Apply for ESOL Tuition Assistance

Applications submitted on time with all required documentation will be rubric-scored by a selection committee composed of district representatives, K-12EL Program Director, and KSU faculty.

• If an application is submitted but not selected for program admission, the application will go on a waitlist for three months OR until the subsequent cohort begins courses, whichever comes first.
• If a position in the cohort becomes available (e.g., due to a drop or withdrawal) before the cohort begins courses, the selection committee will choose a waitlist candidate to fill the spot.
• If an application is submitted but not selected, the applicant may update and re-submit her/his application again during the following recruitment period.

If admitted to the program, participants:

• Must complete all requirements for the three courses.
  • A consent form must be signed to participate. Due to the federal reporting requirements of the project, data on participants will be reported annually. Those data will never be shared with non-project staff.
  • As part of the consent form, staff will schedule up to two in-class visits each semester with each participant. The visit will include a collection of data that complement course learning and fulfill federal reporting requirements. Those data will not be shared with non-project staff.
• Must attend face-to-face meetings at the beginning and end of each course semester.
  • If a participant cannot attend, they should email the K-12EL Program Director and course instructor in advance. Reasonable accommodations will be made for planned absences.
• Must complete all group assignments:
  • The majority of course assignments are group assignments. This requires participants meet with assigned group members regularly during the semester. Instructors and K-12EL Program Director fully understand that participants have a full teaching load during the week. That means that sometimes participants will have to flex schedules and find alternative options. And like any graduate-level coursework, there will be bumps along the way. If and when participants hit a bump, their group will provide an added layer of support. Another reason for this focus is because the course model emphasizes reflection and sharing, similar to what participants might find in a professional learning community. The decision to use this model comes after decades of research and on-site work with dozens of school districts in the U.S. The vast majority of program completers report that group interactions taught them as much or more than textbook and lecture content.
• Must complete all individual assignments:
  • A final project in each course is typically an individual presentation of learning and application of learned content. Each participant must prepare and present their presentation at the final face-to-face meeting of the semester.
• Must register for and successfully complete the PRAXIS II exam for ESOL endorsement and add an ESOL endorsement to their Kansas teacher license within 6 months of completing coursework.
  • Must notify K-12EL Director and District ESL Director once they have obtained ESOL endorsement on their license. This information is necessary data for the evaluation phase of the grant.
  • Must provide District Human Resources & ESL Departments with a copy of the Kansas teaching license with ELL endorsement within 12 months of finishing coursework.

In order to continue in the program to for the full three semesters, current participants

• Must continue to teach in USD 501 or USD 500 as a licensed teacher during each semester enrolled in grant-funded coursework.
  • If a teacher transfers out of the district, they will be prohibited from receiving further funding through the grant.
  • In special circumstances, participants may be able to complete the program of study with their cohort if they agree to pay tuition and textbooks out-of-pocket. Participants interested in this option, should contact the K-12EL Program Director no later than 3 months before their departure from School District.
• Must maintain satisfactory progress
  • Satisfactory progress is finishing a course with an A or B; any final grade below a B (80%) is not considered a passing grade.

The following procedures will occur if a student does not meet the minimum satisfaction standards at the end of a course. The participant:

• Must complete an individual meeting with the K-12EL Program Director to discuss challenges that prohibited the student from making adequate progress.Must develop an action plan to remediate the inadequate progress.
  • In exceptional circumstances, the participant may be asked to take an Incomplete grade at semester’s end and finalize all coursework before end of calendar semester to attain satisfactory progress.

Participants are expected to complete their coursework in an ethical and responsible manner. Any participant caught plagiarizing or engaging in any form of academic misconduct during participation in the program will be subject to disciplinary measures, up to and including expulsion from the program and reimbursement of tuition.

Once participants complete the three-course sequence, they will a) take and pass the PRAXIS and b) submit documentation showing that an ESOL endorsement was added to their teaching license.

PRAXIS

At the conclusion of coursework, participants will take the PRAXIS-English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) #5362. You must receive a passing score of 149 or above.

Depending on the timing of the third courses in the sequence, participants may choose to take the PRAXIS before, during, or after the third course. Given the federal program’s funding parameters, participants must complete the PRAXIS no later than six months after the last day of the third and final course. **Due to disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, participants will be allotted extra time to complete the PRAXIS, if requested.**

Federal funding parameters only allow for one reimbursement payment per participant. If a participant must take the PRAXIS more than once to obtain a passing score, they may request reimbursement. If and only if additional grant funding is available, the request will be filled. In such a case, the participant must complete a PRAXIS preparation session before the second attempt. Otherwise, the participant will be asked to pay out-of-pocket for additional attempts.

When participants are ready to take the PRAXIS-ESOL, K-12EL staff will provide each participant with a pre-paid PRAXIS voucher number (#). There are two ways to register for the exam.

1. Online:This is the easiest way to register. Participants may register online at https://www.ets.org/praxis/register/, using the provided voucher #. Participants will need to print their admission ticket and bring it to the testing center. Test personnel may not accept an image of the ticket from a phone, so it is best to have a hard copy of the admission ticket.
2. Phone:To register by phone, participants must have already created a Praxis account online. There is an additional $35 surcharge to register by phone. Participants can call ETS at 1-800-772-9476 Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. ET and pay by credit or debit card. Participants should contact ETS at least four days before your desired test date. Reimbursement for the $35 surcharge is available if and only if additional grant funds are available for the program year.

If a participant pays for the PRAXIS out-of-pocket, after participants pass the PRAXIS exam Project SEMILLA staff will reimburse PRAXIS costs. Most participants will have filled out a W-9 Form and Expense Reimbursement Form when they began the project. These forms permit KU’s budget office to reimburse participants for project-related expenses.

• For participants who have not yet filled out and submitted the forms, K-12EL staff will provide a W-9 and Expense Reimbursement Form. A secure Dropbox link will be provided so participants can safely and securely submit those documents.
• Participants must submit PRAXIS exam receipt to receive reimbursement. Project staff will submit documents to KU’s budget office on participants’ behalf. A reimbursement check will be sent to a participant’s address and arrive within a few weeks of submission.

ESOL Endorsement Added to Teaching License

Participants must submit proof of passing PRAXIS score to the State of Kansas and pay a fee so that the ESOL endorsement can be added to their teaching license. This process can be completed on the Kansas State Department of Education’s website.

To navigate the KSDE website to add an endorsement: 

1. Access www.KSDE.org
2. Click on the “Teaching & Learning” tab (left side in the blue toolbar).
3. From the drop-down menu, select “License Applications.”
4. Find and click on “Form 22.”
5. Scroll down to the “Ready to Apply” section (about half way through the page).
6. Click on “Kansas Licensure Application System.”
7. Sign In or Register
8. After logging in, find Forms (left side toolbar), using the drop down feature.
9. Fill out Form 22.
10. Submit for Processing.

For additional questions, participants can contact these KSDE contacts:

• ESOL Questions: Doug Boline, dboline@ksde.org
• Julie Ewing, ESOL/Bilingual & Title III Education Program Consultant: jewig@ksde.org.
• Diana Stephan, Teacher Licensure Consultant: dstephan@ksde.org

Once participants complete the PRAXIS and license update, per grant requirements, participants must submit proof that their endorsement has been added to their teaching license.  Participants may send PDFs of the license fee receipt and the updated KS teaching license with ESOL endorsement to K-12 EL staff. 

After the proof is submitted, K-12 EL staff will reimburse the license fee. Participants may choose to submit documents only once, and send PRAXIS receipt, license fee receipt, and proof of updated teaching license at the same time.

Participants may be asked to complete exit surveys at the time of reimbursement to satisfy federal reporting requirements.

Since this is a federal project, your tuition reimbursement is associated with your participation in the grant. If during the course of the grant you decide to withdraw from the program, we will review your financial obligation with the project.

A participant withdrawing from the program will retain any heretofore completed course credits. However,

• If a participant withdraws before the first-course meeting or after the final meeting of the semester, no financial penalty is incurred. If textbooks were purchased on behalf of the participant, they must be returned to District ESL Director within 5 business days.
• If a participant withdraws after the 10th day after semester class begins, the participant:
  • will receive an Incomplete;
  • will be required to pay a $500 fee to reimburse the federal funds used to cover tuition;
  • must return textbooks to District ESL Director within 5 business days; and
  • must submit all heretofore completed coursework to group partners within 5 business days.
• If a participant is forced to withdraw from the program under extenuating circumstances (e.g., health-related, etc.) or wishes to continue the program after a hiatus, the participant:
  • Must notify the K-12 EL Program Director as soon as possible of the intended absence.
  • Must complete an advising meeting with the K-12 EL Program Director to determine the best course of action.
  • If the participant and K-12 EL Program Director cannot find a solution, the participant may withdraw from the program and carry forward any heretofore-accrued course credits.

*In exceptional circumstances, the participant may take an Incomplete grade and finalize all coursework at a mutually-satisfactory time in order to maintain satisfactory progress.

• If a participant leaves the district (e.g., for a job in another district), the participant may continue coursework with her/his cohort if and only if:
  • They notify the K-12 EL Director at least 3 months before their departure;
  • They pay for tuition out-of-pocket;
  • They order- and pay for textbooks out-of-pocket; and
  • They adhere to the program expectations stipulated in this handbook.