- Instructional I and Ed Specialist I certificates are valid for 6 years of actual
service, not calendar years
- (See
CSPG #3 and
CSPG #7)
- 24 credits earned after the initial bachelor's degree
- PDE Approved Induction
- Three Years of Satisfactory Service
- No Notice to Educator
- Penalty –
lapsed certificate
| - 5 calendar years from date initial certificate issued and every 5 years thereafter for the life of the certification
- 6 credits = 180 hours CE
- Credits:
- 2- or 4-year college
- IU credits
- In-service hours from approved providers
- Notice at 4- and 5-year marks
- Penalty –
inactive certificate
|
Level II Certification FAQ’s
ACT 48 FAQ’s
The 24 semester-hour credits required for Level II certification must be earned after the conferral of the initial bachelor's degree. A minimum of 6 of the 24 credits must be in the content area of the Level I certificate or in something that improves professional practice. Credits completed after the conferral of the initial bachelor' degree that meet the requirements below will be accepted even if the credits were completed to obtain initial certification.
- Graduate or undergraduate credits earned at a regionally or nationally accredited or state-approved associate, baccalaureate or graduate degree-granting institution.
- Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE)-approved
credits (not Act 48 hours) offered by intermediate units submitted on letterhead with a raised seal.
For further guidance on the credits required for Level II, see
CSPG #7-Level II (Permanent) Certification.
See
Level II Certification FAQ's for additional information.
Special Notes:
-
PDE does not receive your transcripts with an instate program completion application. You MUST submit your
official transcripts as required documents. If submitting transcripts electronically, do not submit your transcript request until you have submitted your application in TIMS.
-
Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality does not use transcripts submitted to the Act 48 office for Level II review.
- Credits in the fields of medicine, law, theology, or real estate are not acceptable unless the educator can present evidence of relevance to his/her certification area and assignment.
A Level I certificate is valid for six years of service working in Pennsylvania’s public school entities, APS, or PK-Counts approved facilities. Validity is defined as service years, not calendar years. Service years are the maximum years the educator may be employed on a Level I. Periods of time in which the holder is not working on the certificate in PA do not count against the life of the certificate.
Below is an example of a certificate without a calculated expiration date. In this example, the Level I is valid for the specified number of years of service, not calendar years. The certificate holder and the employing school entity are responsible for keeping track of the number of service years completed on the Level I.
In order to convert to Level II, three years of satisfactory service is required and defined as:
- service in Pennsylvania
- full-time service (see
CSPG 7 for definition of full-time)
- actual teaching time, not calendar years, from the date Level I was issued
More detailed information regarding service requirements (mandatory and optional) can be found in
CSPG 7-Level II (Permanent) Certification.
See
Level II Certification FAQ's for additional information.
Special Notes:
- All instructional subject areas will convert to Level II regardless of subject area of service. Instructional areas have a total of 6 service years combined.
- All education specialist subject areas convert as single subject areas.
- Service under an ESL Program Specialist counts against the 6 years of your Level I instructional certificate.
- Work experience data may not be complete or accurate in TIMS. IT IS YOUR RESPONISIBLITY TO EDIT OR ADD WORK EXPERIENCE.
- Six (6) semi-annual satisfactory ratings completed and retained by the school entity.
- Evaluations and assessments are verified electronically through TIMS or if applicable, on the 338P form. Do not submit the rating forms.
- Both satisfactory and unsatisfactory service counts against the validity of a Level I certificate.
For further information, refer to
CSPG #7-Level II (Permanent) Certification
Three (3) years of Pennsylvania satisfactory service in a PA public school entity.
- Service is verified by your employer(s) electronically through TIMS by PA public school entities.
- Work experience already in TIMS may not be complete or accurate. It is your responsibility to edit or add work experience into your TIMS application.
-
Form 338P is required to report service with any PA school (private) not found in TIMS and can be uploaded directly into your Level II application.
This form must be signed by the Superintendent or CSA of the school. A completed form is required for each employer not
found in TIMS but indicated in the application.
Twenty four (24) postbaccalaureate credits – transcripts can be submitted by:
- Contacting your university/college and requesting they mail a transcript to you. Upon receipt, mail transcript in the unopened college envelope along with the TIMS application cover sheet to the address on the cover sheet.
- Contacting your university/college and requesting the transcripts be emailed DIRECTLY to PDE to the
ra-teachercert@pa.gov account. Transcripts must be submitted in the name on your TIMS application to utilize the electronic method. Do not submit your request for electronic transcripts until you have submitted your application in TIMS.
- Contacting your intermediate unit and requesting original IU letters that have the IU raised seal. Mail original letters to PDE along with the TIMS application cover sheet. IU letters do not need to be submitted in a sealed envelope.
Induction
- Reported electronically by your employing entities in TIMS or the
338P form if applicable.
Assessments
- Reported electronically by your employing entities in TIMS or the
338P form if applicable.
Upon completion of the requirements, submit an application in TIMS for your Level II following the instructions under
Help With TIMS for generating and submitting an application.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Documents
should not be submitted to PDE until you have generated, paid for, and submitted your application in TIMS. All documents should be submitted with the TIMS application cover sheet that you print out AFTER you have successfully submitted your application in TIMS. Our address is located at the bottom of the cover sheet.