Option 6 Temporary Certificate 

Letter of Eligibility to Use When Applying for Teaching Jobs

• When applying for a teaching position, the district will require the MAT candidate to upload a teaching certificate. The letter or eligibility takes the place of this teaching certificate while the MAT candidate is completing coursework. 

• In order for WKU to provide this letter, the MAT candidate must have submitted all items on the School of Teacher Education departmental application.

• The letter of eligibility will be emailed to the MAT candidate using the candidate’s WKU email address. 

• The letter is valid for 90 days from the date it is created. 

• If a candidate’s letter has expired before obtaining a teaching job, then he/she may email teacher.certification@wku.edu to request a new letter. 

Option 6 Temporary Certification

If a school district plans to hire an MAT candidate:  

• The MAT candidate may only teach in the content/grade level band that the candidate is seeking certification.

• MAT candidates must be in good standing at the university for at least 6 hours during each school year that the district applies for the temporary Option 6 certificate. 

• A candidate may teach on this Option 6 temporary certificate for up to five years. The only exception is special education and early childhood majors. Those candidates only have 3 years of Option 6 temporary certificates. The district must apply on behalf of the MAT candidate each year. 

• The state requires a minimum of 2.75 cumulative GPA or 3.0 in the last 30 hours to apply for the Option 6 certificate. 

• WKU will provide a mentor agreement that must be completed by the university mentor, the district mentor, and the MAT candidate.  The completed document must be emailed to teacher.certification@wku.edu and will  be submitted to EPSB along with the CA-TP (application for an Option 6 temporary provisional certificate) when completed. This mentor agreement is a requirement by EPSB. A new mentor agreement is needed each year that a new CA-TP application is made by the hiring school district. 

• Per the mentor agreement, the district will provide a district level mentor to provide at least 10 hours of support for the MAT candidate for each school year. The district is responsible for managing what the district mentoring looks like. WKU does not have any compensation available to the district mentor. 

• Per the mentor agreement, WKU will provide a university based mentor to provide 5 hours of support, per school year, for candidates teaching with an Option 6 temporary certificate. This support will be in-person, when available, or it may be conducted virtually with observations managed electronically.

• The MAT candidate must pass all Praxis exams before earning a professional license and once coursework is completed, another Option 6 certificate may not be requested. Students are exited from WKU’s program once all coursework has been completed. 

• This regulation may be reviewed here: Option 6 Temporary Provisional Certificate. 

• A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required at graduation to become certified in KY.  

When awarded by the Educational Professional Standards Board (EPSB), it is important to submit a copy of the Option 6 temporary teaching certificate to the graduate school, even if you used an emergency substitute certificate to first gain access to the program and discount. This certificate makes you eligible for the KY Teacher Tuition Discount.