District of Columbia Teacher Requirements for Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists

This information 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/Speech-Language Pathologist

Requirements for Certification as an Audiologist

1. A master's degree from an accredited institution that shall include 75 semester hours in audiology and allied fields. Thirty-six of these shall be at the graduate level and designed to develop competencies in speech and language development; anatomy and physiology of the hearing mechanism; linguistic and cultural issues affecting multicultural populations; auditory pathology; clinical procedures in identifying, evaluating and diagnosing hearing disorders to include prognosis and recommendations for treatment when indicated; aural habilitation/rehabilitation; and speech and language disorders not associated with hearing impairments.
   
   Note: Any person holding the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology or whose application has been approved by ASHA will be eligible for licensure without evaluation of individual courses.
2. Twenty-seven semester hours designed to develop competencies in anatomic and physiological bases for normal development and use of speech, language and hearing; the physical bases and processes of the production and perception of speech, language and hearing (i.e., acoustics or physics of sound, phonology and phonetics); linguistic and psycholinguistic variables related to normal development and use of speech, language and hearing; alternative forms of communications (i.e., manual sign, cued speech, or oral-aural method); psychological and emotional problems associated with hearing impairments; mathematics; biological and physical sciences; behavioral and social sciences; and three semester hours in related coursework.
3. Twelve semester hours in allied fields of audiology and/or speech language; and
4. Satisfactory completion of a minimum of 350 clock hours of supervised clinical practicum with 250 clock hours obtained at the graduate level.

Continuing Education

License renewal requires six semester hours or 90 contact hours (or a combination of the two) of professional development activities completed within the four years prior to the date of the licensure application submission as outlined below.

1. A minimum of three semester hours/45 clock hours of the professional development activities must be directly related to the field (subject content) of the license being renewed;
2. The remaining required three semester hours/45 clock hours may include any professional development activity relevant to Pre-K–12 education and/or serving Pre-K–12 students.

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:

School Service Providers Licensure

Teacher Licensure Regulations

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