Students with Disabilities All Grades Advanced Certification (Pre-K-12) — Online

Online | 12 credits
Complete in 2 terms

Transform your passion for equity into a career of profound impact with our advanced certification in Students with Disabilities (All Grades). Bank Street will prepare you to become a designer of inclusive learning environments that honor the full humanity of every child. You will learn to build on a student’s strengths using asset-based pedagogies to advocate for families and transforming your learning environment into one that is truly accessible and affirming for all.

Our program is highly interactive and relationship-centered, with active student engagement in classes built on dialogue, collaboration, and reflection. Upon completion of the program, you join an enduring Bank Street network that fosters ongoing professional connections, mentorship, and leadership opportunities across your career.

In This Program, You Will

• Master Specialized Instruction and Responsive Pedagogy: Gain expertise in the legal and pedagogical frameworks of special education, including the development and implementation of IFSPs, IEPs, and 504 plans. You will learn to design accessible, responsive, child-centered environments and curricula that honor every student’s unique developmental profile, helping every child reach their full potential.
• Design Inclusive Curriculum and Adopt an Asset-Based Lens: Develop sophisticated skills in differentiation, multimodal assessment, and specialized instructional supports. By partnering with families, you will learn to utilize an asset-based lens that respects and uplifts each child’s diverse identity.
• Champion Social Justice, Equity, and Advocacy: Analyze the historical and systemic roots of institutional racism, ableism, and linguicism to become a transformative advocate for students and families. Prepare to become a changemaker who leads, influences, and innovates while centering equity and access for all children and families within a community that honors diverse identities, centers strengths, values peer collaboration, and is rooted in strong, caring relationships.
• Collaborate Effectively with Seasoned Mentors: Cultivate a collaborative disposition to work alongside families, related service providers, and school administrators to optimize educational outcomes. You will collaborate with practitioners and advisors who bring real-world, experience-based learning into your courses and fieldwork, emphasizing adaptability, problem-solving, and a joy for learning.
• Benefit from Flexibility for Working Professionals: Experience a program designed to meet the needs of today’s educators.

Who Should Apply

• Applicants must have successfully completed an initial NYSED certification program in special education, early childhood, or childhood education and must hold a master’s in education.
• We find that the most successful online students are students who thrive in collaborative group work done during synchronous meetings and who are also independently driven to complete asynchronous work on their own time.

This program will begin in Summer 2027.

The Spring 2027 application is currently open.

Application Deadlines

• Applications are reviewed in rounds to ensure you receive a timely decision. 
• You will have five business days after the application deadlines to finish providing any missing required materials. Incomplete applications will be moved to the next round for consideration.
• In some cases, applications submitted after the final deadline will be reviewed on a space-available basis. 
• We strongly encourage you to submit your application as early as possible. This guarantees the most timely admissions decision and the broadest consideration for scholarships and financial aid.

Admissions Criteria

Applicants must have successfully completed an initial NYSED certification program in special education, early childhood, or childhood education and must hold a master’s in education.

In addition to meeting other admissions requirements, applicants for the Students with Disabilities, All Grades (Pre-K–12) program will need to meet New York State requirements for the “content core” of the liberal art & science prerequisites, which includes the following course subjects taken at the undergraduate level with a grade of “C” and above:

• Social Sciences (6 credits)
• Science (6 credits)
• Math (6 credits)
• English Language Arts (6 credits)

Please review How to Apply for full details on the application process, admissions criteria, and application requirements.

Tuition

At Bank Street, tuition is charged per credit. The Students with Disabilities All Grades (Pre-K–12) Program requires 12 credits for completion. Read more on our Tuition page

Financial Aid

The majority of Bank Street students receive some type of financial aid. We strongly recommend applying early and submitting your FAFSA at the time you apply for the broadest consideration for scholarships and financial aid. Read more on our Financial Aid page

Technology Requirements

Students must secure access to the following required technology for all online courses:

• A personal computer with:
  • Broadband Internet access
  • Speakers, microphone, and camera
  • Headphones, if participating from a public or shared space
  • An updated version of the Chrome or Firefox browser and a free Zoom account
• For Supervised Fieldwork: A recording device (such as a smartphone, laptop, iPad, or camcorder) suitable for use in classrooms

These are required components of your program. It is your responsibility to ensure you have access to each item on this list. Bank Street does not provide or lend access to these devices and platforms.

Our Approach

Our curriculum centers on active, inquiry-driven learning that mirrors how children learn best—through exploration, collaboration, and reflection. We engage you in rigorous study of educational theory, human development, and inclusive practice while you apply that learning immediately in classroom settings. Through rich dialogue, purposeful assignments, and collaborative projects, you will refine your ability to think critically, teach responsively, and support diverse learners. By the end of the program, you will have deepened your professional judgment, strengthened your reflective capacities, and grown as an educator ready to lead and innovate.

Time Commitment

Each course typically meets once per week in a live, synchronous online session from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM ET. In some cases, a class session may be replaced with asynchronous coursework assignments for that week, which are completed on your own schedule and must be submitted by the posted deadlines. Classes are not held on Fridays. Students should plan to dedicate approximately 10 hours per week to program-related study and activities.

Course Plan

12 credits

Spring Start

Advisement

Advisement is the heartbeat of Bank Street’s curriculum, and in this Advanced Certification program, our commitment to mentorship continues through a collaborative model. If you are continuing from a Bank Street master’s program, you will maintain your existing advisor, preserving an important mentoring relationship. If you’re a new student, you’ll receive primary support from the Program Director.  Throughout the program, every instructor serves as a mentor, offering ongoing professional guidance that builds directly upon your prior learning. Your courses integrate structured opportunities, such as group meetings and observation-based assignments, that encourage you to reflect on your practice and meaningfully extend your initial certification into the specialized field of teaching students with disabilities.

Certification

When you successfully complete the program, you will receive a master’s degree and be eligible for New York State Certification in Students with Disabilities, All Grades, provided you complete all other state certification requirements. Read more on our Certification page

Careers

After graduation, students pursue a range of career opportunities including:

• Teaching in special education or inclusion classrooms in public, charter, or independent schools in grades pre-K through 6 and in inclusion classrooms grades 7through12
• Working as an early-interventionist in social service or education-based agencies, as well as in hospitals, non-profit organizations, or daycare settings
• Working one on one as a Special Education Itinerant Teacher (SEIT) in home, classroom, and daycare settings
• Designing and assessing educational programming, curriculum, and policy
• Pursuing doctoral degree programs

As a student at Bank Street, you will have full access to our robust Career Services, including the CareerConnect job site, job fairs and workshops, and connections to our alumni network nationwide.