Idaho State Department of Education (SDE)

Be An Educator Public Service Awareness Video

Join our winning team!

Welcome,

If inspiring children to unlock their potential calls to you, my team at the State Department of Education stands ready to help you on the path to becoming an educator.

Whether you are in high school, college, or considering a career change, there is a pathway to becoming an Idaho Educator that is right for you. To find your path, please explore the resources on this page or visit the Certification and Professional Standards webpage.

Once you earn your educator certificate, I invite you to stay right here in Idaho. You will find a caring, supportive education environment focused on student learning and improving instruction.

I would be remiss if I did not share what I discovered more than 20 years ago: Idaho is a beautiful place to live and raise a family and to be an educator!

Again, please reach out to my team if you need a little help navigating the path to becoming an educator.

Sincerely,

Sherri Ybarra, Ed.S.
Superintendent of Public Instruction

Pathways to becoming an Idaho educator

The path to becoming an educator for most individuals includes earning at least a bachelor’s degree. In high school, a student can:
- Learn and explore careers in education through Idaho’s Career Information System
- Pursue a course of study that will prepare you for college and take classes in subject areas that you might be interested in teaching such as math or science.
- Talk with educators about how they prepared and what courses they took in high school and college.

The path to becoming an educator for most individuals includes earning at least a bachelor’s degree. Some Career & Technical Education educators can qualify as an Occupational Specialist without a bachelor’s degree based on their work experience and other factors.

Below are contacts for the Colleges of Education in the State of Idaho and information about non-traditional routes and other options.

Idaho College/University

Boise State University »
1 (208) 426-2708

Brigham Young University-Idaho, Rexburg »
1 (208) 496-1411

College of Idaho, Caldwell »
1 (208) 459-5212

Idaho State University, Pocatello »
1 (208) 282-2783

Lewis-Clark State College, Lewiston »
1 (208) 792-2260

Northwest Nazarene University, Nampa »
1 (208) 467-8023

University of Idaho, Moscow »
1 (208) 885-6039

Non-traditional Route - Idaho

American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) »

College of Southern Idaho »

Lewis-Clark State College »

Teach for America »

Other Options

For a list of out-of-state educator preparation programs, visit the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation website.

The path to becoming an educator for most individuals includes earning at least a bachelor’s degree. Some Career & Technical Education educators can qualify as an Occupational Specialist without a bachelor’s degree based on work experience and other factors. If you have a bachelor’s degree, you should contact a College of Education or consider one of the nontraditional routes available in Idaho.