If you are interested in teaching in Wyoming, you must provide documentation as proof that you have finished an educator preparation program that is offered by an accredited college or university (under Institutional Recommendation (IR) for licensure if you are out-of-state) that required you to complete student teaching. Next, you must fulfill the Wyoming Teacher Certification Requirements that includes having official transcripts from the program, providing fingerprint cards and background checks, having knowledge of both the U.S. and Wyoming Constitutions, and submitting the application itself. If you are from an out-of-state program, you do not need to worry about obtaining certification in Wyoming, but your program must allow you to be licensed in Wyoming.
If you have acquired a license in another state through an alternative route and have taught for at least three years where you were approved, here are the steps that you must take to be able to teach in Wyoming:
If you did not meet the listed requirements for work history, you can teach within a Wyoming school district as long as you qualify for the following situations:
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You are required to prove your comprehension of the United States and Wyoming Constitutions in one of the two options listed below:
Option A: Coursework: You can show your knowledge of the U.S. Constitution if you took any courses that study U.S. History before 1865. Political Science courses are also valid as long as you cover the Constitution by either analyzing the governance with its political activities and effects or theorizing the policies of the Constitution with its laws on both the national and international government levels. The Professional Teaching Standards Board (PTSB) could also require you to submit specific information about the courses you have taken. The courses must have a passing grade of a "C" or higher.
Option B: Examination: The exam contains two parts: a multiple-choice section and a list of 20 questions. Some of these questions refer to the U.S. Constitution and involves the purpose of the amendments with their basic freedoms, the concept of naturalization, the functions of the three branches of government, the determination of constituting treason, and the responsibilities of Congress. As for the Wyoming Constitution, there will be questions that refer to Wyoming's pioneering past, its constitutional provisions regarding religion, the qualifications for both state senator and representative, the principal powers of the Governor, the names and locations of state institutions, and what the State Board of Control is.
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Create AccountIf you like to be certified to teach with endorsements in either Elementary Education or Social Studies Composite, be sure to take the Praxis II exam. For Elementary Education, take the Praxis II Elementary Education Multiple Subjects and earn a passing grade in every subtest. For Social Studies Composite (for Grades 6-12), take the Praxis II Social Studies 5081 / 0081 and earn a passing grade of 158 or higher.
You must complete any program involving the use of instruction of skills, foundational knowledge, and the concepts of teaching. There is a $1,000 scholarship program, known as the Superior Student in Education Scholarship, that requires you to be enrolled in an education program at the University of Wyoming. The Professional Teaching Standards Board (PTSB) uses the accreditation system to confirm whether your institution is qualified as an intellectual facility with an approved educator preparation program. Any private or public post-secondary institution where you finished the program must be approved by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and the United States Department of Education (USDE).
A) Proof of full-time teaching or administrative work for up to or including the past 10 years that has been signed by an administrator.
B) A document of your current and appropriate Teaching Certificate or License from your state.
C) A document of your Wyoming test scores from Praxis II exams or another acceptable exam from your state.
Option A: Institutional Recommendation (Preferred Method)
This option guarantees that your area(s) of endorsement are known within all states. There are no required tests or additional fees if you have this endorsement when you apply for an Initial license, a Reinstatement, or if you renew your current license.
Option B: Demonstration of Competency
This option requires you to take and pass a Praxis II exam (or Praxis Subject Assessment) in your desired endorsement area, but it does not hold the assurance of being recognized in any state.
If you are looking for a Professional Industry Career Permit (PICP) to teach middle schoolers and are available for the anticipated endorsement, you only need to take and pass the Praxis content section for your subject area by meeting the Praxis passing scores.
If you are temporarily visiting the United States, you are eligible for the Visiting Foreign Teacher Permit. Additionally, you must also pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The exam is offered as a Paper-Based Test (PBT) and an Internet-Based Test (IBT) and the passing scores are 540 and 76 respectively.
If you are seeking to add a world language endorsement through the Demonstration of Competency (DOC) method or are mandated to add one in another contemporary licensure route, you need to have at least the minimum proficiency level of "Advanced Low" in the Oral Proficiency Interview exam (OPI). If you are looking to add American Sign Language (ASL) as a Foreign Language through DOC, you are required to pass either the American Sign Language Proficiency Interview (ASLPI) with the score of 3rd level or the Sign Language Proficiency Interview (SLPI): ASL with at least the passing score of "Advanced".
You must submit two blue FBI Fingerprint Cards to satisfy the Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigation (DCI). You must indicate any prior criminal conviction and submit the necessary legal documentation and a statement of the circumstances of the conviction. You must be re-fingerprinted for Wyoming per state statute due to how PTSB no longer accepts background reports from other agencies and cannot grant exceptions even if you were fingerprinted recently or years prior. You must contact your local school district for a recommendation on where to do so within your community.
You must review the entire application packet before submitting your entry. You must prepare for any fees associated with your application. For example, if you do not have a valid license or permit through PTSB, there will be an additional $50 to the processing fee which is non-refundable. You can pay with a credit card, personal check, money order, or cashier's check. You must then inform PTSB of your payment method when you submit your application packet to them through either email, fax, or mail. Do not send your fingerprint cards through email or fax.
The following chart shows the time lengths of the processing of the fingerprint cards. They are only estimates; the processing time may be shorter or longer due to a specific circumstance.
| Fingerprints | During the School Year | During the Summer Months |
| Optional | 2-4 weeks | 4-6 weeks |
| Required | 6-8 weeks | 8-12 weeks |
If you are interested in attending any workshop that covers what the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) offers, please search for the schedule of the Professional Teaching Standards Board's (PTSB) upcoming workshops on their website. When you attend a workshop, you must know that successful completion of in-service/staff development credit may be used to renew a license or permit. The credits you earn are based on the number of contact hours, the content of the professional development, and the credentials of the instructor. You must be sure that the workshop is approved by the PTSB and sign in on the sign-up sheet provided by the coordinator.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the yearly average wage of teachers in Wyoming is slightly lower than the national average wage of about $54, 520; Wyoming teachers earn approximately $48, 230 a year. Their annual mean wage was approximately $103, 010 despite the distinctions of payment. There are around 337 public schools in Wyoming, with 24 of them being classified as alternatives. As for private schools, there are 37 of them that serve about 2,674 students in Wyoming for the 2022 school year. There are 7,000 full-time teachers who individually handle roughly 13 students as the average student-teacher ratio. Additionally, you should know that school districts within suburban and urban areas are more likely to pay teachers higher salaries than rural areas with smaller school districts. For instance, the Wyoming School Boards Association (WSBA) reported that teachers in districts like Cheyenne and Laramie have more income than those located in smaller areas such as Platte.
| Teaching Level in Wyoming | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| Preschool Teachers | $30, 260 |
| Kindergarten Teachers | $60, 900 |
| Elementary School Teachers | $61, 100 |
| Middle School Teachers | $64, 210 |
| Secondary School Teachers | $63, 820 |
Source: *BLS
Katie Slaughter, M.A. has taught middle school science and math for over 6 years. She has helped lay a foundation for personalized learning in her school and has presented internationally about what she is doing in her classroom. She has successfully passed numerous Praxis exams. Katie completed a B.S. in Marine Science from Coastal Carolina University and an M.A. in Teaching from Georgetown College.
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