Definitions

• An alternative/transitional license is a temporary license that is not the same as the regular teacher's license that is needed to teach in Tennessee. A school superintendent can issue an alternative license to a teacher who is working in the school system but has not yet completed all of the licensing requirements. The licenses are valid for a year and expire on August 31 following the end of the school year for which they were issued.
  
  

Type A License

• As of the 2009-2010 school year, alternative licenses were replaced with a new form of license called a transitional license. The only type of alternative license now available in the state is the Type A license for speech pathologists, and this license is only available for renewal by those who already have one.
  
  

Renewing Type A

• To renew an alternative license, type A, the applicant must be admitted to an approved teacher preparation program. The university's certification officer must then evaluate the applicant's transcript, identify any areas of deficiency, and develop a plan that addresses the shortcomings. The applicant will need to complete at least six credit hours each semester toward a regular teaching license. Actual teaching experience can be used to meet the student-teaching requirement for a teaching degree. With this information, the applicant should then download the renewal form from the website of the state's Department of Education, or call to have it mailed. The form needs to be completed and submitted to the Department along with the applicant's transcript and list of program deficiencies.
  
  

Transitional License

• The transitional teaching license began replacing the alternative teaching licenses in Tennessee in 2009. To qualify for one, applicants need at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited college in a major that applies to the subjects the applicant wants to teach. The applicant must also have completed 24 semester hours in the teaching content area or passed the PRAXIS II content exam. When submitting an application, a candidate must include college transcripts, a verification that content knowledge requirements have been met, and a letter from a school official stating intent to employ her if this license is obtained.