Okeechobee County School Board
ESOL Requirement
Curriculum & Instruction

ESOL is a professional field of study, which trains classroom teachers to meet the needs of English Learners (ELs) who are learning English as a second language.

The current subject(s) taught will determine the appropriate ESOL category requirement as indicated in the table below:

Category I
300 Inservice Points
· 	English
· 	Language Arts
· 	Reading
· 	Writing

Category II
60 Inservice Points
· 	Computer Literacy
· 	Math
· 	Science
·	Social Studies

Category III
18 Inservice Points
· 	Art
· 	Foreign Language
· 	Journalism
· 	Music

Category IV
60 Inservice Points
· 	School Administrators
·	Guidance Counselors

Includes:
Elementary, Middle, High, and
ESE (VE Fulltime) Instructors

·	ESE – (VE Inclusion) all other core academic areas

· 	Physical Education
· 	All other electives
Includes:
ESE Itinerants (OT, PT, SLP)

NOTE: Effective July 1, 2011, per FLDOE, courses taken
through ACT, EPI, and basic ESOL Strategies course offerings (i.e., Teaching Diverse Populations, Diversity) do not meet ESOL endorsement requirements; however, credit may be applied for Categories II, III & IV compliance.

Media Specialists Social Workers School Psychologists
All Resource, Vocational, and
ROTC Instructors

Category Requirements

Category I	Must complete a minimum of one ESOL (60 inservice points) course per school year, beginning with the school year of hire, until the requirements have been met and the endorsement or certification has been
added to the educator’s certificate. See Option A & B below.
    Category II, III, IV	Must complete the category requirements within the first school year of hire.

Category I Options

Option A: 	ESOL Endorsement
The ESOL endorsement is a “rider” added to an existing approved subject area on an educator’s certificate. An endorsement does not provide appropriate certification by itself; it must be attached to a core academic subject area. Below are the five (5) course requirements for the ESOL endorsement (300 inservice points or 15 college semester credits):

1.	ESOL Cross Cultural Communication	60 inservice points	
2.	ESOL Applied Linguistics	60 inservice points	
3.	ESOL Methods of Teaching	60 inservice points	
4.	ESOL Curriculum & Materials Development	60 inservice points	
5.	ESOL Testing & Evaluation	60 inservice points	

Option B: 	ESOL K-12 Certification
Certified teachers may obtain “coverage” in basic ESOL K-12 by:

1.	Obtaining 120 hours in approved ESOL courses -- any two (2) of the above courses    AND
2.	Obtaining a passing score on the ESOL K-12 subject area exam (SAE)
ESOL Endorsement Course Option

Schultz Center - No Participant Fee - Instructions for registration will be sent through email.  Course access is available on the landing page at http://schultzcenter.org/.  Courses not completed will be subject to a reimbursement fee of the original cost of the course. Once the course is completed, a copy of your certificate must be sent to Staff Development. 

NOTE:  It is the responsibility of the qualifying educator to contact the Curriculum & Instruction Office, upon completion of all ESOL endorsement/certification requirements, to add the applicable ESOL coverage to his/her certificate. It is advisable to maintain a running record of completed ESOL courses AND to contact Curriculum & Instruction to ensure course work is not duplicated.