A certificate extension or endorsement issued under CA-HQ is permitted only in the areas of English, mathematics, sciences, foreign languages, or social studies. Health and physical education areas may be added only for those teachers holding the correlative certificate.

This option may be particularly interesting to teachers who wish to extend or add to their certificates due to changes in school configurations within their districts. For example, a teacher who has been teaching 6th grade math with a K-4/P-5 certificate is allowed to do so in a P-6 school configuration. However, this assignment is “out-of-field” should the district change to a 6-8 middle school configuration. Likewise, those teachers currently holding high school certification may be interested in extending their grade range down to grade 5 via a CA-HQ.

• A valid Kentucky professional teaching certificate.
• Current employment in a certified position, or a recommendation from a Kentucky public school, or approval of the local district superintendent.
• A major in the area of certification being sought or successful completion of the applicable content assessments.
• A combination of education, experience, professional development, awards and achievements in the area of certification being sought sufficient to demonstrate subject matter competency as evidenced by a score of ninety (90) points on the index contained within the application form, CA-HQ.

NOTE: Educators holding the following credentials may NOT apply for the Highly Qualified (CA-HQ) Route: emergency, adjunct, temporary, temporary provisional, conditional, probationary, or occupation-based.

It is suggested that you first view the CA-HQ application form to determine if you have a combination of teaching experience, college credit hours, high quality professional development activities, and the appropriate Kentucky Praxis II test to reach the 90 points needed on the KY CA-HQ Index. Remember that all the above requirements must be in the new certification area sought for the purposes of the CA-HQ route

Candidates interested in this option should work with their district’s human resources office for the appropriate documentation of activities and approval signatures to complete the form. If applicable, work with an approved Kentucky university for a course analysis. This is required for all applicants using college credit hours as a part of their CA-HQ application.

A Praxis II content assessment is often required. The only scenario in which the candidate would NOT have to take the assessment for the appropriate subject area/grade range is when the teacher has a declared major area and is wishing to extend grade range in that area from high school certification to middle school certification. For example, a teacher who is fully certified in Mathematics, Grades 8-12, would not need to take a Praxis II test to apply for extending that certificate to Mathematics, Grades 5-9.

If the applicant currently holds a high school subject-specific certificate, has a declared major in the subject area, and wishes only for the subject area to be extended to cover middle school grades, the applicant must make the appropriate payment through the KECS system. This type of modification may usually be processed in the EPSB office within 10 working days or less.

However, if the applicant is selecting an option that would entail the taking of a Praxis examination and transcript analysis, the cost will vary according to the examination cost. In addition to the applicable processing fee through the KECS, candidates are responsible for paying the cost of the Praxis examination(s) and $96.00 for the transcript analysis. The timeframe for obtaining these types of modifications varies according to when the applicant is able to take and receive scores for the applicable Praxis test(s). Once these scores are received, transcript reviews will take five working days, and then the EPSB office will process the certificate in 10 working days or less.

No. Applicants must understand that the process is dependent upon a variety of factors including:

• The successful passing of a Praxis test and/or having a declared major in the appropriate subject area.
• The accumulation of 90 points on the CA-HQ application form, which will include the transcript analysis, along with the other experience factors.

However, applicants who are seeking a downward grade range extension and have a declared major in the subject area should receive the CA-HQ.

EPSB has contracted with a consortium of Kentucky universities to serve in this role. This review is done on the CA-HQ form and universities which may conduct the transcript review are listed on that form.