Adult education teaching credentials are issued to individuals who meet the requirements listed below and who apply through and are recommended by either a Commission-accredited Local Education Agency (LEA) or by an Employing School District (ESD). The Designated Subjects Credential Office housed with the Department of Occupational Studies at California State University is an accredited Local Education Agency and can help you obtain this credential. In addition, some of the courses you take for your Designated Subjects Credential may also be applied toward coursework for a Bachelor of Science Degree or a Master of Arts Degree in Occupational Studies.
Requirements for the Part-Time Adult Credential
For the PDF Information Leaflet about the requirements for this credential, click here. Otherwise, the information below details how you can obtain a preliminary part-time adult credential and a professional-clear part-time adult credential.
Preliminary Credential
If you wish to obtain the five-year* preliminary credential, you must satisfy all of the following requirements:
Verify five years of experience and/or education related to each subject to be named on the credential (The experience and/or education requirements and the subjects that can be named on the part-time credential are the same as those specified for the full-time credential.)
One of the following requirements must be satisfied:
possess a high school diploma
possess a diploma based on passage of the GED Test
possess the foreign equivalent of a high school diploma
Pass the California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST). (Applicants for the adult credential in non-academic subjects and for credentials authorizing the teaching of adults in an apprenticeship program are exempt from this requirement.)
Obtain verification, signed by a Commission-accredited Local Education Agency. The Designated Subjects Credential Office housed with the Department of Occupational Studies at California State University can help you obtain this verification. This verification documents that you have been fully apprised of the requirements for both the preliminary and professional clear credentials, including the program of personalized preparation. Or, you may obtain verification by an ESD authorized to do so in accordance with guidelines established by the Commission.
Professional Clear Credential
If you wish to receive the professional-clear adult part-time designated subjects credential, you must satisfy all of the following requirements:
Possess a valid preliminary part-time adult education teaching credential
Obtain verification by the ESD of the successful teaching of a minimum of one course in each of four terms within the five-year period of validity of the preliminary adult education teaching credential (Two of these terms must be with one ESD. The teaching must have been to adult learners in the subject[s] authorized by the preliminary adult education teaching credential and must have occurred while holding the valid preliminary adult education teaching credential.)
Obtain verification by an LEA that the applicant has completed all Level I requirements of a Commission-accredited program of personalized preparation, including the use of computers in an instructional setting
Complete a unit requirement in health education, including, but not limited to, nutrition; the physiological and sociological effects of alcohol, narcotic, and drug abuse; and the use of tobacco (This requirement must also include training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation [CPR] that covers infant, child, and adult CPR skills.)
Verification of Work Experience
Title 5 Regulations require you to verify five years of experience or its equivalent related to each subject to be named on the credential. Verification of experience means written confirmation of the applicant's qualifying experience, signed by the applicant's past or present employer(s) on company letterhead that attests to and includes all of the following:
Employer's name, address, and telephone number
The working relationship of the person signing the verification to the applicant
Beginning and ending dates of employment
Complete description of duties
A statement as to whether or not the employment was full-time (If employment was less than full-time, include an accounting of the number of hours the applicant was employed.)
If you were self-employed or if your experience was avocational, verification shall include a statement, signed by you under penalty of perjury, detailing the information described in 1-5 above. Further substantiation is required in writing, by other person(s) having first-hand knowledge of your self-employment or avocation, such as your accountant, major supplier of goods, or major user of goods or services.
Once your application materials have been reviewed, you will be given a five-year Preliminary credential from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC). You will need to complete coursework or other requirements to "clear" your credential. You may enroll in courses through the Department of Occupational Studies and other programs at Cal State University to meet these requirements. Read the Requirements to Clear Your Designated Subjects Credential for Adult Education for more information.
For more information, contact the Designated Subjects Credential Office at (562) 985-5631.
*Period of Validity: An initial preliminary part-time adult education teaching credential issued on the basis of the applicant's satisfaction of requirements 1-4, specified above, authorizes service for no more than two years from the date of issuance of the credential unless the holder's employer (ESD) receives form CL-787, Verification of Completion of Level I Requirements, from the LEA through which the holder completed those requirements. Once the holder's employer receives this verification, the credential's validity period will automatically be extended for the remainder of the five-year period from the date of issuance of the credential. There is no need to apply for this extension. The LEA's verification of completion of Level I requirements is the only documentation required in this process. If the credential holder's ESD is not known to the LEA, form CL-787 will be sent directly to the credential holder for forwarding to the employer. The LEA shall also submit this form directly to the Commission to assist in documenting that the holder completed Level I requirements.
