Tennessee Teacher Requirements for Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists

The information below is collected from state regulatory agencies responsible for regulating school-based speech-language pathologists and/or audiologists. The information is reviewed on an annual basis. Please be advised that laws, regulations, and policies may change at any time, so always check with your state for the most up-to-date information.

NOTE: This information presented on this page is a summary of the requirements in Tennessee. For the complete requirements, including instructions on how to apply for licensure, visit Educator Licensure

Audiologists

Meet one (1) of the following:

Hold an advanced degree in audiology from a state or regionally-accredited institution of higher education with a graduate level program approved by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology;
Hold a valid audiology license issued by the Tennessee Board of Communication Disorders and Sciences or the licensing board of a state other than Tennessee; or
Hold an advanced degree in audiology and hold a valid out-of-state professional level educator license.
Hold an advanced degree in audiology and hold a full and valid out-of-state initial level school audiologist license from a state that is a partner in the NASDTEC interstate agreement.

Ensure that the department has official transcripts of all credits earned through an institution of higher education. The transcript must be submitted by the institution of higher education to Educator.Licensure@tn.gov through an approved clearinghouse, or mailed to 710 James Robertson Parkway, 9th Floor, Nashville, TN 37243.

Out-of-state candidates seeking a professional school services personnel license as a school audiologist shall hold an advanced degree in audiology and hold a full and valid out-of-state professional level educator school audiologist license from a state that is a partner in the NASDTEC interstate agreement
and Speech-Language

Speech-Language Pathologists

Meet one (1) of the following:

Hold an advanced degree in speech-language pathology from a regionally accredited institution of higher education with a speech-language program approved by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech Language Pathology;
Hold a valid speech-language pathologist license issued by the Tennessee Board of Communication Disorders and Sciences or the licensing board of a state other than Tennessee; or
Hold an advanced degree in speech-language pathology and hold a valid out-of-state professional level educator license; or
Hold an advanced degree in speech-language pathology and hold a full and valid out-of-state initial level speech-language pathology license from a state that is a partner in the NASDTEC interstate agreement

Applicants must also submit qualifying scores that are no more than five (5) years old on all required assessments as defined in the Professional Assessments for Tennessee Educators Policy 5.105;

Out-of-state candidates seeking a professional school services personnel license as a school speech-language pathologist shall hold an advanced degree in speech-language pathology and meet one (1) of the following requirements:

Hold a full and valid out-of-state professional level educator speech-language pathology license from a state that is a partner in the NASDTEC interstate agreement;
Hold a valid license issued by the Tennessee Board of Communication Disorders and Sciences;
Hold a valid license issued by an out-of-state Board of Communication Disorders and Sciences; or
Hold the Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association.

SLP Assistants

School speech-language pathology assistants shall hold a school services personnel license with the school speech-language pathology assistant endorsement. Candidates seeking a license as a school speech-language pathology assistant shall meet one (1) of the following requirements:

Hold a current Speech-Language Pathology Assistant Certification (SLPA-C) from the American Speech-Language & Hearing Association (ASHA);
Hold a bachelor’s degree with a major or concentration in speech-language pathology, communication disorders, or speech and hearing sciences from a regionally accredited institution of higher education;
Hold a valid registration with the Tennessee Board of Communication Disorders and Sciences as a speech-language pathology assistant;
Hold a degree from a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant Program; or
Hold a full and valid out-of-state initial level speech-language pathology assistant license from a state that is a partner in the NASDTEC interstate agreement and hold a bachelor’s degree in speech-language pathology with a major or concentration in, communication disorders, or speech and hearing sciences from a regionally accredited institution of higher education.

Out-of-state candidates seeking a professional school services personnel license as a school speech-language pathology assistant shall hold a bachelor’s degree with a major or concentration in speech-language pathology, communication disorders, or speech and hearing sciences from a regionally accredited institution of higher education and hold a full and valid out-of-state professional level speech-language pathology assistant license from a state that isa partner in the NASDTEC interstate agreement.

License Advancement or Renewal

Practitioner School Service Personnel License

At the end of the validity period of the initial practitioner license, if the educator has not met licensure expectations, the practitioner license may be renewed once. If the educator has not met licensure expectations at the end of the second validity period, the license will become inactive.

Professional School Service Personnel License

At the end of the validity period of the professional 6 license, if the educator has met licensure expectations, the license will be renewed. If the educator has not met licensure expectations, the license will become inactive.

Continuing Education Requirement

Educators must earn a total of thirty (30) professional development points (PDPs) to advance or a total of sixty (60) PDPs to renew a teacher license including professional, professional occupational, and professional school services personnel licenses. PDPs must be approved in the state licensure system. Individuals employed by a local education agency (LEA) must have the LEA approve the accrued PDPs for advancement or renewal. At the time of advancement or renewal, if the educator is NOT employed in a Tennessee public school, appropriate documentation for all activities for which PDPs are requested must be provided to the office of educator licensing and preparation. Reasons for PDP denial include, but are not limited to: activity not related to improving educator effectiveness; activity conducted outside the validity period of the license (effective dates); activity lacks adequate documentation; or duplicate activity. At the time of advancement or renewal, if the educator is employed in a Tennessee public school, the local education agency (LEA) must retain documentation for each completed activity for which the educator is awarded PDPs.