Educators Employed in a SC Agency/Entity
Obtaining Renewal Credits
An educator who is employed at a public educational entity (a higher education institution, state funded agency) that has been approved as a Renewal Credit Plan agency by the Office of Educator Certification, Division of Educator Quality & Leadership, must earn renewal credits through professional development activities that relate to one of the following:
- the educator's current area(s) of certification,
- a formal program of study in a certification area in which the educator is officially enrolled, or
- the goals of the educator's employing educational entity.
Submitting Renewal Credits
The public school district or State Department of Education-approved educational agency must- establish the process for educators to submit their credit to the district/agency administrator and the procedures for the district/agency officials to enter the renewal credit for educators;
- outline the Renewal Credit Plan policies and procedures in a district/agency guidebook made available to all employees of the district/agency; and
- enter all earned renewal credits prior to the expiration of the certificate and/or at the time the educator is no longer employed in that district/agency.
Note: Any educator who has not earned a master’s degree must earn at least sixty 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 Certification exclusively are not required to fulfill the graduate-level coursework requirement.
Public education organizations and agencies that want to apply to become a Renewal Credit Plan agency must complete the agency application.
Related Links
- Agency/Entity Definition
- Agency Application (1 page pdf)
- Renewal Credit Matrix (5 page pdf)