Alternative Teacher Certification in South Dakota

South Dakota alternative certification requirements, step by step

Each requirement below is stated as South Dakota Department of Education — Office of Educator Certification publishes it, with the governing source cited.

1. 1

   Obtain a two-year Alternative Preliminary Certificate

   Before applying for teaching positions, hold an Alternative Preliminary Certificate (ARSD 24:28:10). For general education, a bachelor’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution is required. The preliminary certificate is valid two years, costs $20, and does not authorize teaching—it only allows a district to hire you. Create a mySD account and apply in the Educator Portal.

   Source: doe.sd.gov

2. 2

   Accept employment and convert to a one-year Alternative Certificate

   After a qualifying offer from a South Dakota public or Department-accredited school, apply for the General Education (or CTE, TFA, or special education) alternative certificate. The district completes Form AC1 (intent to employ). The school must document that it attempted but was unable to hire a teacher with a professional or advanced certificate, offer mentoring, provide the Code of Professional Ethics, and train the applicant on the evaluation system (ARSD 24:28:11:08).

   Source: doe.sd.gov

3. 3

   Complete coursework and Praxis tests within three years

   The general education alternative route must be finished in the three years allowed. Each year, submit an Alternative Certification Renewal application ($25) with proof of progress—an official transcript for a required course, a passing Praxis scoresheet, or registration for a required course or test—and have the district file Form AC2 (annual progress report).

   Source: doe.sd.gov

4. 4

   Transition to the five-year professional certificate

   When all requirements are complete and the district offers a contract renewal, apply to transition using the Alternative Certification Renewal application and Form AC8 district sign-off. The published transition fee is $60 for a five-year professional certificate. The district affirms mentoring and ethics compliance.

   Source: doe.sd.gov

The preliminary-versus-teaching split is the feature most out-of-state career changers miss. The Alternative Preliminary Certificate is a two-year hunting license: you may be hired, but you may not teach on it. Only after a public or Department-accredited school signs an intent to employ do you receive the one-year alternative teaching certificate. Districts must also certify they could not hire a professionally certified teacher first. That shortage documentation requirement, written into ARSD 24:28:11:08, makes the route dependent on local labor-market facts, not just the candidate’s degree.

General education alternative certification is content-limited. DOE’s application-options guidance states GE applicants may not teach early childhood education, elementary self-contained or subject-specific grades K–4, early childhood special education, or special education. Those assignments have separate alternative or preparation routes. Teach for America participants use a parallel TFA alternative certificate with similar elementary and special-education exclusions. CTE alternative certification can rest on an A.A.S., 4,000 hours of work experience, or a national CTE credential instead of a bachelor’s degree.

Progress is paper-heavy and annual. Year-two and year-three renewals need both candidate evidence (transcript, Praxis score, or registration) and district Form AC2. The three-year clock is stated on the certificate email; missing a renewal drops the educator into invalid-certificate rules that demand three transcripted credits. Form AC8 is the only district sign-off that authorizes the professional certificate, and it includes ethics and mentoring attestations. Candidates who change districts mid-route must re-establish those district duties with the new employer.

Fees escalate by design: $20 to be eligible for hire, $25 each year of teaching on the alternative certificate, then $60 to land on the same five-year professional credential traditional completers buy up front. Paying the professional $60 at the start of an alternative route is the wrong application. Combining an alternative-certificate renewal with a teacher or administrator renewal at the same time is listed at $60 for five years, which is the only published way to avoid stacking a $25 alternative fee beside a separate professional renewal.

Required exams and fees

South Dakota uses ETS Praxis II content and pedagogy assessments (state-designated test list). Fees and cut scores appear only when published by the cited source (as of September 2026).

Moving a license to South Dakota

South Dakota’s alternative certificates are in-state employment routes. Reciprocity for someone who already completed an alternative program in another state is a separate application path described on the Certification FAQ. General education alternative applicants may not teach early childhood, elementary self-contained or subject-specific grades K–4, early childhood special education, or special education.

Official South Dakota reciprocity guidance