American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

In This Section:

Arizona Teacher Requirements for Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists

The following information summarizes the requirements currently necessary to begin work in the public school system as an audiologist or speech-language pathologist.

The information below has been collected by researching individual state department of education regulations and policy documents, state administrative code provisions and by contacting each state department of education. Please be advised that regulations and policy may change at any time, so always check with your state department of education for the most up-to-date information.

Audiologist

Audiologists in the public schools are contract employees and do not fall under specific teacher requirements of the State Department of Education. State licensure is typically required for practice in the schools. 

Speech-Language Pathologist

Pre-Kindergarten-12 Certificate

  1. A master's degree or more advanced degree from an accredited institution, in speech pathology or communications disorders
  2. A minimum of 250 clinical clock hours supervised by a university or a speech-language pathologist with a certificate of clinical competence
  3. One of the following:
    a. A Certificate of Clinical Competence;
    or
    b. A passing score on the Education Testing Service National Exam in Speech-Language Pathology;
    or
    c. A passing score on the speech and language impaired special education portion of the Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessment (AEPA).

Continuing Education Requirement

Sixty clock hours are required every six years in the field of speech pathology, or professional development in the areas of articulation, voice, fluency, language disorders, low incidence disabilities, curriculum and instruction, professional issues and ethics, or service delivery models.

Speech-Language Technician Pre-Kindergarten-12 Certificate

  1. A bachelor's degree from an accredited program in speech-language pathology, speech-hearing sciences, or communications disorders
  2. A minimum of 50 hours of university supervised observation
  3. A passing score on the speech and language impaired special education portion of the Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessment (AEPA)
  4. One of the following:
    a. A minimum of 150 university clinical clock hours;
    or
    b. A minimum of 150 clocks hours supervised by a master's level licensed SLP;
    or
    c. Two years of experience as a school speech-language therapist or technician.

An individual with a Speech-Language Technician certificate must also obtain a limited license through the Department of Health Services as a Speech-Language Pathologist in order to practice in the schools. The health license is limited to working in the schools.

Continuing Education Requirement

One hundred eighty clock hours of graduate level coursework are required every six years, in the field of speech pathology, or professional development in the areas of articulation, voice, fluency, language disorders, low incidence disabilities, professional issues and ethics, or service delivery models.

Resources

The information contained herein was collected and summarized annually. For detailed information on teacher certification requirements, contact the state department of education and visit these websites:

Department of Education Teacher Certification

Teacher Certification Regulations

 

Questions regarding this document? Call ASHA at 800-498-2071 and ask for the State Advocacy Team. 

Print This Page