Educator Certification
Renewal of Provisional Vocational Certificates
Effective July 1, 2009, individuals who are employed in positions requiring Provisional Vocational certificates in Illinois public schools are required to complete professional development in order to continue registering their certificates. (If you are not employed in an Illinois public school or employed as a substitute, you only pay the registration fee to renew your certificate.) For more information please visit the 23 Illinois Administrative Code, part 25.70 rules, for the renewal requirements: http://www.isbe.net/rules/archive/pdfs/25ark.pdf
The requirements are “phased in,” meaning that not all certificate holders must fulfill renewal requirement at the same time. If you are employed in an Illinois public school on a Provisional Vocational certificate that was issued on or after July 1, 2009, you must complete renewal requirements by the end of the five-year valid period in order to reregister at the end of that five-year validity cycle. If your certificate was issued prior to June 30, 2009, when you next register after July 1, 2009, the certificate will be valid for five years and be renewable contingent on your fulfilling renewal requirements. For example, a person whose registration expires June 30, 2011, will start the five-year validity cycle for renewal July 1, 2011. At the end of the five-year period that ends June 30, 2016, the renewal requirements must be met or the certificate cannot be reregistered.
Examples:
| Current Registration Ends | Five-year cycle begins | Prof. Dev. Completed By |
|---|---|---|
June 30, 2009 |
July 1, 2009 |
June 30, 2014 |
June 30, 2011
|
July 1, 2011 |
June 30, 2016 |
Similarities with Teaching Certificate Renewal: Please note that if you are familiar with teaching certificate renewal, the differences between renewal of Standard/Master teaching certificates and Provisional Vocational certificates are 1) the law does not include a reduction in CPDUs for holding advanced degrees and 2) you do not use Local Professional Development Committees (LPDCs), even if your district still has an LPDC. The differences in the professional development options are 1) the professional development option “subsequent certificate or endorsement” and the option to become “highly qualified in another content area” were not included, and 2) the CPDU activity #8 “supervising a student teacher or student education candidate” is not available.
If you have any questions, please contact your Regional Office of Education.
How do I renew my certificate?
During the five-year validity cycle, you need to complete one of the professional development options listed below. On or after September 1 of the final year of your validity cycle, you submit a “Statement of Assurance” listing sufficient professional development to cover the timeframe you were employed during the validity cycle. Once that Statement is approved by your Regional Superintendent and the State Teacher Certification Board, you may reregister with your Regional Office of Education for the next validity cycle.
Anyone required to complete renewal should read the overview of the process to have a more thorough understanding of the renewal requirements.
What are my professional development options for renewal? (complete one)
- Eight semester hours of education-related coursework,
- 120 Continuing Professional Development Units (CPDUs),
- Advanced, education-related degree from a regionally accredited institution,
- National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification or recertification process
- Four semester hours of approved graduate-level coursework in either:
What paperwork will I need?
You submit the Statement of Assurance using the online system ECS (Educator Certification System).
Registration can be paid once the Statement is approved by clicking on the link “Register Certificates” in ECS or by mailing the paper registration form and fee to your Regional Office of Education.
What if I have questions?
Regional Superintendents are locally elected officials who administer Regional Offices of Education that are grouped by county or counties throughout Illinois. Regional Offices are not entities of the State Board. Regional Superintendents make recommendations for renewal, register certificates, and accept applications for certificates and endorsements, among other responsibilities. If you have questions or wish to submit certification documents, please contact the Regional Office that serves the school or district in the area where you are employed or if you are not currently employed, the area where you live. Educators who no longer live in Illinois register or apply through the Regional Office that last registered their certificates. The State Board is currently serving as the Regional Superintendent for City of Chicago only.
City of Chicago: Applications for state certificates and endorsements and certificate registrations are processed through the Division of Teacher Certification located at the James R. Thompson Center, 100 West Randolph Street, Suite 14-300 Chicago, IL 60601. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. To avoid a trip to the office and any unnecessary waiting during peak periods, you may want to register or apply for your certificate on-line using the Educator Certification System (ECS). If you have any questions or wish to submit certification documents, please visit the office or call 312-814-8113.
