Special Education

The Teacher Induction Credential is a two-year, individualized, job-embedded system of mentoring, support and professional development beginning in the candidate’s first years of teaching. This program is designed for candidates who already hold a valid Preliminary Teaching Credential. Holders of preliminary multiple-subject, single-subject, and education-specialist credentials are eligible to apply for this program. The Teacher Induction program focuses on the teacher’s needs through an Individualized Learning Plan (ILP) in order to expand and deepen their knowledge, skills, and abilities targeted to the teacher’s employment and career goals in their development as a teacher.

The traditional induction program is 14 units. This includes 6 units in semester one, 1 unit in semesters two and three, and 6 units in semester four. Induction can also be completed in conjunction with a master’s degree in any of the preliminary credential areas named above. The units for each of these programs vary and are identified through meeting with a faculty advisor. A one-year early completion induction program option is available to students who have already taught for three or more years with at least one year as the teacher of record, obtain a signed administrator support letter, and have received a high score on their state-required Teacher Performance Assessment (e.g., edTPA, CalTPA). Early completion program admission is not guaranteed and requires review from an induction advisor. Please contact an advisor if you are interested in the early completion option.

1. Admission Requirements

Must meet admission requirements as described in the Credential section.

2. Core Courses (8 units)

SPED 614A Learning About Myself as a Professional Educator (1)*
SPED 614B Working with Special Education Stakeholders (1)*
SPED 628MS Induction and the Individualized Learning Plan (3)**
SPED 638 Educators as Agents of Change (3)***

*These courses are waived if the candidate is enrolled in a concurrent master’s program.
**Must be taken the first semester of the program.
***Must be taken the final semester of the program.

3. Pedagogy Courses (6 units)

Two pedagogy courses are selected from an approved list of master’s level course offerings with approval from a faculty induction advisor and may be used for the master’s degree. Courses used for the Preliminary Credential cannot be counted toward the Induction Credential.

4. Other Requirements

1. Candidates must remain employed as a teacher in their credential area for the duration of the
   program.
2. Candidates must be assigned a school site mentor for the duration of the program.
3. Candidates must maintain an overall Grade point Average (GPA) of 3.0 with no grades lower than “C” in program coursework.

Visit the Credential section of this Catalog for more information.

Total Units Required for the Credential: 14