Bilingual Authorization Program (BILA)

The Bilingual Authorization Program in Education Studies is available only to current M.Ed./Credential graduate students enrolled in the M.Ed. program.

UC San Diego Education Studies offers a Bilingual Authorization Program (BILA) in Spanish for concurrent students in the M.Ed./Credential Program (Multiple Subject or Single Subject) who want to teach in Spanish and English in a dual language or bilingual setting.

Eligible students complete additional EDS coursework during the professional preparation program. The Bilingual Authorization may be added to the teaching credential upon completion of the M.Ed./Credential program or within five years of the date the student was recommended for the teaching credential by UC San Diego Education Studies.

Information sessions are included as part of orientation for incoming graduate students admitted to the M.Ed./Credential programs.

Program Requirements

The Bilingual Authorization is added to a Preliminary Multiple Subject or Single Subject Teaching Credential upon completion of all credential requirements, plus the following:

1. Required EDS courses (no substitutions allowed):
   • EDS 125 — History, Politics, and Theory of Bilingual Education; recommended during the foundations program of study or during the special summer session.
   • EDS 352A — Bilingual Instructional Practices I; taken during the professional preparation year only.
   • EDS 352B — Bilingual Instructional Practices II; taken during the professional preparation year only.
   • EDS 352C — Bilingual Instructional Practices III; taken during the professional preparation year only.
2. Demonstration of proficiency in Spanish in reading, writing, listening, and speaking at the level required by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC), either through course-embedded assignments in EDS 352A, EDS 352B, and EDS 352C, or through passage of CSET: Spanish Subtest III (test code 147). Proficiency in Spanish must be equivalent to the Advanced level on the ACTFL scale, as demonstrated in the final portfolio during EDS 352C.
3. Satisfactory completion of fieldwork in a bilingual setting as required by CTC. This is completed as part of EDS 369A, EDS 369B, and EDS 369C for Multiple Subject candidates or EDS 379A, EDS 379B, and EDS 379C for Single Subject candidates, including 20 hours of fieldwork in a bilingual setting completed as part of M.Ed. student teaching or residency.

Please note that the Bilingual Authorization is optional. It is not a credential program requirement. It is an authorization added to the preliminary credential.

All BILA requirements must be completed while students are enrolled as graduate students in the M.Ed./Credential program.

Important Note About English Learner Authorization

Bilingual Authorization holders with a preliminary credential are authorized to teach stand-alone ELD. Preliminary Multiple Subject credential holders may teach ELD only within a Multiple Subject setting. Preliminary Single Subject credential holders may teach ELD only within their Single Subject content area. Multiple Subject and Single Subject credential holders without the appropriate authorization may not teach stand-alone or departmentalized ELD. See the CTC English Learner Authorization guidance.

Questions About Spanish Placement and Proficiency

For questions about the level of Spanish needed for Spanish placement and the proficiency level required to complete the BILA program, contact:

• Professor Liz Pappas
• Professor Maria Jose Aragon

Administrative Questions

For questions about the administrative process, contact Giselle Van Luit at (858) 534-2958 or gvanluit@ucsd.edu.