Certificate Renewal for Massachusetts Teachers

 

Certificate Renewal for Massachusetts Teachers

temporary license provisional license
initial license professional license

PDPs can be earned from an approved provider at the conversion rate of:

1 clock hour = 1 PDP
1 semester credit = 22.5 PDPs

Temporary License

Validity:

• Valid for one (1) year of employment

Renewal

• Cannot be extended or renewed

Provisional License

Validity:

• Valid for five years of employment; however, starting on July 1, 2019, an educator who holds one or more provisional licenses may be employed under said license(s) for no more than five years in total.

Renewal

• Cannot be extended or renewed

Initial License

Validity:

• Valid for five (5) years of employment

Renewal

• Can be extended once for an additional five years

The Initial license is valid for five years of employment and may be extended at the discretion of the Commissioner for an additional five years. Educators who have been employed under an Initial license, are in their fifth (5) year of employment, and have not yet satisfied the requirements for advancing to the Professional license; have the option of applying for an Extension of their Initial license. 'Under a license' is defined here as meaning; "employment in the role and at the grade of the license from the date it was issued".

Professional License

Validity:

• Valid for five (5) calendar years
• Renewable every five (5) years thereafter

Renewal

Primary area:
• At least 15 PDPs in content (subject matter knowledge)
• At least 15 PDPs in pedagogy (professional skills and knowledge)
• At least 15 PDPs related to Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) or English as a Second Language (ESL)
• At least 15 PDPs related to training in strategies for effective schooling for students with disabilities and the instruction of students with diverse learning styles
• The remaining required 90 PDPs may be earned through any combination of “elective” activities that address other educational issues and topics that improve student learning, additional content, or pedagogy.

Additional area:
• A minimum of 30 PDPs - Of the 30, at least 15 PDPs in content are required. The remaining 15 PDPs may be earned through either “elective” activities that address other educational issues and topics that improve student learning, additional content, or pedagogy. The renewal of an Invalid Additional area license requires 150 PDP’s.

TCL is a DESE-approved PD provider and offers graduate-level credit from regionally accredited universities.

MA online self-paced courses
MA online structured courses
MA site-based courses

For more information about our courses, promotional offers and requirements in your state, please opt in.

[content updated July 2021]