Page 7: Provisional license requirements

License-seeking candidates can begin with a Provisional License or go directly for a Professional License. The provisional option would allow you to be "licensed" so that if your employer requires a Massachusetts license of some kind (e.g. some Corrections facilities or certain school districts), you are covered. It also allows candidates to pursue their Professional licenses as a two-stage process.

The basic requirements for the Provisional License are as follows.

1. A bachelor's or master's degree in any discipline from an accredited college or university. The thinking behind this requirement is that the new license should be able to stand alongside other state educators' licenses. However, because many excellent ABE teachers do not have bachelor's degrees, some room was created in the regs to include them. Specifically, by allowing a master's degree to fulfill this requirement, the door is open for license-seekers without an undergraduate degree to go directly into special master's programs that do not require a bachelor's degree for enrollment and assign credit for life and work experience (e.g. Cambridge College). For those individuals who want a bachelor's degree, DOE is looking into providing "scaffolding"—that is, extra support such as information on cost-effective degree programs, or perhaps even help with tuition costs (all conjecture at this point).
   
   Passing scores on the Communication and Literacy Skills Test and the ABE Subject Matter Test. You can find descriptions of these tests online, with downloadable booklets that include sample questions and answers, at www.mtel.nesinc.com. You can register online as well. You can also order test information booklets for $8.00 each from Massachusetts Teacher Tests, P.O. Box 343, Hadley, MA 01035-0343, Telephone: (413) 256-2892, which provide the same information as the Web site.
   
   
2. Evidence of sound moral character. This requirement is imposed by the state legal offices to allow rapid removal of teachers who have behaved criminally towards students or colleagues. It does not in any way nullify Massachusetts's anti-discrimination laws, which are in place to protect persons from discrimination based on gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, and so forth.
   
   Requirements for the professional license are on the next page.