Expand AllClick here for a more accessible versionPennsylvania
currently has two levels of certification. The initial certificate, Level
I, is valid for a specific number of service years, during which time you must
complete established requirements. Upon completion of those requirements,
the Level I may be converted to a Level II certificate. If not converted,
the Level I lapses. You cannot be employed in a Pennsylvania public
school with a lapsed certificate.
Level I
certificates do not list expiration dates as they are valid for actual years of
professional service as an educator in Pennsylvania, not calendar years.
Service time earned outside Pennsylvania does not count towards Level II
requirements, nor does it count against the service life of the Level I.
Service
years are the maximum number of years the educator may be employed in the area
of certification. Inactive periods of
time do not count against or for the service years.
No.
Pennsylvania certificates are not renewable. An Instructional I or
Educational Specialist I is valid for a maximum of 6 service years in
Pennsylvania. If not converted before the end of the applicable service
period, the certificate becomes lapsed or invalid. An emergency permit
will not be issued to a person with a lapsed certificate.
After you
have completed all requirements as specified in Certification
Staffing and Policy Guidelines (CSPG) 7, you may apply for Level II
certification. It is the responsibility of each certificate holder to
obtain the Level II certificate before the service life of the Level I
expires. Failure to do so will result in a lapsed certificate and the
certificate holder will be ineligible for employment.
Instructional
and Educational Specialist certificates are "valid" for six (6) years
of service teaching in the area of the certificate. If an educator does
not complete the requirements for conversion from Level I to Level II within
the six (6) years, the certificate will "lapse" and become invalid
for teaching. Requirements for conversion include completion of
educational requirements, induction program and successful teacher
evaluations. Refer to Certification
Staffing and Policy Guidelines (CSPG) #7 Level
II Certification.
If an
educator does not complete the requirements of Act 48, the certificate(s) will
become inactive after the five-year compliance period. Refer to Act
48 FAQ’s for more information.
Complete
the requirements for Level II certification and submit the application for
conversion from Level I to Level II to PDE. Once converted to Level II,
the certificate will be permanently valid. Educators will need to
complete the Act 48 Continuing Professional Education requirements every five
(5) years to maintain an "active" certificate. Refer to Certification
Staffing and Policy Guidelines (CSPG) #7 for additional information.
Not in all
cases. All Instructional areas will be converted to Level II status
simultaneously; however, Educational Specialist, Administrative and
Supervisory certificates issued under 1987 regulations require three (3)
years of satisfactory service in each area.
No.
Professional experience must be in Pennsylvania, on a valid Level I
certificate, and in the curriculum area for which the certificate was issued.
Satisfactory
service (including service as a long-term substitute) for a minimum of 70
days in a single assignment in areas for which a Level I certificate is held
will be credited towards Level II. That experience shall be counted
against the period of certificate validity.
Service as
a day-to-day substitute in intermittent assignments will not count towards
Level II requirements. Likewise, this service time is not charged against
the validity period of the Level I certificate.
No.
Unsatisfactory service is not creditable toward Level II certification, but it
does count against the validity period of the certificate.
No.
Service outside the certification area does not meet state requirements for
attaining Level II.
Service on a Level I certificate in certain types of schools may be credited toward Level II certification at the option of the certificate holder. Refer to Certification Staffing and Policy Guidelines (CSPG) #7 under Optional Service for additional information.
Yes. Refer to Certification Staffing and Policy Guidelines (CSPG) #7 under Mandatory Service and Optional Service for additional information.
Refer to Certification
Staffing and Policy Guidelines (CSPG) #7 for additional information
on non-creditable service.
All
persons who were issued their Instructional I or Career and Technical Instructional I
Certificate on or after June 1, 1987 must present evidence of having
successfully completed a PDE-approved induction program in order to qualify for
an Instructional II or Career and Technical Instructional II Certificate.
Educational Specialist I Certificates issued in accordance with September 1,
1999 regulations must also complete a PDE-approved Induction program. Refer
to Certification
Staffing and Policy Guidelines (CSPG) #7 for additional information.
Instructional
or Educational Specialist applicants must complete 24 semester credits
(graduate or undergraduate level) and/or PDE-approved credits taken through a
PA Intermediate Unit. These credits must
be completed beyond the date of their initial bachelor’s degree. Semester
credits must be earned at a regionally/nationally accredited or state-approved associate, bachelor, or graduate degree-granting college/university.
There are no credit requirements for conversion of Administrative or
Supervisory certificates to Level II.
Online
courses are acceptable as long as they are submitted on a state-approved
baccalaureate degree-granting institution’s official transcript.
Educators
holding a Level I certificate must provide evidence of 24 semester hour
post-baccalaureate credits, six (6) of which must be associated with the
area(s) of certification and/or designed to improve the professional practice,
to meet the education requirements for conversion to a Level II certificate.
Community
college courses are acceptable for Level
II as long as they meet the other credit requirements.
Credits in
the fields of law, medicine, real estate and theology are not acceptable unless
the certificate holder can demonstrate that these credits relate directly to
the certification assignment.
No.
A quarter credit hour is equal to two-thirds of a semester credit hour.
If your
name has been legally changed, you should request a name change through
the Teacher
Information Management System (TIMS). There is no
processing fee for a name change.
PDE no
longer issues paper copies of your certification. If you have lost your Pennsylvania
certificate, you may print a copy directly through the Teacher
Information Management System (TIMS). There is no
processing fee for a duplicate.
If
you have questions regarding the certification process, contact the Bureau
of School Leadership and Teacher Quality.