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The Nevada Department of Education recently upgraded its physical education (PE) standards to make it easier for teachers to assess their students’ physical education skills. The current standards require that:
- Students demonstrate competency in motor skills, movement patterns and safety needed to perform a variety of physical activities
- Students participate regularly in physical activity
- Students demonstrate the knowledge and skills to achieve and maintain a health-enhancing level of physical fitness
- Students apply knowledge of concepts, principles and strategies related to movement, performance and safety within physical activities
Follow these steps to learn how to become a PE teacher in Nevada:
 | Complete a Bachelor’s Degree and PE Teaching Certification Program |
 | Take the Praxis II PE Exam |
 | Apply for Your Nevada PE Teacher’s License |
 | Meet the Requirements to Renew Your Nevada PE Teacher’s License |
Step 1. Complete a Bachelor’s Degree and PE Teaching Certification Program
Although the Nevada Department of Education has approved a number of teacher education programs in the state, you can be approved to teach PE in Nevada if you have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university provided you have taken the required coursework.
Teaching licenses in Nevada are granted for specific grade levels. If you have a bachelor’s degree, but no traditional training in teaching, you may be able to get a Special Qualifications License for grades 7-12.
PE Elementary License – Some school districts require you to have this license to teach PE to K-8 students, while others do not. To be qualified for this license, you must complete the following courses:
- 18 semester hours in each of the following areas:
- Advanced first aid or an equivalent course
- Kinesiology (mechanical or anatomical or both)
- Motor development
- Testing and measuring PE skills and abilities
- The psychological or social aspects of PE or both
- The physiology of exercise
- 18 semester hours of credit in teaching the following:
- Adapted PE
- Rhythmic activities for pupils in elementary grades
- Movement experiences for pupils in the following grades:
- Preschool and primary
- Intermediate
- 22 semester hours in professional education including the following:
- Eight semester hours of supervised student teaching of PE for K-8 students
- Methods of teaching in elementary PE
- Foundations of education
PE Endorsement for K-12 – If you studied in an approved program for teaching PE to grades K-12, you are qualified for this endorsement. If not, you must have 42 semester hours in the courses listed in the first two sections above. Your coursework must also include the Methods and Techniques of teaching:
- Physical fitness
- Rhythms and dance or rhythmic activities for pupils in elementary school
- Individual sports
- Team sports
You must also take the 22 semester hours of professional education shown above with the exception that four hours of your student teaching must be in elementary grades and another four hours must be in secondary grades.
If you only performed student teaching at the elementary or the secondary level, you cannot get a K-12 PE endorsement. However, you might qualify for the K-8 endorsement.
Secondary Academic 7-12 Endorsement in PE – The Nevada Department of Education requires that you have either a major or a minor in PE to be able to teach the field to students in grades 7-12. For a major, you must have 36 semester credits in each of the following areas:
- Advanced first aid or an equivalent course
- Kinesiology (anatomical or mechanical or both)*
- Methods and teaching of secondary PE
- Methods and techniques of teaching the following:
- Physical fitness*
- Rhythm and dance
- Sports for teams*
- Motor learning*
- Testing and measurement of skills and ability in PE
- The physiology of exercise*
You can get a minor in PE if you have take 24 semester credits in the areas marked with an asterisk along with the following course:
- Methods and techniques of teaching individual sports and sports that can be participated in at any stage of life.
This type of secondary license enables you to teach in the following areas:
- A junior high school
- A senior high school
- An approved middle school (7-9)
- Departmentalized 7th or 8th grade
Special Qualifications License – You may be able to get a license to teach PE to grades 7-12 if you have at least a bachelor’s degree in PE from a regionally accredited institution of higher learning. You must have one of the following:
- Two full-time years of PE teaching experience in a regionally accredited postsecondary institution and at leas three years of work experience in PE
- Five years of PE work experience
Unless you have at least a master’s degree, you need to prove that you have passed the Praxis Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) and the Praxis II PE exam. You can be exempt from these requirements if you have valid PE license from another state.
Step 2: Take the Praxis II PE Exam
You only need to take part in testing to get your first license. The state of Nevada only requires Praxis testing in one license or endorsement area. For PE, you will take the Praxis II exam in Physical Education: Content & Design (0095).
You need a qualifying score of 169 to pass this test. If you do not pass it on the first try, you can take it again. You should plan to practice for this test, and both a free study guide and one that can be purchased are available.
Step 3: Apply for Your Nevada PE Teacher’s License
You obtain your initial application at the following site. The application includes the following two forms:
- Child Support Disclosure
- Fingerprint Authorization
You will need to provide official transcripts of all of your college or university coursework. The transcripts do not have to be in a sealed envelope, but they must have both the institution’s seal and the Registrar’s signature or they must be on Scrip-Safe®– type of paper.
If applicable, you should also include the following:
- Original testing score reports (if you take the Praxis II PE exam in Nevada, your score will be mailed to the Nevada Department of Education)
- Verification of Teaching Experience Form
- Verification of Work Experience Form
You must provide a fingerprint card that you can obtain at one of the following locations. Make sure that the card contains all of your required personal information before you leave the agency. Be sure to sign it and do not fold it, since that will prevent it from being processed.
The application also requires that you prove you are one of the following:
- A U.S. citizen
- A lawful permanent resident of the U.S.
- A person who has filed a petition for naturalization with the U.S. Immigration Office
Step 4. Meet the Requirements to Renew Your Nevada PE Teacher’s License
To renew your Nevada PE teacher’s license, you must have satisfied the Nevada state-mandated exam requirements. You will have three years to either score at least a 70% on examinations that test your knowledge of the following:
- Nevada Constitution
- Nevada School Law
- U.S. Constitution
OR learn about them through approved coursework.
You can obtain the form to renew your license in the list of forms at the Educator Licensure site of the Nevada Department of Education. You are required to complete six credits of professional development education to renew your license. These credits should be one of the following:
- Directly related to your current license
- Part of an additional endorsement
- In a subject that has a shortage of teachers
- Part of an approved program leading to an advanced degree
You must obtain this credit after you get your first license and before the expiration date of your license. You may submit your application for renewal up to nine months before your license expires. The following places are potential sources for these credits:
- A regionally accredited college or university (undergraduate or graduate level)
- A provider sanctioned by the Nevada Department of Education who has requested pre-approval to offer continuing education courses
- Clark County School District Professional Development Education courses
- Washoe County School District in service courses
If you have an Ed.S., Ed.D, or Ph.D. degree, you only need to submit Evidence of Professional Growth (EPG). This can include proof of attending workshops or seminars or teaching at the college level. An additional option to satisfy this requirement is to complete the requirements for the National Board Certification from the National Board for Professional teaching Standards.
Phys Ed Teacher Salary in Nevada
Although the U.S. Department of Labor nor the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation provide current information regarding the physical education teacher salary in Nevada, the Clark County School District provides much of this information.
By looking at this, we can get a better idea of how physical education teachers are paid in Clark County, in which the county seat of Las Vegas is located:
Class A, Bachelor’s Degree
Step 1: $34,684
Step 2: $36,134
Step 3: $37,582
Step 4: $39,038
Step 5: $40,482
Class B, Bachelor’s Degree Plus 16 Units
Step 1: $36,545
Step 2: $37,994
Step 3: $39,452
Step 4: $40,901
Step 5: $42,349
Step 6: $43,805
Class C, Bachelor’s Degree Plus 32 Units
Step 1: $38,409
Step 2: $39,863
Step 3: $41,312
Step 4: $42,763
Step 5: $44,215
Step 6: $45,677
Step 7: $47,118
Step 8: $48,567
Step 9: $50,020
Class D, Master’s Degree
Step 1: $40,276
Step 2: $41,726
Step 3: $43,181
Step 4: $44,630
Step 5: $46,082
Step 6: $47,531
Step 7: $48,984
Step 8: $50,433
Step 9: $51,890
Class E, Master’s Degree Plus 16 Units
Step 1: $42,144
Step 2: $43,600
Step 3: $45,046
Step 4: $46,492
Step 5: $47,945
Step 6: $49,397
Step 7: $50,848
Step 8: $52,298
Step 9: $53,748