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Teacher Licensing

The teacher education program at Brigham Young University–Hawaii primarily prepares elementary and secondary preservice teachers for the public-school classroom and secondarily assists qualified emergency hires for Hawaii teacher licensure.

Teacher education caters to both US and international students. US students often choose to teach in Hawaii or transfer their license in order to teach in another state. International students are encouraged and assisted in placement, completion, and teacher registration ‘licensing’ in their home country.

Licensing: Hawaii
Information: other US States
Licensing: Hong Kong
Information: other countries (Asia & Pacific)

The Teacher Education Program is accredited as a state-approved teacher education program by the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board (HTSB), the authorized agent of the State of Hawaii Department of Education. Teacher licenses are regulated and issued by the HTSB.

Students may be recommended to the HTSB for licensure in the following areas:

Major Licensing Area
BYU–Hawaii Major Hawaii Teacher Standards Board
Elementary Education (BS) Elementary Education (K-6)
Art Education (BS) Art (6-12) 
Biology Education (BS) Science (6-12) 
Business Education (BS) CTE-Business (6-12 
Chemistry Education (BS) Science (6-12) 
English Education (BA) English (6-12)
Exercise and Sports Science Education (BS) Physical Education (6-12)
History Education (BA) Social Studies (6-12)
Math Education (BS) Mathematics (6-12) 
Physical Science Education (BS) Science (6-12) 
Physics Education (BS) Science (6-12) 
Social Science Education (BS) Social Studies (6-12)
TESOL Education (BA) TESOL (6-12)

The decision to recommend for a teaching license is based upon the successful completion of all BYUH Teacher Education Program requirements, including professional field experiences. Graduation from the university does not guarantee a student will be recommended for a teaching license.

Upon recommendation by the BYUH Teacher Education Program and successful completion of the HTSB requirements, the individual is issued a teaching license by the State of Hawaii, which is required in order to be employed as a public school teacher. Reciprocity agreements allow a Hawaii license to be transferred to other U.S. states.

Neither the BYUH Teacher Education Program nor the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board licenses teachers in the other U.S. States. However, reciprocity agreements allow a Hawaii license to be transferred to other U.S. states.

Each state maintains its own requirements for both initial teacher licensing as well as the transfer of a teacher license from one state to another. Please reference the list below for information on teacher licensing within individual states. Because requirements can change, it is important to check with the individual licensure state agency.

States Dept. of Education Licensing
Alabama AL Alabama
Alaska AK Alaska
American Samoa AS American Samoa (N/A)
Arizona AZ Arizona
Arkansas AR Arkansas
California CA California
Colorado CO Colorado
Connecticut CT Connecticut
Delaware DE Delaware
District of Columbia DC District of Columbia
Florida FL Florida
Georgia GA Georgia
Guam GU Guam
Hawaii HI Hawaii
Idaho ID Idaho
Illinois IL Illinois
Indiana IN Indiana
Iowa IA Iowa
Kansas KS Kansas
Kentucky KY Kentucky
Louisiana LA Louisiana
Maine ME Maine
Maryland MD Maryland
Massachusetts MA Massachusetts
Michigan MI Michigan
Minnesota MN Minnesota
Mississippi MS Mississippi
Missouri MO Missouri
Montana MT Montana
Nebraska NE Nebraska
Nevada NV Nevada
New Hampshire NH New Hampshire
New Jersey NJ New Jersey
New Mexico NM New Mexico
New York NY New York
North Carolina NC North Carolina
North Dakota ND North Dakota
Northern Marianas Islands MP Northern Marianas Islands (N/A)
Ohio OH Ohio
Oklahoma OK Oklahoma
Oregon OR Oregon
Pennsylvania PA Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico PR Puerto Rico (N/A)
Rhode Island RI Rhode Island
South Carolina SC South Carolina
South Dakota SD South Dakota
Tennessee TN Tennessee
Texas TX Texas
Utah UT Utah
Vermont VT Vermont
Virginia VA Virginia
US Virgin Islands VI Virgin Islands
Washington WA Washington
West Virginia WV West Virginia
Wisconsin WI Wisconsin
Wyoming WY Wyoming

Licensing for countries outside the United States is regulated by national and local government agencies. Please reference the list below for information on teacher licensing, certification and registration for countries outside the United State. Neither the Brigham Young University–Hawaii teacher education program nor the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board license teachers internationally.

Country Department of Education
Australia Australia DOE
China Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China
Fiji Fiji Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts
Hong Kong HK Education Bureau
Indonesia Indonesia DOE
Japan Japan DOE
Kiribati Kiribati Ministry of Education
Malaysia Malaysia DOE
Mongolia Mongolia Ministry of Education, Culture, Sciences, and Sports
New Zealand New Zealand DOE
Philipines Philipines DOE
Samoa Samoa Ministry of Education, Sports, and Culture
American Samoa American Samoa Department of Education
Singapore Singapore DOE
South Korea South Korean Ministry of Education
Taiwan Taiwan DOE
Thailand Thailand DOE
Tonga Tonga Ministry of Education and Training