities throughout the semester;
complete 24 credit hours of advanced coursework including 4-6 hours of special education administration professional practice in the schools; and
may be required to complete an additional special education cross categorical instructional methods course depending on their Master's degree program content (e.g., school psychology, speech-language pathology, or social work).