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Arkansas

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

Arkansas does not offer a bilingual education credential; ELD/ESL is an add-on endorsement. SEI training is not mandated for all teachers. As of 2021, 8.1% of public-school students are classified English Learners (NCES). Re-verified against current SEA sources on 2026-05-08.

8.1%
classified ELs (2021-10-01)
view trend →
ELD
credential types offered

Credentials

Bilingual education

Not offered.

Arkansas does not offer a bilingual-education endorsement. Appendix A of the Rules Governing Educator Licensure (effective 2022-06-02) lists no bilingual credential. Foreign-language endorsements such as Spanish (code 710), French (248), and German (702) exist on the DESE licensure-area list but are world-language teaching credentials, not bilingual-program credentials.

ESL Endorsement

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

Branded English as a Second Language (ESL, code 247) for the Standard License path and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL, code 100) for the Ancillary License path; both are K-12 endorsements added to a primary teaching license. Per Rules §4-10.03.3 and §4-11.01, the endorsement is reachable by either an approved program of study (transcript pathway, internship 'if applicable') or by testing out — Appendix A Chart 1 marks ESOL (K-12) as available via both routes, and Chart 2 lists every first-time license level (B-K, K-6, 4-8, 4-12, 7-12, K-12, K-12 SpEd) as eligible to test out. Test-out instrument is the Praxis 5362 (English to Speakers of Other Languages), passing score 155 per the DESE Licensure Assessments page. State-prescribed competencies (Updated 2024 EEF document) cover five domains — Language, Culture, Planning/Implementing/Maintaining Instruction, Assessment, Professionalism — cross-walked to TESOL standards 1-5 and Praxis 5362 sections 1-6. No state-level minimum credit hours, clock hours, or practicum hours are published for the endorsement; approved programs set their own. No second-language proficiency requirement (ESOL is teaching English to non-English speakers, not bilingual instruction).

Sheltered English Instruction (SEI)

Not mandated for all teachers.

No statewide SEI / all-teacher EL training mandate. The current Rules Governing Educator Licensure contain no provisions requiring sheltered-instruction or EL coursework of teachers outside the ESOL endorsement; searches of the rules text for 'sheltered', 'SEI', 'all teachers', 'every teacher', and 'professional development' tied to English return no such mandate.

State policy signals

Seal of Biliteracy

Recognition for graduating students proficient in English plus another language.

Adopted in 2018.

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

ELP assessment

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

ELPA21 · ELPA21 consortium member.

Source: dese.ade.arkansas.gov (opens in a new tab)

History of licensure

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

  1. Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy adopted by State Board

    Following a 2017-03 pilot launched by AFLTA and ARKTESOL, the Arkansas State Board of Education endorsed the Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy in June 2018, recognizing high school graduates who demonstrate proficiency in English plus one or more world languages.

    dese.ade.arkansas.gov (opens in a new tab)

  2. 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 Arkansas'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)

  3. Rules Governing Educator Licensure (ADE 317-1) take effect

    Updated Rules Governing Educator Licensure take effect, codifying the K-12 ESL endorsement (code 247) and K-12 ESOL Ancillary License (code 100) pathways with both approved-program and test-out (Praxis 5362, passing 155) routes per §4-10.03.3, §4-11.01, and Appendix A Charts 1-2.

    dese.ade.arkansas.gov (opens in a new tab)

  4. DESE refreshes ESL endorsement competencies and Arkansas Teaching Standards

    DESE Educator Effectiveness Framework (EEF) republished the ESL K-12 Endorsement Competencies (TESOL- and Praxis-5362-aligned, five domains) and the Arkansas Teaching Standards (continuing to adopt the 2011 InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards as published, ten standards without expanded performance criteria).

    dese-admin.ade.arkansas.gov (opens in a new tab) · dese-admin.ade.arkansas.gov (opens in a new tab)

Sources

  1. [1] Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (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] Arkansas DESE — Rules Governing Educator Licensure (effective 2022-06-02; ADE 317-1, Agency #005.16). §4-10.03.3, §4-11.01, §4-11.02, Appendix A Charts 1 and 2. (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  4. [4] Arkansas DESE — Educator Licensure Area list (ESL = code 247 K-12 Endorsement; ESOL Ancillary = code 100; foreign-language endorsements distinct). (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  5. [5] Arkansas DESE — English as a Second Language (ESL) K-12 Endorsement Competencies (Updated 2024 EEF). TESOL- and Praxis-5362-aligned five-domain competency document. (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  6. [6] Arkansas DESE — Arkansas Teaching Standards (Updated 2024 EEF). Adopts 2011 InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards as published; ten standards, no expanded performance criteria. (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  7. [7] Arkansas DESE — Licensure Assessments (Praxis 5362 English to Speakers of Other Languages, passing score 155 for ESL endorsement). (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  8. [8] Arkansas DESE — ELPA21 assessment page (2025-2026 administration; effective 2014-09-01, revised 2026-04-30). (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  9. [9] Arkansas DESE — Arkansas Seal of Biliteracy (pilot 2017-03; State Board endorsement 2018-06; AFLTA + ARKTESOL initiative). (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  10. [10] NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 204.20 — English learners enrolled in public schools by state, fall 2021 (Arkansas: 39,763 / 8.1%). (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). Arkansas EL teacher certification. https://projectcert.org/states/ar/
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_ar_2026,
  author  = {{projectcert}},
  title   = {{Arkansas EL teacher certification}},
  year    = {2026},
  url     = {https://projectcert.org/states/ar/},
  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.