The Education Specialist: Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) Credential program is a distance learning program offered fully online to candidates across the state of California who are more than 30 miles away from the Sacramento State campus (those within 30 miles of campus take some courses in person while distance learners join via remote technology). Courses are taken in the evening. Fieldwork is completed in a school district/program located near the candidate, while supervision of fieldwork is provided online in a mostly live/synchronous format.

The Education Specialist ECSE Teaching Credential authorizes the holder to provide educational services to infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and transitional kindergarteners, kindergarten age children with disabilities and their families in home-based programs, center-based settings, and school-based settings. This credential embeds the English Learner Authorization (ELA) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Authorization, which prepares candidates to work with second language learners and students with autism spectrum disorder, respectively. Additionally, teacher candidates may choose to apply to be an intern during the course of their program.