Special Education Teaching Programs

Students enrolled in special education have the opportunity to student teach in public schools, intermediate units, approved private schools, preschools, state centers, adjudicated environments and hospitals. Student teaching assignments are located within seven select counties neighboring Bloomsburg University.

Intensive pre-student teaching experiences are also available through advanced sequence coursework and professional development schools. To meet Pennsylvania teacher certification requirements, special education majors must have six credits of:

• College level mathematics
• College level English comprised of composition and literature

Requirements for the major include a minimum of 67 semester hours of professional education course work leading up to (prior to) student teaching. Incoming freshmen as well as transfer students are required to enroll in the Department of Exceptionality Programs’ Orientation to Special Education course (one credit) during the initial semester of enrollment in this program of study.

With a special education degree ...

BU's special education program prepares future educators, leaders and service professionals to promote and provide quality support to all individuals for the purpose of developing and enhancing the skills necessary for independent living and self-directed learning. Additionally, the program future educators, as leaders and service providers, to:

• respect and serve all individuals and their families
• develop and incorporate positive moral and ethical beliefs and actions in accordance with the Council for Exceptional Children Code of Ethics and the Pennsylvania Professional Educator Standards
• serve individuals possessing a wide range of abilities and disabilities based upon their identified needs, whether they be cognitive, behavioral, psychomotor, affective, or functional
• serve as a resource for others regarding needed services
• effectively collaborate and advocate with individuals with disabilities and other professionals
• continually assess the quality of instructional and programmatic effectiveness in order to improve services for individuals with disabilities and their families
• link theory to practice through field-based study, modeling of effective instruction, exposure to current research, technological application and exposure to individuals with diverse needs
• develop appropriate person-centered curricula, plan instruction, teach, evaluate effectiveness, and manage in a variety of learning environments
• solve problems through self-reflection and evaluation, collaborative learning, adaptation, and flexible approaches within a linguistic and multicultural community

Department Chairperson
Maureen Walsh | 570-389-5366

Department Secretary
Alma George | 570-389-4074
Student Secretary | 570-389-4119

Award for Excellence

Dr. Robin Drogan was the College of Education Recipient of the “Provost’s Award for Excellence in Research/Scholarly Activity.”

Educator of the Year

Allison Reed '10 was recently awarded the Secondary Special Educator of the Year award for the Frederick County Public School system in Maryland. She is a middle school special education teacher at Brunswick Middle School.

Important note regarding out-of-state licensure/certification:

Bloomsburg University is approved to offer Education programs that lead to certification in Pennsylvania. While we regularly monitor licensure/certification laws in each state, state requirements are subject to change without notice. If you are interested in certification outside of Pennsylvania, we encourage you to contact the appropriate state licensing agency to seek guidance and verify requirements before beginning a program and during your program of study. Please visit http://intranet.bloomu.edu/state-authorization and https://www2.ed.gov/about/contacts/state/index.html for more information. If you are planning to teach in New Jersey, please note that you may be required to complete the edTPA, a performance based assessment. It is strongly recommended that you contact the school district(s) of interest and the New Jersey Department of Education for more information specific to New Jersey.