WV Student Support Certificate

Candidate Requirements

Form 20S requires an official recommendation from a designated official from your college or university. If you are employed by a county school system in any capacity, a multi-county career technical education center, the West Virginia Schools of Diversion and Transition, or the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, you will also need a recommendation from your employer. 

If you are not employed in any capacity of these entities, select "no county" under "employing county" and submit Form 4B Character Reference with your application.

General Requirements

To apply, you must:

• Be a U.S. citizen or hold eligible documentation (see Policy 5202, Minimum Requirements for the Licensure of Professional/Paraprofessional Personnel and Advanced Salary Classifications)
• Have recommendation from the county Superintendent
• Be at least 18 years old
• Be physically, mentally, and emotionally qualified
• Have a minimum overall cumulative GPA of 2.5 for a bachelor’s degree or minimum overall cumulative GPA of 3.0 for a master’s degree
  • Refer to the licensure testing directory and Policy 5202 for West Virginia Board of Education testing requirements

Position Specific Requirements

• School counselors must have a master’s degree in school counseling from an accredited college or university that offers a program leading to work in the public school system as a school counselor.
• Speech language pathologists (SLP) must have a master's degree in speech language pathology from an accredited college or university that offers a program leading to work in the public school system as an SLP.
• School psychologists must have completed of an approved school psychologist master's degree program from an accredited college or university, or an equivalent degree as determined by the West Virginia Board of Examiners of Psychologists.
• Social services and attendance directors must have completed the program leading to licensure for social service and attendance to work in the public school system as an attendance director.
• School nurses must have a valid Registered Nurse (R.N.) license issued by the West Virginia Board of Examiners, and one of the following:
  • A bachelor’s degree in nursing with successful completion of an accredited School Nurse Program
  • A master's degree with either:
    • A valid national certification in school nursing from the National Board for Certification of School Nurses, Inc.
    • A valid national certification in an area recognized by the Department for school nurses
      • Recognized areas include, but are not limited to:
        • School nurse practitioner
        • Pediatric nurse practitioner
        • Family nurse practitioner
        • Clinical specialist in community health nursing
        • Clinical specialist in child and adolescent psychiatric and mental health nursing
        • Advanced nursing administration

To send official transcripts to our office, please have your college or university email them to cert.transcripts.wvde@k12.wv.us. Transcripts must be received from the college or university, not the applicant.

Application Instructions

Form 20S must be completed online. If this is your first time using our Certification Portal, you will need to register. Follow the instructions for first-time applicants.

1. Log in to the portal and select apply for licensure, the license type, and the certification.
2. Fill in the applicant information and attach any required documentation. You will need to provide personal information, such as your name and address, respond to legal disclosure questions, and indicate the county where you're employed, if applicable. You will also need to select the West Virginia college or university that will recommend you for your student support license. Please note that you may need to submit documentation verifying your education.
3. Submit the application.
4. Your application will go to your college or university for approval. If you are employed in any capacity in a county school system, a multi-county career technical education center, the West Virginia Schools of Diversion and Transition, or the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, your application will also be sent to your employer for approval. Following college/university and employer approval, you will receive an email for payment. Log back in to the portal to pay the application fee.
5. If you are not employed, the "pay now" button will appear on your dashboard, and you will be able to pay immediately.
6. Following the receipt of the application by the Office of Certification, you will receive an email with instructions for completing your background check.
7. When your background check is complete and your application is approved, you will receive an email with instructions to download your certificate. You may follow the status of your application on the Certification Portal or by checking the Application Status feature.

For more detailed instructions, watch our Form 20S How To video: 

User Guides

• Applicant User Guide - Form 20S
• College or University User Guide - Form 20S
• County User Guide - Form 20S

$35