{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-6-187","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 70, § 70-6-187","heading":"Competency examinations","body":"A. Prior to July 1, 2014, a competency examination shall be\n\nadopted by the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation and\n\nbeginning July 1, 2014, a competency examination shall be adopted by\n\nthe Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability for the\n\nprofessional education and various subject areas and grade levels\n\nfor purposes of ensuring academic achievement and competency of each\n\nteacher candidate or teacher in the subject area the person is\n\nseeking certification to teach which shall also include\n\ncertification as an administrator, as prescribed by the State Board\n\nof Education.\n\nThe Commission, consistent with the purposes of this section,\n\nshall promulgate rules and procedures to guarantee the\n\nconfidentiality of examinations.\n\nB. No teacher candidate shall be eligible for certification\n\nuntil successfully completing the competency examination except\n\nthose candidates who make application to the Board and meet the\n\ncriteria for the alternative placement program pursuant to Section\n\n6-122.3 of this title. Certification shall be limited to areas of\n\napproval in which the certified teacher has successfully completed\n\nthe examination. Subject to the provisions of subsection C of this\n\nsection, testing for certification for subjects in which a teacher\n\ncandidate or teacher is seeking a minor teaching assignment or an\n\nendorsement to teach shall be limited to the specific subject area\n\ntest.\n\nA teacher candidate or teacher may take the professional\n\neducation or subject area portions of the examination subject to any\n\nlimit imposed by the Commission.\n\nC. 1. Except as otherwise provided for in this subsection, a\n\nteacher may be certified in as many areas as the teacher meets the\n\nnecessary requirements provided by law and has successfully\n\ncompleted the subject area portion of the examination.\n\n2. Except as otherwise provided for in this paragraph,\n\ncertification in early childhood, elementary, or special education\n\nshall require completion of an appropriate teacher education program\n\napproved by the Commission and effective July 1, 2025, successful\n\ncompletion of a comprehensive reading instruction assessment as\n\nprovided for in Section 1210.508F of this title.\n\nAny teacher who is certified to teach elementary education may\n\nbe certified in early childhood education upon meeting the\n\nrequirements provided in law and successful completion of the\n\nappropriate subject area portion of the examination. Any teacher\n\nwho is certified to teach early childhood education may be certified\n\nin elementary education upon meeting the requirements provided in\n\nlaw and successful completion of the appropriate subject area\n\nportion of the examination. Any special education teacher who\n\nbecomes certified to teach through completion of an accredited\n\nteacher preparation program may be certified in early childhood or\n\nelementary education upon meeting the requirements provided in law\n\nand successful completion of the appropriate subject portion of the\n\nexamination. Any teacher who becomes certified to teach through\n\ncompletion of an accredited teacher preparation program or becomes\n\nalternatively certified to teach through the Troops to Teachers\n\nprogram may be certified in special education upon meeting the\n\nrequirements provided in law and successful completion of the\n\nappropriate subject area portion of the examination. Any special\n\neducation teacher who has not completed a Commission-approved\n\nteacher education program in elementary education or early childhood\n\neducation but who has successfully completed the subject area\n\nportion of the examination may be certified in elementary education\n\nor early childhood education for the purpose of providing direct\n\ninstruction and serving as the teacher of record for grading\n\npurposes in special education settings only.\n\nD. The Commission shall offer the competency examination at\ntary education or early childhood\n\neducation but who has successfully completed the subject area\n\nportion of the examination may be certified in elementary education\n\nor early childhood education for the purpose of providing direct\n\ninstruction and serving as the teacher of record for grading\n\npurposes in special education settings only.\n\nD. The Commission shall offer the competency examination at\n\nleast four times per calendar year on dates to be established by the\n\nCommission.\n\nE. If a teacher candidate or teacher is a non-native-English\n\nspeaker, the Commission shall offer the subject area competency\n\nexamination in the native language of the teacher candidate or\n\nteacher only if the teacher candidate or teacher is employed or has\n\nbeen offered employment by a school district as a teacher in a\n\nforeign language immersion program offered by the school district.\n\nIf a non-native-English speaker who has received certification in a\n\nsubject area after taking the subject area competency examination in\n\nthe native language of the speaker seeks to add a certification area\n\nin the future and that person is no longer employed as a teacher in\n\na foreign language immersion program, the examination for the\n\nadditional certification area shall be taken in English. The State\n\nBoard of Education shall issue a restricted license or certificate\n\nto any teacher who has completed a subject area competency\n\nexamination in the native language of the teacher as provided for in\n\nthis subsection restricting the teacher to teaching only in a\n\nforeign language immersion program.\n\nF. The State Board of Education, in consultation with the\n\nCommission for Educational Quality and Accountability, may grant an\n\nexception to the requirement to complete a subject area examination\n\nfor initial certification in a field which does not require an\n\nadvanced degree if the candidate has an advanced degree in a subject\n\nthat is substantially comparable to the content assessed on a\n\nsubject area examination. The advanced degree shall be from an\n\ninstitution accredited by a national or regional accrediting agency\n\nwhich is recognized by the Secretary of the United States Department\n\nof Education. The Commission shall provide the Board with the\n\nnecessary information to determine comparability.\n\nG. 1. Nothing in the Oklahoma Teacher Preparation Act shall\n\nrestrict the right of the State Board of Education to issue an\n\nemergency or provisional certificate, as needed. Provided, however,\n\nprior to the issuance of an emergency certificate, the district\n\nshall document substantial efforts to employ a teacher who holds a\n\nprovisional or standard certificate. In the event a district is\n\nunable to hire an individual meeting this criteria, the district\n\nshall document efforts to employ an individual with a provisional or\n\nstandard certificate in another curricular area with academic\n\npreparation in the field of need. Only after these alternatives\n\nhave been exhausted shall the district be allowed to employ an\n\nindividual meeting minimum standards as established by the State\n\nBoard of Education for the issuance of emergency certificates.\n\n2. The State Board of Education may renew the emergency or\n\nprovisional certificate of an individual who has been employed by a\n\nschool district board of education for at least two (2) years if the\n\nfollowing criteria are met:\n\na. the individual has been granted an emergency or\n\nprovisional certificate pursuant to paragraph 1 of\n\nthis subsection for two (2) years,\n\nb. the individual has not successfully completed the\n\ncompetency examinations required by this section,\n\nc. the individual submits a portfolio of his or her work\n\nto the State Board of Education, which shall include\n\nevidence of progress toward standard certification,\n\nd. the employing school district board of education\n\nagrees to renew the individual’s contract to teach for\n\nthe ensuing fiscal year, and\nindividual has not successfully completed the\n\ncompetency examinations required by this section,\n\nc. the individual submits a portfolio of his or her work\n\nto the State Board of Education, which shall include\n\nevidence of progress toward standard certification,\n\nd. the employing school district board of education\n\nagrees to renew the individual’s contract to teach for\n\nthe ensuing fiscal year, and\n\ne. the superintendent of the employing school district\n\nsubmits to the State Board of Education the reason the\n\nemergency or provisional certificate should be renewed\n\nand provides evidence of the district’s inability to\n\nhire a teacher who holds a standard certificate.\n\n3. Individuals employed by a school district under an emergency\n\nor provisional certificate shall not be considered career teachers\n\nand therefore not entitled to the protections of the Teacher Due\n\nProcess Act of 1990.\n\nH. The State Board of Education may grant an exception to the\n\nrequirements for all certification examinations for teacher\n\ncandidates who are “deaf”, which for the purposes of this section\n\nshall mean having a hearing loss so severe that the person cannot\n\nprocess auditory linguistic information with or without\n\naccommodation and whose primary language and teaching environment is\n\nAmerican Sign Language. The Board may grant an exception upon:\n\n1. Verification by a licensed audiologist of a hearing loss so\n\nsevere that the teacher candidate cannot process auditory linguistic\n\ninformation with or without accommodation;\n\n2. Demonstration of fluency in American Sign Language;\n\n3. Demonstration of competency in the subject area of\n\nspecialization as approved by the Board in lieu of certification\n\nexaminations; and\n\n4. Sponsorship by a certified deaf education teacher for a\n\nmentorship program.\n\nThe Board may promulgate rules and other requirements as\n\nnecessary to grant the exceptions described in this subsection.\n\nApplicable teaching environments may include American Sign Language\n\nimmersion programs, the Oklahoma School for the Deaf, programs for\n\nthe deaf, or other classroom settings in which American Sign\n\nLanguage is the language of instruction.","path":["OK Code","Title 70"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os70.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"867bbfb448f747092234ef968ab1e9c32d9ac9186a8ae0f9ff4ce86e78536cec","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-6-186.1","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-6-187a"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}