Governor Phil Murphy • Lt. Governor Tahesha Way

School Social Worker Standard Certificate

Endorsement Code: 3200

The school social worker certificate authorizes the holder to serve as a social worker in preschool through grade 12.

To be eligible for the School Social Worker standard certificate, a candidate must meet the following requirements:

Degree Requirement

Hold a master’s or higher degree from an accredited college or university.

Coursework Requirements

Complete a total of 30 graduate semester-hour credits to include study in each of the following areas:

  1. Psychology, including general psychology, educational psychology, psychology of adolescence or child growth and development.
  2. Special education or learning disabilities.
  3. Social and cultural matters within the school and broader community.
  4. A minimum of six semester-hour credits in introductory and advanced level social casework, including principles and practices in social case work, interviewing, and methods and skills in diagnosis.
  5. Mental hygiene and social psychiatry, including dynamics of human behavior and psychopathology.
  6. Medical information, including the role of the social worker in health problems or fundamentals of substance abuse and dependency.
  7. Community organizations, agencies and resources.
  8. Social policy and public welfare services, including the care and protection of at-risk children and families.

To be eligible for the School Social Worker emergency certificate, a candidate must meet the following requirements:

Degree Requirement

Hold a bachelor’s degree in social work or a related field from an accredited college or university.

Coursework Requirements

  1. A minimum of six semester-hour credits in introductory and advanced level social case work, including principles and practices in social case work, interviewing, and methods and skills in diagnosis.
  2. Complete graduate study in at least two of the following required areas of study:
    • Psychology, including general psychology, educational psychology, psychology of adolescence or child growth and development.
    • Special education and/or learning disabilities.
    • Social and cultural matters within the school and broader community.
    • Mental hygiene and social psychiatry, including dynamics of human behavior and psychopathology.
    • Medical information, including the role of the social worker in health problems or fundamentals of substance abuse and dependency.
    • Community organizations, agencies and resources.
    • Social policy and public welfare services, including the care and protection of at-risk children and families.