Professional Development and Renewal of Standard Teaching License
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All teachers/administrators must be able to document 60 hours of professional development annually for the renewal of their standard teaching license beginning with the 2005-2006 school year. Those teachers having a standard teaching license expiring in December of 2006, will be the first group of teachers to verify professional development for the renewal of their teaching license. Teachers having a license expiring in December of 2007, will have to document 120 hours of professional development for the renewal of their standard teaching license, etc.
All professional development must be completed within either of the following cycles:
June 1 – May 31 (OR) July 1 – June 30 of each year.
The 60 hours of professional development must be completed annually regardless of employment status. Please remember that there will always be a way to renew your teaching license should you not be able to complete the required professional development.
Individuals are strongly encouraged to download a copy of the current Rules for Professional Development from the ADE Web site and become thoroughly familiar with information regarding specific professional development activities that are to be included in the 60 hours of professional development required annually, receiving extra professional development credit for certain college level coursework, approved focus areas for professional development, menu of ways to earn professional development credit in the approved focus areas, etc.
Individuals are also strongly encouraged to download a copy of the current rules for the renewal of a standard Arkansas teaching license. Please disregard the dates that are mentioned in the rules for teachers to begin documenting their professional development annually. Those dates were later changed to the 2005-2006 school year.
Teachers/administrators attached to public schools, education cooperatives, public charter schools, Arkansas School for Math and Sciences, Arkansas School for the Deaf or Blind will work through their employer to acquire the necessary professional development on an annual basis. The employer will be responsible for maintaining verification of the professional development completed for each teacher/administrator and reporting to ADE annually for the renewal of teaching licenses. Instructions for the reporting of professional development to ADE will come through a Commissioner’s Memo.
Teachers/administrators attached to private schools, Arkansas colleges/universities or other agencies or organizations that employ licensed teachers, will be responsible for working through those employers to complete their required professional development each year or finding professional development opportunities on their own. Forms for the verification of professional development and teaching experience necessary for the renewal of a standard teaching license and for verifying specific professional development activities are available online.
Individuals that are not employed will be responsible for securing the required 60 hours of professional development annually. The submission of paperwork documenting the completion of the required professional development each year will not occur until time of renewal. At that time, the teacher will submit the completed application form for the renewal of the teaching license and attach the forms mentioned above for verifying individual professional development activities and/or experience, for each year beginning with the 2005-2006 school year.
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