Section 25.215  Endorsement for School Social Workers

a)         The school social worker endorsement shall be affixed to a PEL. 

b)         Each individual seeking a PEL endorsed for school social worker shall complete the requirements set forth in Section 25.25.

c)         Each individual seeking the school support personnel endorsement for school social worker shall hold a master's or higher degree in social work with a specialization in school social work awarded by a graduate school of social work accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.

d)         Each individual shall:

1)         complete an Illinois program approved for the preparation of school social workers pursuant to Subpart C or a comparable approved program (including an internship) in another state or country; or

2)         hold a comparable certificate or license issued by another state or country (see Section 25.425).

e)         If completing an Illinois approved program, each candidate shall have completed both a supervised field experience of at least 400 contact hours, supervised by a field instructor holding a master's or higher degree in social work, and a school social work internship of at least 600 contact hours in a school setting or have one year of professional experience as a school social worker on a valid, comparable out-of-state school social work certificate or license that allows the holder to work as a school social worker in that state's public schools, or an Illinois educator license with stipulations for provisional educator with a school support personnel endorsement for school social worker.

f)         Each candidate shall be required to pass the applicable content-area test (see Section 25.710), subject to the provisions of Section 25.720. 

g)         The following experience shall be honored in lieu of an internship:

1)         one year of professional experience as a school social worker on a valid, comparable out-of-state certificate or license that allows the holder to work as a school social worker in that state's public schools; or

2)         one year of full-time experience working as a school social worker on a short-term approval and a proficient or higher evaluation rating.

(Source:  Amended at 45 Ill. Reg. 7269, effective June 3, 2021)