Field Experience Hours are hours prior to student teaching. Students are required to read the information for each of the 4 steps provided below. ALL students will complete steps 1 , 2, and 3. Step 4 will only be completed by students who wish to be placed in one of the districts listed in that section. For more information on field experiences, please refer to the Field Experience Guide (link), and to the instructions provided on the field experience request forms. The Graduate Advisor should be able to answer any questions about this process.

All completed items will be emailed to the Field Experience Coordinator at jcason@fmarion.edu. Once the Field Experience Coordinator begins processing the applications, she will be in communication with the student via the student’s FMU email.

  1. Step 1 – Complete the Field Experience Placement Request Form (Linked) (Steps 2 and possibly Step 3 will need to be completed before the Field Experience placement Request Form is ready for submission)

2. Step 2 – Criminal Background Check (SLED) Instructions (link)– Before you complete the SLED read ALL bullets for this step!!!

  • To be completed by all students who are in a field experience course. PLEASE NOTE:
    • Students may not submit a SLED report completed by an employer, school, etc.
    • Students who have a field experience in the fall and spring of the same ACADEMIC (July – June) year can use the same Clear SLED Report for both field experiences.
    • Students who have been fingerprinted for Student Teaching do not need to complete a new SLED. Please put a note on the form noting you have been fingerprinted for student teaching.
  • MUST be completed within the current academic year (July – June).
  • The social security number is required (on the form to be completed it says that field is optional, but it is not optional for FMU’s SOE).  Students will be required to submit a new SLED if the one submitted does not have the last five of the social security number.
  • **For students who want a placement in a FSD3 school – FSD3 has requested to complete a background check for students who are requesting to complete field experience hours in that district. Students are to request a copy of the SLED report from FSD3 and upload it to the placement form.

Students who are unable to provide a “clear” (No Arrest Record) SLED Background Check will not be assigned a field experience placement. The student must work with the State Department of Education and/or SLED to provide a “clean” background check, or permission to move forward with field experience placements.

3. Step 3– TB test – Students must submit a current TB test with application.

4. Step 4 – Additional Paperwork (link) – Some districts require additional paperwork to be completed before a field experience placement will be issued. IF you are requesting to be placed in any of the following School Districts, you MUST complete the additional paperwork in accordance with the instructions provided by that district and attach it to your placement request form:

Darlington County School District

Florence County School District 3

Horry County School District

Marion County School District

Sumter County School District

PLEASE NOTE– If you are requesting a field experience placement in one of the above counties, and you do not provide the additional paperwork with your submitted placement request, a field experience placement will not be requested at that district for you.