projectcert

All states / Alaska

Alaska

Verified against current sources (2026-05-08) Cite this page ↓

Alaska offers Bilingual Education both as a standalone certification and as an add-on endorsement; ELD/ESL is available both as a standalone license and as an add-on endorsement. SEI training is not mandated for all teachers. As of 2021, 10.8% of public-school students are classified English Learners (NCES). Re-verified against current SEA sources on 2026-05-08.

10.8%
classified ELs (2021-10-01)
view trend →
Bil + ELD
credential types offered

Credentials

Bilingual Education Endorsement

  • Standalone certification
  • Add-on endorsement
Approved program
Unknown
Coursework
Required
Practicum
Required
Subject test
Not required
Language proficiency
Not required

Approved program courses required to include Native American/multicultural education. Standalone 'Bilingual Education' endorsement listed under World Languages on DEED's available-endorsements page; add-on pathway via approved program (4 AAC 12).

ESL Endorsement

  • Standalone certification
  • Add-on endorsement
Approved program
Required
Coursework
Unknown
Practicum
Unknown
Subject test
Required

Standalone 'English as a Second Language' and 'English as a Foreign Language' endorsements remain offered. Approved-program completion is the only method to add grade levels; content-area exam passing scores required. DEED also lists a 'Statewide English as a Second Language Acquisition, Bilingual and Literacy Education (SLABEL)' umbrella endorsement; no separate adoption date located in current SEA pages.

Sheltered English Instruction (SEI)

Not mandated for all teachers.

State policy signals

Seal of Biliteracy

Recognition for graduating students proficient in English plus another language.

Adopted in 2022.

Source: sealofbiliteracy.org (opens in a new tab)

ELP assessment

Annual English Language Proficiency test used for EL identification and reclassification.

ACCESS for ELLs · WIDA Consortium member.

Source: education.alaska.gov (opens in a new tab)

History of licensure

Dated policy and verification events shaping this state's EL teacher credentials.

  1. Alaska Bilingual-Bicultural Education Act enacted (Ch. 137, SLA 1972)

    Alaska's Bilingual-Bicultural Education Act, codified at AS 14.30.400, requires every district enrolling 8 or more students of limited English proficiency from the same primary language background to operate a bilingual-bicultural education program — among the lowest enrollment thresholds of any state mandate. Originally enacted in 1972 in response to litigation over the State's failure to serve Alaska Native students in their heritage languages (notably the Tobeluk v. Lind / Molly Hootch consent decree pipeline that opened village high schools), the statute remains on the books and is the legal foundation for DEED's bilingual/bicultural credentialing pathways and the Alaska Native language immersion programs the State funds today.

    akleg.gov (opens in a new tab)

  2. Alaska designates 20 Alaska Native languages as official languages of the State (HB 216)

    Governor signed HB 216 (codified at AS 44.12.310) recognizing Iñupiaq, Siberian Yupik, Central Alaskan Yupʼik, Alutiiq, Unangax̂, Dena'ina, Deg Xinag, Holikachuk, Koyukon, Upper Kuskokwim, Gwichʼin, Lower Tanana, Upper Tanana, Tanacross, Hän, Ahtna, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian as official languages of Alaska alongside English. The act is symbolic — it does not require state government to publish in these languages — but it is the legal predicate for DEED's continued investment in Alaska Native language teacher endorsements and the 2024 Limited World Language Immersion certificate, and it is cited in subsequent Indigenous-language education-funding decisions.

    akleg.gov (opens in a new tab)

  3. EPAA 29(100) document analysis (Leider, Colombo & Nerlino, 2021)

    Leider, Colombo & Nerlino published in Education Policy Analysis Archives 29(100) a comprehensive document analysis of every state and DC's bilingual, ELD/ESL, and SEI teacher-credentialing requirements, professional teaching standards mentions, and EL-percentage figures, based on primary SEA sources collected October–December 2019. The 2019 coding of Alaska's EL-credentialing landscape is preserved as a temporally-anchored research baseline against which the catalog's later verifications are framed.

    doi.org (opens in a new tab)

  4. Alaska adopts WIDA ELD Standards Framework 2020

    On 2021-06-10 the Alaska State Board of Education adopted the WIDA English Language Development Standards Framework, 2020 Edition (K–12) as Alaska's English Language Proficiency standards, in use since the 2021-22 school year. Cements Alaska's WIDA Consortium membership and ACCESS for ELLs assessment use.

    education.alaska.gov (opens in a new tab)

  5. Alaska adopts Seal of Biliteracy (4 AAC 06.077)

    Alaska State Board of Education adopted 4 AAC 06.077 establishing the Alaska State Seal of Biliteracy, recognizing graduating high school students who attain proficiency in English plus one or more world languages. Alaska was the 49th state to adopt a state Seal of Biliteracy.

    education.alaska.gov (opens in a new tab) · aws.state.ak.us (opens in a new tab)

  6. Alaska Reads Act takes effect

    The Alaska Reads Act (HB 114, 2022) takes effect, mandating evidence-based reading instruction in K-3 and authorizing the K-3 Teacher and K-3 Administrator endorsements. Not EL-specific but applies to ELL/ESL support teachers serving K-3 students.

    education.alaska.gov (opens in a new tab)

  7. Limited world language immersion teacher certificate regs effective

    Regulations 4 AAC 12.388, 4 AAC 12.397, and 4 AAC 12.405 establishing a Limited world language immersion teacher certificate take effect (filed 2024-07-22; published Register 251, October 2024). Expands pathways for native-speaker world-language and bilingual immersion educators.

    aws.state.ak.us (opens in a new tab)

  8. Alaska Reads Act K-3 endorsement requirement takes effect

    Effective 2025-07-01 (no extension or grace period), all K-3 educators in Alaska — including new hires and including SPED and ELL/ESL support teachers — must hold the AK Reads Act K-3 Teacher endorsement before working in any K-3 classroom (AS 14.20.015(c); 4 AAC 12.305).

    education.alaska.gov (opens in a new tab)

Sources

  1. [1] Alaska DEED Teacher Certification (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2019-11-15 (via Leider et al. 2021)
  2. [2] Leider, Colombo & Nerlino (2021), EPAA 29(100). Tables 2-5 + Appendix A. (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2019-11-15 (via Leider et al. 2021)
  3. [3] Alaska DEED — Available Endorsements (Bilingual Education, ESL, EFL, SLABEL listed under World Languages / Teaching Endorsements) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  4. [4] Alaska DEED — Teaching Certificates (Initial / Professional pathways; Alaska studies + multicultural coursework) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  5. [5] 4 AAC 04.200 — Standards for Alaska's teachers (beginning teacher content & performance standards) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  6. [6] Alaska DEED — Alaska Teacher Content Standards Definitions and Framework Alignment (Danielson / CEL 5D+ / Marzano) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  7. [7] Alaska DEED — English Language Proficiency Standards (WIDA ELD Standards Framework 2020 adopted 2021-06-10) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  8. [8] Alaska DEED — Alaska Seal of Biliteracy (4 AAC 06.077, adopted 2022) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  9. [9] NCES Condition of Education 2024 — English Learners in Public Schools (Fall 2021: AK 10.8%) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  10. [10] Alaska Online Public Notices — Title 4 regs re: Limited world language immersion teacher certificate and Seal of Biliteracy (effective 2024-08-21) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  11. [11] Alaska DEED — Alaska Reads Act endorsements (effective 2025-07-01 for all K-3 teachers including ELL/ESL support) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08

Cite this page

Site content is published under CC BY 4.0. When citing a fact from this page, please cite both projectcert and the original Leider et al. (2021) paper the dataset extends.

APA
projectcert. (2026, May 8). Alaska EL teacher certification. https://projectcert.org/states/ak/
Leider, C. M., Colombo, M. W., & Nerlino, E. (2021). Decentralization, teacher quality, and the education of English learners: Do state education agencies effectively prepare teachers of ELs? Education Policy Analysis Archives, 29(100). https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.29.5279
BibTeX
@misc{projectcert_ak_2026,
  author  = {{projectcert}},
  title   = {{Alaska EL teacher certification}},
  year    = {2026},
  url     = {https://projectcert.org/states/ak/},
  urldate = {2026-05-08},
  note    = {Last verified 2026-05-08}
}
@article{leider2021decentralization,
  author  = {Leider, Christine M. and Colombo, Michaela W. and Nerlino, Erika},
  title   = {{Decentralization, teacher quality, and the education of English learners: Do state education agencies effectively prepare teachers of ELs?}},
  journal = {Education Policy Analysis Archives},
  volume  = {29},
  number  = {100},
  year    = {2021},
  doi     = {10.14507/epaa.29.5279}
}

See the methodology for how these data were collected, or the glossary for term definitions.