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All states / Vermont

Vermont

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

Vermont offers Bilingual Education as an add-on endorsement; ELD/ESL is an add-on endorsement. SEI training is not mandated for all teachers. As of 2021, 2.0% of public-school students are classified English Learners (NCES). Re-verified against current SEA sources on 2026-05-08.

2.0%
classified ELs (2021-10-01)
view trend →
Bil + ELD
credential types offered

Credentials

Bilingual Education Endorsement (#39)

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

VSBPE Rule 5440-39 Bilingual Education (revised June 2018). Add-on endorsement only, layered on a base endorsement (early childhood, elementary, middle grades, special ed, ELL, science, social studies, math, or English language arts). Knowledge Standard 1.1 requires 'measurable academic language proficiency in English and a second language including listening, speaking, reading and writing skills'; the rule does not name a specific proficiency exam. Practicum required in Bilingual/Dual Language Education at the PK-6 or 7-12 level (PK-12 authorization requires a practicum at both levels). Approved-program pathway is the standard route (endorsement 39 is not on the Transcript Review list at Rule 5230).

English Learner Endorsement (#40)

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

VSBPE Rule 5440-40 English Language Multilingual Learner (revised August 2015, May 2022; abbreviated 'ELLML'). Five competency standards: Knowledge About Language; Multilingual Learners in the Sociocultural Context; Planning and Implementing Instruction; Assessment and Evaluation; Professionalism and Leadership. Approved Educator preparation program is the standard pathway (endorsement 40 is not on the Transcript Review list). Practicum required at PK-8 or 5-12 (PK-12 authorization requires both). Required test: Praxis II ESOL (test code 5362) per Rule 5246. Rule 5440-40 §1.2 explicitly aligns to WIDA English Language Development Standards.

Sheltered English Instruction (SEI)

Not mandated for all teachers.

Vermont has no general SEI/sheltered-instruction mandate for all teachers. EL instruction is delivered by educators holding endorsement 40 (ELLML); the Core Teaching Standards (5235) reference linguistic diversity but do not require EL-specific competency from every license holder.

State policy signals

Seal of Biliteracy

Recognition for graduating students proficient in English plus another language.

Adopted in 2020.

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: wida.wisc.edu (opens in a new tab)

History of licensure

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

  1. Rule 5440-39 revision (Bilingual endorsement)

    The Vermont Standards Board for Professional Educators revised Rule 5440-39, clarifying the Bilingual endorsement as an add-on credential and aligning its standards with current bilingual-instruction practice.

    education.vermont.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 Vermont'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. Vermont Seal of Biliteracy adoption

    Vermont established the State Seal of Biliteracy, recognizing high-school graduates demonstrating proficiency in English and one or more additional languages. The seal is administered by the Agency of Education in coordination with the Vermont State Seal of Biliteracy Council.

    vtsealofbiliteracy.org (opens in a new tab)

  4. Rule 5440-40 revision: English Language Multilingual Learner endorsement

    Rule 5440-40 was revised to rename and restructure Vermont's ELD endorsement as the English Language Multilingual Learner (ELLML) endorsement, aligning naming conventions with current asset-based framing.

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

Sources

  1. [1] Vermont Agency of 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] VSBPE Rules Governing the Licensing of Educators (5000-5800), revised June 2022 — endorsements 5440-39 Bilingual Education and 5440-40 English Language Multilingual Learner (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  4. [4] Vermont Core Teaching and Leadership Standards (Vermont Standards Board for Professional Educators) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  5. [5] NCES Condition of Education 2024 — English Learners in Public Schools (state-level data, fall 2021) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  6. [6] Seal of Biliteracy — state listing for Vermont (Approved State Seal, Adoption Date 2020-12-01) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  7. [7] WIDA Consortium membership (Vermont) (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). Vermont EL teacher certification. https://projectcert.org/states/vt/
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_vt_2026,
  author  = {{projectcert}},
  title   = {{Vermont EL teacher certification}},
  year    = {2026},
  url     = {https://projectcert.org/states/vt/},
  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.