Washington issues Residency ESA Certificates to first-time applicants for ESA certification in these three roles as of 9/1/05.

School Counselor

• Degree - Must have completed a master's degree with a major in counseling*
• Program - Must have completed a state-approved program for certification in the School Counselor role,
  or
  No Program - Must have a School Counselor certificate from another state and have completed three years' experience under that certificate. If the other state didn't require a certificate, must have three years' experience in that role.
• Exam - Must have successfully completed a written comprehensive examination of the knowledge included in the course work for the required master's degree in counseling OR the Praxis II specialty area test (code 20420) in guidance and counseling, administered by the Educational Testing Service. (The minimum passing score is 600.) www.ets.org/praxis/

School Psychologist

• Degree - Must have completed a master's degree with a major in school psychology*
• Program - Must have completed a state-approved program for certification in the School Psychologist role,
  or
  
• No Program - Must have a School Psychologist certificate from another state and have completed three years' experience under that certificate. If the other state didn't require a certificate, must have three years' experience in that role.
  or
  National Certificate - Must hold a NCSP Certificate issued after December 31, 1991 by the National School Psychology Certification Board.
• Exam - The applicant must have successfully completed a written comprehensive examination of the knowledge included in the course work for the required master's degree in school psychology OR the Praxis II specialty area test (code 10401**) in school psychology, administered by the Educational Testing Service and used by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP - www.nasponline.org/). The minimum passing score is 165. Please visit www.ets.org/praxis/ and select NASP from the State Testing Requirements menu.
  
  **Prior to 9/13/2008, this was test code 10400 with a passing score of 660.

School Social Worker

• Degree - Must have completed a master's degree in social work*
• Program - Must have completed a state-approved program for certification in the School Social Worker role,
  or
  
• No Program - Must have a School Social Worker certificate from another state and have completed three years' experience under that certificate. If the other state didn't require a certificate, must have three years' experience in that role.
• Exam - Must have successfully completed a written comprehensive examination of the knowledge included in the course work for the required master's degree. This examination shall be a proctored, written examination of a regionally accredited institution of higher education or the candidate may meet the requirement by receiving a passing score on the Praxis II school social work examination, test code 20211, administered by Educational Testing Service (ETS). (The minimum passing score is 161.) www.ets.org/praxis/

*It is not necessary for a candidate who holds a master's degree or doctorate in another field to obtain the specified master's degree if he or she has completed all course work requirements relevant to the required master's degree.

For details on the documents needed and process to obtain this certificate, please see the application.