Licensure Renewal Requirements

It is the responsibility of the licensure holder to review and know the licensure renewal requirements for their current license and to complete renewal requirements, including the applicable application for license renewal in TEACH, prior to the expiration of their license.

For a license to be considered continuous with no lapse, renewal requirements must be completed prior to the expiration date of your license. There is no grace period or extension for completing renewal requirements. Failure to maintain a valid professional license may result in non-renewal of your employment contract.

Renewing an historical (SPCI, SPCII, APC) MSDE Certificate

The following historical certificates may be renewed to a comparable license:

Historical certificate holders may choose to submit the requirements for renewal that were in place when the historic certificate was issued. If you hold a historic professional certificate, you may either present the requirements for renewal of a license or six acceptable credits as follows:

Renewing An Active License

You are responsible for initiating the renewal of your professional license before it expires. You may apply for renewal through your TEACH Dashboard. As part of your application, you will be required to upload documentation demonstrating the completion of renewal requirements, including an Individualized Professional Development Plan (IPDP).

To renew a professional license, you must submit a minimum of 90 Professional Development Points (PDPs) that include professional learning in each of the following four areas:

1. Content or pedagogy that is related to an area on your license
2. English as a Second Language, Sheltered English, or Bilingual Education
3. Strategies for teaching students with disabilities or differentiated instruction
4. Culturally Responsive Teaching or diverse student identities in education

Educators may choose to continuously renew a professional license or advance to the next tier of licensure. Advancement is not required in Maryland. The following professional licenses may be renewed:

• Initial Professional License (IPL)
• Professional License (PL)
• Advanced Professional License (APL)

To apply for the advancement of your license, submit a Renewal/Advancement application on your TEACH Dashboard. Be prepared to submit documentation demonstrating that you meet the eligibility requirements for the advanced license.

Once a professional license is issued, you must meet the renewal requirements for that license.

Additional Renewal Requirements for Specific Areas of Licensure

Certain areas of licensure require additional professional learning, which can be earned as a part of the 90 PDPs:

• Blind/Visually Impaired– a minimum of 15 PDPs in braille maintenance
• School Counselor– one semester hour of coursework, MSDE-approved Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credit, or an equivalent number of Continuing Education Units (CEUs) that address all of the following:
• Depression
• Trauma
• Violence
• Youth suicide
• Substance abuse
• The identification of professional resources and best practices for distributing resources to parents or guardians to help students in crisis.

MSDE publishes a list of courses that meet the additional requirements for school counselors. Educators are not limited to the courses listed on the website to fulfill the requirement.

• Administrator I/II– educators employed in a Maryland local school district, Maryland-operated school, or nonpublic special education program who hold the Administrator I or Administrator II area and are assigned to an administrator or supervisor position must complete professional learning that addresses:
• Strategies for increasing teacher retention
• Strategies for developing and facilitating teacher leadership
• Elementary Education, Early Childhood Education, Generic Special Education (all grade bands), and ESOL– educators employed in a Maryland local school district, Maryland-operated school, or nonpublic special education program in a position that requires a license in one of these areas must demonstrate proficiency in the knowledge and practices of scientific reading instruction at the time of renewal by presenting one of the following:
• A passing score on the Praxis Teaching Reading: Elementary assessment; or
• Completion of coursework or professional learning approved by the MSDE.

For a license to be considered continuous with no lapse, renewal requirements must be completed prior to the expiration date of your current license. There is no grace period or extension for completing renewal requirements. Failure to maintain a valid professional license may result in non-renewal of your employment contract.