Educators Not Employed in a South Carolina School District or Entity
Obtaining Renewal Credits
An educator who is not currently employed in a South Carolina school district or an approved entity (such as the State Department of Education or a college or university) may also wish to maintain his or her educator certification. To do this, he or she must earn renewal credits through the professional development coursework outlined in Option One and Option Two of the Renewal Credit Matrix. The coursework must relate to one of the following:
- the educator’s current area(s) of certification, or
- coursework leading to another area of certification, or
- coursework in special education and or technology.
Submitting Renewal Credits
An educator who is not currently employed in a South Carolina school district or an approved educational entity who has earned renewal credits for state educator certification must submit:
- official college or university transcripts or appropriate documentation on the completion of a State Department of Education recertification course, and
- a Request for Change/Action (1 page pdf) form to the Office of Educator Certification for processing.
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.
Related Links
- Renewal Credit Matrix (5 page pdf)
- Contact Certification