Special Ed Degree Question?

[Merlin]

If you want to be a history teacher in CA (single subject), then a Bachelor's in History followed by a teaching credential program would be the way to go. I see no reason not to get your bachelor's from one of the Big3. My daughter, who wants to be a H.S. English teacher, just finished her BA in English Lit, and is starting a teaching credential program next fall. She had to fulfill a couple of extra prereq courses specific to the program (which is a nuisance since she's applying to two different programs and they have different prereq courses) and pass the CSET and CBEST to prior to starting the teaching credential program.

If you want to be a special Ed teacher, there are some other hoops to jump through.

Or you can go through the WGU B.A. in Special Education program, which includes licensure in California.

I agree that having another self-standing degree and then adding the teaching credential makes you more well-rounded, but if you want to focus on special education the WGU program seems ideal. They have two different programs depending on if you want to teach elementary and special education, or focus on special education only; the latter appears to provide more specialized instruction for dealing with higher severity of special education needs.