Subbing During Internship

Teacher Certification

Students in their full-time internship quarter may request permission to substitute teach in the internship classroom. All candidates (except MTF and WIETS) must get approval through the Woodring Certification Office to sub in their current internship even if you already hold a valid certificate for the district.

Department Specific Requirements for Approval

  • Elementary and Early Childhood Education: Part-time interns (ELED quarter 1&2, or ECE Quarter 1) - complete this form. Full time Interns (ELED quarter 3 or ECE Quarter 2) use the process outlined below.
  • Secondary Education: Must have completed 3 weeks in the internship. Your UIC must have had enough opportunity to observe that they feel comfortable commenting on your readiness.
  • Special Education and TEOP: You must have a completed mid-term before the request will be considered. Your UIC/Field supervisor will attach the midterm to the petition before it is forwarded to the department chair for final approval.

Steps to receive substitute certification:

  1. Contact your UIC/Field Supervisor to make sure they are ready to support your request and to verify their WWU email address, then:
  2. Get the School Request form signed by your CT and Principal
  3. Fill out the Permission to Sub During Internship Request eSign form.  Be sure to attach the signed School Request form to the Permission to Sub eSign form.
  4. Submit the Permission to Sub eSign form to your UIC/Field Supervisor at their WWU email address. 
  5. When a decision is made, the Woodring Certification Office will email you with instructions to apply for the certificate. Please do not apply to OSPI before instructed to do so, as it will result in a deficiency notice. If you don't hear back within a week, you may email cert@wwu.edu to check on the status of your request. 

Frequently Asked Questions

You can ask the district to request either certificate, but ultimately it is at the district's discretion which to request.

You must hold valid certification for the district to serve as a substitute teacher. Either the Emergency Sub Cert or the Intern Sub Cert will allow you to sub in your internship classroom. Both certificates are valid only in the requesting district. Regardless of which certificate you get, you must have permission form Woodring to sub during your internship.

Intern Substitute Certificate

Valid only while assigned as a student teacher/intern and only in the classroom(s) to which assigned. Current OSPI application fee: $57.

Emergency Substitute Certificate

Allows you to substitute in your internship classroom during your internship and anywhere in the district after your internship ends. Current OSPI application fee: $63.

The Woodring approval process cannot be rushed. Once you have been approved to sub by Woodring and have applied for the certificate with OSPI, your school district can request a rush from OSPI on the processing - this has a 48-hour turnaround. This is the only part of the process that can be "rushed". 

What you can do to speed up the process:

  • Follow the instructions on the this page and on the eSign form carefully.
  • Make sure that your UIC/Field Supervisor is aware of the urgency, so that they will act on your eSign form as soon as you submit it to them. 
  • Work with your district to make sure that they input the request for an Intern Sub Cert or Emergency Sub Cert to OSPI as soon as possible, so that you will be able to apply for it as soon as you are approved to sub. You can't apply for the certificate if the district request is not there.
  • Apply for the certificate promptly when you are instructed to do so by the Woodring Certification Office.
  • The school district can submit a rush request to OSPI after you have applied.

You will still need to go through the above process to be approved to sub in your current internship. However, if your existing certificate (either Intern Sub or Emergency Sub) is for the same school district and is still valid, the district will not need to put in a request to OSPI and you will not need to apply and pay for it.  You will be able to sub with your existing certificate. Contact cert@wwu.edu.

 

The certificate will be issued by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) - the Washington State governmental agency that oversees teacher certification. 

OSPI charges an application fee of $57 for the Intern Sub Cert and $63 for the Emergency Sub Cert. This payment goes to OSPI for processing the application. It is not paid to WWU. 

An Emergency Sub Cert will allow you to sub in any classroom in the requesting district after your internship has ended and before your Residency Certificate is issued.  

The Woodring Certification Office will recommend you to OSPI for a Residency certificate when all program requirements are verified as being successfully completed and both grades and Bachelor’s degree are posted to your transcript.  The Woodring Certification Office will also email you regarding the timeline for completion during your internship.  You may also contact cert@wwu.edu with questions on the process or your certification status. 

Depending upon the schedule of your substitute teaching assignment, which cannot conflict with your student teaching responsibilities in the other classroom, it is possible that you will not be able to use the Intern Substitute Certificate. You can use this certificate in either classroom if there are no scheduling conflicts.

If approved, you will receive an email notification to apply for the Intern Sub Cert through the OSPI eCertification system.

If not approved, you will be advised of the rationale behind that decision, which is not subject to appeal.