SPED Comprehensive K-12
2025-2026 UT PLAYS Initial Licensure and Additional Endorsements Apps are OPEN!
SPED Comprehensive K-12
UT - Personal Learning at Your Speed (PLAYS) - Special Education Comprehensive K-12 Program aims to address the shortage of highly qualified special education teachers in Tennessee by providing an accessible program by which current teachers can concurrently become fluent in special education content and pedagogy and add a Special Education Comprehensive K-12 (461) endorsement to their current Tennessee educator’s license.
If you would like to teach in a Comprehensive K-12 setting now, UT-PLAYS Special Education provides an opportunity to receive a Provisional Special Education Comprehensive K-12 Endorsement (Endorsement Code 195) while completing our online program.
Coursework can be completed in approximately 100 clock-hours. On your own time and at your own pace.
The cost of the program is $1250 for a year subscription.
All course materials will be provided to candidates with a subscription. The subscription covers the cost of 1 Praxis exam. All others are the responsibility of the teacher candidate.
In TN, a Comprehensive K-12 license allows educators to teach in special education positions working with students with "low-incidence" disabilities. Low-incidence is a general term used to describe disabilities that occur in low numbers within a general population. Some examples of low-incidence disabilities include:
AT UT-PLAYS, we are committed to postsecondary success for ALL students. With high expectations for learning, proper supports, and appropriate adaptations or modifications, ALL students can succeed in the general curriculum. By actively participating in the UT-PLAYS Special Education Comprehensive K-12 program, you will learn about evidence-based-, research-based-, and high-leverage practices for teaching and assessing students with moderate to severe cognitive disabilities. You will learn how to properly support access to the general curriculum. Additionally, you will learn about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 and how this law applies to teaching students with moderate to severe disabilities, including writing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and the concepts of Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) and the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). In short, we will prepare you to teach (and learn from!) individuals with moderate to severe disabilities.
Currently, TDOE requires the following two Praxis Exams to meet license requirements for Comprehensive K-12 Special Education:
Praxis 5547 Special Education: Severe to Profound Applications AND
Praxis 5205 Teaching Reading: Elementary
Please note, licensing requirements are subject to change and you should always consult the TN Praxis website for the most up to date information. If you have questions regarding Praxis requirements related to any tests you have taken in the past, please reach out to Educator Licensure.
UT-PLAYS Special Education participants earn approved Professional Development Points as they progress through the Comprehensive K-12 program. The PDPs are aligned with The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)'s Professional Preparation Standards and TN Literacy and Specialty Area Standards and cover: Foundations of Special Education, Developmental and Learning Needs, Assessment & Eligibility, Standards-Based IEPs, Communication & Functional Skills, Evidence-based and High-Leverage Practices for Academic Instruction, Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Evidence-Based and High-Leverage Practices, and Foundational Literacy Skills.
The 2025-2026 Additional Endorsement Application is Now Open!