Early Childhood Special Education

Certificate: Public Service
Credit Requirements: 27 Semester Credit Hours

The Early Childhood Special Education certificate program helps upgrade and enhance the skills of early childhood special education paraeducators and is open to those with no experience. This certificate is organized with standards from the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Paraeducators working with children from birth through age eight will be provided adequate training related to experiences in typical growth and development; curriculum issues; exceptionality and early intervention; communication systems; activity therapy; facilitation and environmental management for early childhood special education; counseling techniques; creative experiences; and safety, health and nutrition.

Admission into this program requires proof of high school graduation (or GED) and qualifying scores on SAT, ACT or the TTC placement test. Students who have transfer credits of C or better from an approved, regionally accredited postsecondary institution may not need to take the placement test. Program admission requires that students have a health assessment denoting good health, a negative tuberculosis skin test and compliance with technical standards. A clear criminal background check by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is also required. In addition to SLED background checks, some child development centers and schools may require fingerprinting. Students entering these laboratory courses may opt to be fingerprinted. Fingerprinting and a SLED background check are required for the Early Care and Education work force.

Recommended Sequence of Courses