Students who complete the Graduate program in Speech/Language Pathology and wish to apply for a Student Services certificate through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to work in a school setting must complete a specific application process. Because DESE will grant this certificate based on the attainment of Speech/Pathologist License from the State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts, Missouri State no longer recommends students for this certificate. Therefore, while the school districts do not typically require a state license to work in the schools, obtaining that license is necessary in order to apply for the DESE certificate.
In order to obtain a Student Services Certificate in Speech/Language Pathology, students must first obtain their state license. Once that has been completed, students will follow the process below to obtain their Student Services Certificate:
- Complete your DESE online profile. If you already have a DESE profile (log-in), do not create another one.
- Log into the DESE online certification system.
- Under Office of Educator Quality, click on the "Licensure" link
- Click the arrow to the left of "New Applications: to expand the menu
- Select the "Speech/Language Path" application. Do NOT select the Initial Cert application.
- Complete the online application and hit "submit"
You will then need to mail DESE a copy of your state license and your Praxis II score report. DESE will then verify your information and grant the certificate.
Missouri State is not involved in this application process. However, if you need verification that you are "eligible" for certification for a prospective employer, please contact the Communication Science Disorders Department at Missouri State and a letter will be provided to assist in your job search.