School Safety Program Positions

 

Thanks to increased funding to our School Safety Program, our schools will start hiring by the end of 2020 for more than 900 new school counselors, social workers, and school resource officers (SROs).

To fill these positions, we need to build our pipeline of school wellness and safety educators. Here's the good news: you could already be eligible to become a certified school counselor or social worker.

For additional questions about certification, please contact at [email protected] or call 602-542-4367.

 

Professional Non-Teaching Certificates Related Information

Ready to apply?  Apply online or use the Certification Application Form
Need to renew your certificate?  Look at our renewal information

School Counselors

Arizona recently updated requirements to make it easier to become a certified School Counselor! If one of the following descriptions apply to you, you can apply for your School Counselor certification.

To become a certified school counselor with a graduate degree in guidance and counseling, you will need:

  • A completed application 
  • A photocopy of your valid Arizona Department of Public Safety Identity Verified Prints (IVP) fingerprint clearance card
  • An official transcript of your Master's or advanced degree
  • Official transcripts documenting completion of a graduate program in guidance and counseling
  • Allowable deficiency: Must be completed within 3 years of certification
    • Practicum or experience in one of the following areas:
      • Completion of a supervised counseling practicum in school counseling from an accredited institution
      • Submit a letter on official letterhead, signed by the school superintendent or personnel/HR Director, verifying two years of full-time experience as a school counselor
      • If you have three years of full-time teaching experience, please complete and submit the Verification of PreK-12 Teaching Experience signed by the school superintendent or personnel/HR Director. The completed form must be emailed from the superintendent or personnel/HR director to the Certification office

View the Arizona Department of Education's School Counselor certification form.

To become a certified school counselor with your Master's degree in counseling, social work or psychology, you will need:

  • A completed application 
  • A photocopy of your valid Arizona Department of Public Safety Identity Verified Prints (IVP) fingerprint clearance card
  • An official transcript of your Master's or advanced degree
  • Official transcripts documenting completion of a graduate program in counseling, social work or psychology
  • Allowable deficiency: Must be completed within 3 years of certification
    • Completion of six (6) semester hours of courses in school counseling, college and career guidance, or academic advising
  • Allowable deficiency: Must be completed within 3 years of certification
    • Practicum or experience in one of the following areas:
      • Completion of a supervised counseling practicum in school counseling from an accredited institution
      • Submit a letter on official letterhead, signed by the school superintendent or personnel/HR Director, verifying two years of full-time experience as a school counselor
      • If you have three years of full-time teaching experience, please complete and submit the Verification of PreK-12 Teaching Experience signed by the school superintendent or personnel/HR Director. The completed form must be emailed from the superintendent or personnel/HR director to the Certification office

View the Arizona Department of Education's School Counselor certification form.

To become a certified school counselor with a Master's or advanced degree and a behavioral health license, you will need:

  • A completed application 
  • A photocopy of your valid Arizona Department of Public Safety Identity Verified Prints (IVP) fingerprint clearance card
  • An official transcript of your Master's or advanced degree
  • A photocopy of a valid license as an associate counselor, professional counselor, master or clinical social worker, marriage and family therapist issued by the Arizona Board of Behavior Health Examiners
  • Allowable deficiency: Must be completed within 3 years of certification
    • Completion of six (6) semester hours of courses in school counseling, college and career guidance, or academic advising.
  • Allowable deficiency: Must be completed within 3 years of certification
    • Practicum or experience in one of the following areas:
      • Completion of a supervised counseling practicum in school counseling from an accredited institution
      • Submit a letter on official letterhead, signed by the school superintendent or personnel/HR Director, verifying two years of full-time experience as a school counselor
      • If you have three years of full-time teaching experience, please complete and submit the Verification of PreK-12 Teaching Experience signed by the school superintendent or personnel/HR Director. The completed form must be emailed from the superintendent or personnel/HR director to the Certification office

View the Arizona Department of Education's School Counselor certification form.

To become a certified school counselor with your graduate degree in academic advising, you will need:

  • A completed application 
  • A photocopy of your valid Arizona Department of Public Safety Identity Verified Prints (IVP) fingerprint clearance card
  • An official transcript of your Master's or advanced degree
  • Allowable deficiency: Must be completed within 3 years of certification
    • Completion of six (6) semester hours in social and emotional development, mental health counseling, trauma and disaster counseling, multiculturalism in counseling, theories of counseling, foundations of school counseling, or child and adolescent counseling.
  • Allowable deficiency: Must be completed within 3 years of certification
    • Practicum or experience in one of the following areas:
      • Completion of a supervised counseling practicum in school counseling from an accredited institution
      • Submit a letter on official letterhead, signed by the school superintendent or personnel/HR Director, verifying two years of full-time experience as a school counselor
      • If you have three years of full-time teaching experience, please complete and submit the Verification of PreK-12 Teaching Experience signed by the school superintendent or personnel/HR Director. The completed form must be emailed from the superintendent or personnel/HR director to the Certification office

View the Arizona Department of Education's School Counselor certification form.

To become a certified school counselor in Arizona with your out-of-state School Counselor certification, you will need:

  • A completed application 
  • A photocopy of your valid Arizona Department of Public Safety Identity Verified Prints (IVP) fingerprint clearance card
  • An official transcript of your Master's or advanced degree
  • A valid, comparable School Counselor certificate from another state that is in good standing with that other state

View the Arizona Department of Education's School Counselor certification form.

Certified School Social Worker

Arizona schools are a great place to be a Social Worker! If you have a Master's or advanced degree in Social Work and fall under one of these categories, you can apply for your school social worker certification. 

Examples of eligible settings that primarily serve Preschool through 12th-grade students:

  • School District
  • Child Protective Services
  • Community Organization, non-profits
  • Hospital
  • Private Practice

With your Master's or advanced degree in Social Work and one year of work in setting that serves school aged (P-12) youth, you will need:

  • A completed application 
  • A photocopy of your valid Arizona Department of Public Safety Identity Verified Prints (IVP) fingerprint clearance card
  • An official transcript of your Master's or advanced degree from an accredited institution
  • A letter from a Human Resources Director or Superintendent verifying completion of the required social worker experience

View the Arizona Department of Education's School Social Worker's certification form.

With your Master's or advanced degree in Social Work and completed six (6) semester hours of practicum in a school setting, you can apply for a school social worker certification! You will need:

  • A completed application 
  • A photocopy of your valid Arizona Department of Public Safety Identity Verified Prints (IVP) fingerprint clearance card
  • An official transcript of your Master's or advanced degree from an accredited institution
    • If the official transcript does not document that the 6 semester hours of social work practicum was in a school setting, a verification letter from a university department chair or designee is required

View the Arizona Department of Education's School Social Worker's certification form.

With your Master's or advanced degree in Social Work and a valid, comparable out-of-state School Social Worker certificate, you will need:

  • A completed application 
  • A photocopy of your valid Arizona Department of Public Safety Identity Verified Prints (IVP) fingerprint clearance card
  • An official transcript of your Master's or advanced degree from an accredited institution
  • A photocopy of your valid, comparable out-of-state School Social Worker certificate OR an official letter from the educator certification office that issued the out-of-state School Social Worker certificate verifying that you are in good standing in that state and that your certificate is comparable to a Standard School Social Worker certificate

View the Arizona Department of Education's School Social Worker's certification form.

School Resource Offices and Juvenile Probation Officers

While the Arizona Department of Education does not certify School Resource Officers (SROs) or Juvenile Probation Officers (JPOs), collectively known as “School Safety Officers,” they are one of three types of positions that schools can request as part of the School Safety Program funding. All schools that receive School Safety Program funding are required to complete annual training offered through the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) which includes training for SROs and JPOs. Learn more about those trainings here.