Professional Preparation
SOPHE provides standards that guide curricula for professional preparation programs of entry- and advanced-level health education specialists.
These standards outline the knowledge and skills that health educators are expected to perform when working in government, community-based agencies, worksites, health care, PreK-12 schools, and other health promotion settings.
HESPA II 2020
The Health Education Specialist Practice Analysis II (HESPA II 2020) is the latest hierarchical model for professional preparation, credentialing, and professional development of health education specialists in all settings.
This is the fourth study released by SOPHE and the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC) since 2006 to validate the latest Areas of Responsibility, Competencies and Sub-Competencies needed for contemporary practice of health educators working in all settings.
2019 Health Education Teacher Preparation Standards
SOPHE’s Health Education Teacher Preparation (HETP) Standards define what graduates of a PreK-12 health education teacher preparation program should know and be able to do by the end of their coursework.
The Council on Accreditation in Educator Preparation (CAEP) recognized the HETP standards in 2019 and designated SOPHE as the CAEP Specialized Professional Association (SPA) to review professional preparation programs seeking national recognition for their initial health education teaching credential.
SOPHE begins reviewing reports using the 2019 Standards in the fall of 2021. Programs can request templates (or shells) for the fall 2021 review cycle beginning September 15, 2020. The deadline for submitting the reports for the fall cycle is September 15, 2021.