Arkansas Professional Educator Pathway (ArPEP)

The Arkansas Professional Educator Pathway (ArPEP), is an affordable two-year, work-based, alternative certification program that is administered by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education. Enrollment in this program allows a candidate with a bachelor’s degree or higher to be licensed and employed as a classroom teacher while completing the necessary requirements for a Standard Arkansas Teaching License. ArPEP’s goal is to prepare day one ready teachers to meet the growing demand of the teacher pipeline in Arkansas. The primary objective of ArPEP is to train future educators on how to:

build classroom communities
design effective lesson plans
implement evidence-based instructional strategies, and
use assessments to facilitate student learning

Participants work as a teacher of record under a Provisional Arkansas teaching license for two years. Upon successful completion of the program, participants receive a Standard Arkansas teaching license.

Please review the following information regarding admission requirements. Make sure that you have all required documents to submit with your application as you will not be able to add them to your application at a later time.

Application Instructions

ArPEP Application

Application Process

ArPEP Site Information

Licensure Assessments

Background Check

ArPEP FAQ's

Act 1063 of 2017, the Right to Read Act, states: “Beginning no later than the 2022-2023 school year, each state-approved educator preparation program shall post on its website information describing its program to prepare teachers to teach reading using scientific reading instruction aligned with but not limited to the content measured by the stand-alone reading assessment adopted by the State Board of Education under § 6-17-402.”

Candidates enrolled in Elementary Education K-6 and Special Education K-12 programs must complete coursework and pass the Foundations of Reading test to be considered proficient in scientific reading instruction to obtain a license. Candidates enrolled in all other licensure area programs must complete the coursework to be considered awareness level in scientific reading instruction to obtain a license.

In 2019, the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education approved Arkansas Professional Educator Pathway (formerly Arkansas Professional Pathway to Educator Licensure) to meet this requirement. The pathways are aligned to the appropriate Foundations of Reading Competencies – Proficiency Level or Foundations of Reading Competencies – Awareness Level. DESE – Approved Course/Modules lists approved courses/modules for all approved licensure programs in Arkansas.