Initial Certificate: An initial educator certificate is issued for three years and is non-renewable.
The process for maintaining or advancing an initial certificate depends upon an educator's current employment status. After earning three full time years of experience credit within the past seven years in their certification area, South Carolina certified educators employed in eligible, non-regulated educational entities may qualify for a limited professional certificate.
Professional Certificate: valid for 5 years
- A minimum of 120 renewal credits during the five-year validity period
- Any educator who has not earned a Master's Degree must earn at least sixty of the required renewal credits (three semester hours) in graduate-level coursework to renew his or her current certificate. Educators who hold Career and Technology Education Work-Based Certificate exclusively are not required to fulfill the graduate-level coursework requirement. (see our Masters Program) (see our courses)
Jason Flatt Act
Educators working in a public middle or high school setting must satisfy the Jason Flatt Act requirements before their professional certificate can be renewed. Please review the Jason Flatt Act and contact your District Renewal Coordinator for more information.
Read to Succeed (R2S) Endorsements
Educators holding professional certification expiring in 2020 and beyond are currently required to earn the appropriate R2S endorsement to be eligible for further certification renewals. All coursework that are accepted for meeting R2S endorsement requirements are also pre-approved for meeting renewal requirements. http://ed.sc.gov/educators/certification/certification-resources/read-to-succeed-requirements-for-educators/#R2SCoursework
(see our Literacy Courses)
Coursework Pre-Approval: For formal course approval, please submit a detailed course description, including the name of the college or university, along with the Request for Change/Action Form to the DOE. Upon receipt, the course(s) will be evaluated by a certification analyst and correspondence will be mailed to you regarding the results.
