Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) Educator Licensure Requirements

To be eligible for educator licensure with the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), an applicant must:

• Be a U.S. citizen
• Hold at least a bachelor's degree by date of availability OR be a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp (JROTC) instructor, vocational instructor or nurse
• Complete student teaching or an internship as part of an approved teacher education program at an accredited U.S. institution of at least 1 year in a preK–12 setting by availability date, unless exempt¹
• Have completed 30 semester hours for secondary teaching positions
• Submit proof of achieving DoDEA minimum scores for the required Praxis test(s) unless exempt²

The Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) accepts state educator professional certificates issued from the state departments of education in the United States and its territories. Completion of an accredited teacher preparation program may be accepted when an individual's transcript has been reviewed and approved by the DoDEA Associate Director for Education, as well as upon satisfaction of assessment testing. A DoDDS certificate will be issued to reflect state endorsement and/or teacher preparation areas comparable to DoDDS educator categories.

Applicants must submit proof of achieving DoDEA minimum scores for the required Praxis test(s), unless exempt. Exemptions to the testing requirement include:

• applicants who are fully certified by a U.S. state department of education
• applicants who have completed 7 years or more of full-time professional teaching experience
• JROTC instructors
• applicants for positions of Guidance Counselor, School Psychologist, Speech-Language Pathologist and Vocational Training Instructor are only required to take the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators (Core) tests.
• school nurses are exempt from the Praxis tests, with the exception of those nurses who also have teaching endorsements

For further information on teaching categories and requirements, access the DoDEA Human Resources Regional Service Center or submit an application in the Employment Application System.

^{1 Communications impaired teachers, school nurses, guidance counselors, school psychologists, JROTC instructors and non-certified training instructors are excluded from the student teaching requirement.
2 See exemptions to the testing requirement under "Who Must Take the Tests?"}