School Nurse Preliminary Credential California

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UPDATE: Changes: New Log In Requirement

Hello everyone!

I'm in California and getting hired on as a sub school nurse. I'm confused as to how I can start/submit an application to get my preliminary school nurse license. Does it have to be mailed? Do I gather all the requirements and mail them in together? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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I have to take a look but I believe I emailed mine in but I had to create an account on the CTC site beforehand. 

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I made an account and only saw options to sign up for teaching credentials. Would you be able to share where you found the email?

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Seira said:

I made an account and only saw options to sign up for teaching credentials. Would you be able to share where you found the email?

Sorry for the late reply.

You can look at this link specifically

https://www.ctc.ca.gov/credentials/leaflets/school-nurse-services-credential-(cl-380)

I believe you have to create an Educator account and Start a New Credential Application. I don't want to start a new one in case it messes with anything LOL. But I believe that's how it works.

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Hi there! 

Sorry to piggyback on this forum. I am a school nurse at a state special school in CA with my BSN. The state doesn't require me to have a credential to be a nurse there, as its more of an urgent care for residential students. I want to try district nursing, but would have to get my preliminary credential. I went to a nationally accredited university but CTC website states regional accredited university or college. Has anyone else applied and got approved even if they didn't satisfy this?

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BayArea_BSNRN said:

Hi there! 

Sorry to piggyback on this forum. I am a school nurse at a state special school in CA with my BSN. The state doesn't require me to have a credential to be a nurse there, as its more of an urgent care for residential students. I want to try district nursing, but would have to get my preliminary credential. I went to a nationally accredited university but CTC website states regional accredited university or college. Has anyone else applied and got approved even if they didn't satisfy this?

I honestly don't really know the difference. Was your university in California or a different state or country? I know many school nurses who did their schooling in the Philippines and they had no real issue becoming school nurses other than getting transcripts. 

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sergel02 said:

I honestly don't really know the difference. Was your university in California or a different state or country? I know many school nurses who did their schooling in the Philippines and they had no real issue becoming school nurses other than getting transcripts. 

Thanks for replying! The biggest difference with the accreditations is how credits transfer... but I'm graduated and was able to sir for board etc with no issue. My school is in California. It gives me peace of mind to know that international nurses were able to get their credentials. I'm just worried about landing a job in a district and ultimately not being able to satisfy the credential requirements. I still haven't got a solid answer but this makes me feel better. 

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Hello,

My name is Sarah and  I graduated from nursing school in January 2025 w/ my BSN and passed my NCLEX in February 2025. Would anyone be able to give me any advice for how I can get into becoming a school nurse as a new grad? (Certs, experience, etc)... I know I want to go this direction so I'm hoping to avoid bedside experience if I can. Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you!

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Specializes in pediatrics, school nursing.

 

Sarah L. said:

Hello,

My name is Sarah and  I graduated from nursing school in January 2025 w/ my BSN and passed my NCLEX in February 2025. Would anyone be able to give me any advice for how I can get into becoming a school nurse as a new grad? (Certs, experience, etc)... I know I want to go this direction so I'm hoping to avoid bedside experience if I can. Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you!

I wouldn't recommend trying to come into school nursing without some sort of other foundation for triage, assessment, and treatment - all best gained through bedside and primary care offices. It is an incredibly independent role and you need to be confident in your skills. I'm not saying you aren't confident, but I do think you may be setting yourself up for failure by trying to jump right in on this specialty. 
Most of us came to school nursing after years at the bedside, in outpatient settings, and home health care. I personally don't know any school nurse who jumped right in and stuck with it. 

Some ideas if you want to avoid bedside but gain good experience are to see if you can find a larger school with a school-based clinic (where students who don't have a medical home can be seen for their primary care needs), a private school with a larger health and wellness center, and multiple staff/providers on at once, or simply doing per-diem in a school system. At the very least, I would try and get experience in a pediatric primary care office. You will learn more about vaccine requirements and basic home care/treatments for many common ailments than anywhere else, in my opinion.

As for certifications, most nursing certs, including the NCSN, require several years of practice in the chosen specialty before you can sit for the exam. And different states have different requirements as well. For example, some states education departments require you do a Master's level certificate program to be a school nurse, others require the NCSN credential or a Master's in nursing, usually within a certain time frame. And schools require different things as well. Some schools in my state don't require the certification as they don't require you to be licensed with the dept of ED in our state, but other schools require the cert before you even start!

 

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Sarah L. said:

Hello,

My name is Sarah and  I graduated from nursing school in January 2025 w/ my BSN and passed my NCLEX in February 2025. Would anyone be able to give me any advice for how I can get into becoming a school nurse as a new grad? (Certs, experience, etc)... I know I want to go this direction so I'm hoping to avoid bedside experience if I can. Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you!

 

k1p1ssk said:

 

I wouldn't recommend trying to come into school nursing without some sort of other foundation for triage, assessment, and treatment - all best gained through bedside and primary care offices. It is an incredibly independent role and you need to be confident in your skills. I'm not saying you aren't confident, but I do think you may be setting yourself up for failure by trying to jump right in on this specialty. 
Most of us came to school nursing after years at the bedside, in outpatient settings, and home health care. I personally don't know any school nurse who jumped right in and stuck with it. 

Some ideas if you want to avoid bedside but gain good experience are to see if you can find a larger school with a school-based clinic (where students who don't have a medical home can be seen for their primary care needs), a private school with a larger health and wellness center, and multiple staff/providers on at once, or simply doing per-diem in a school system. At the very least, I would try and get experience in a pediatric primary care office. You will learn more about vaccine requirements and basic home care/treatments for many common ailments than anywhere else, in my opinion.

As for certifications, most nursing certs, including the NCSN, require several years of practice in the chosen specialty before you can sit for the exam. And different states have different requirements as well. For example, some states education departments require you do a Master's level certificate program to be a school nurse, others require the NCSN credential or a Master's in nursing, usually within a certain time frame. And schools require different things as well. Some schools in my state don't require the certification as they don't require you to be licensed with the dept of ED in our state, but other schools require the cert before you even start!

 

I think both have fine questions/concerns.

So much depends on your state and district, so if you're in California that may change things.

I know at least 3 fellow nurses who came into school nursing as new grads and they're great! Two had previous work experience in other careers though, and 1 of them is just an amazing school nurse who was forged in the fires of Fresno 😂

I personally, though, would struggle as a new grad myself, but that's me. The NCSN exam only requires 1,000 of school nurse experience so not much, still you need to be able to work as a school nurse. 
 

Many districts use RNs for more leadership and public health duties so many aren't doing triage and running the office as much but I do think it's still important, since part of the reason we're there is for our health expertise.

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