Level I Pennsylvania Instructional and Educational Specialist certificates are valid for 6 years of service, not calendar years. The 6 years of service is not affected if the holder is not actively working in a PA school setting.
All requirements indicated in CSPG 7 must be met in order to convert a Level I to Level II. Level I certificate holders must complete requirements for, apply for, and obtain Level II permanent certification prior to the completion of 6 years of actual service in Pennsylvania. It is the responsibility of the educator to track their years of service. Service is not tracked by the PA Department of Education nor is notice provided by the Department documenting years of service. If you have questions about qualifying employment, please refer to CSPG 7 for information about calculating service. Also see the Valid/Lapsed Versus Valid/Inactive information below.
Note: Educators who hold a certificate issued by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards may be issued a Level II certificate comparable in grade scope and content area to the National Board certificate upon application for Level II certification. If an individual applies for a Level II certificate in an area not comparable in grade scope and content area to the National Board certificate, the application must be reviewed by PDE's Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality Director for approval. School Psychologists who hold a certificate from the National Association of School Psychologists will be issued a Level II certificate upon application for Level II certification without having to complete any additional requirements.
There are two time periods associated with a Level I certificate – a validity period (Valid/Lapsed) and a continuing education period (Active/Inactive). Please see the chart below for information about each.
| Level I to Level II - Division of Certification Services | Act 48 Continuing Education - Division of Planning and Professional Development |
|---|---|
Instructional I and Ed Specialist I certificates are valid for 6 years of actual service in Pennsylvania, not calendar years (see CSPG 3 and CSPG 7). The status and validity of the credential may be verified through the Teacher Information Management System (TIMS) Educators must complete the following and apply for Level II Permanent Certificate prior to the completion of 6 years of actual service in Pennsylvania:
If the above noted requirements for Level II certification are not completed as described, then the certificate becomes LAPSED. Contact ra-edcertquestions@pa.gov with questions regarding Level I to Level II requirements. | Educators must earn 180 hours by completing any single or combination of the following continuing education opportunities to maintain an active certification status:
Educators can check their specific Act 48 CE period and requirements on the Professional Education Record Management System (PERMS) website. If the above noted requirements for Act 48 Continuing Education are not completed as described, then the certificate becomes INACTIVE. Contact ra-edact48@pa.gov with questions regarding Act 48 continuing education requirements. |
The 24 semester-hour credits required for Level II certification must be earned after the conferral of the initial bachelor's degree. A minimum of 6 of the 24 credits must be in the content area of the Level I certificate or in something that improves professional practice. Credits completed after the conferral of the initial bachelor' degree that meet the requirements below will be accepted even if the credits were completed to obtain initial certification.
- Graduate or undergraduate credits earned at a regionally or nationally accredited or state-approved associate, baccalaureate or graduate degree-granting institution.
- Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE)-approved credits (not Act 48 hours) offered by intermediate units submitted on letterhead with a raised seal or on an official IU transcript.
For further guidance on the credits required for Level II, see CSPG 7-Level II (Permanent) Certification.
See Level II Certification Frequently Asked Questions for additional information.
Special Notes:
- PDE does not receive your transcripts with an instate program completion application. You MUST submit your official transcripts as required documents. If submitting transcripts electronically, do not submit your transcript request until you have submitted your application in TIMS.
- Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality does not use transcripts submitted to the Act 48 office for Level II review.
- Credits in the fields of medicine, law, theology, or real estate are not acceptable unless the educator can present evidence of relevance to his/her certification area and assignment.
A Level I certificate is valid for six years of service working in Pennsylvania’s public school entities, APS, or PK-Counts approved facilities. Validity is defined as service years, not calendar years. Service years are the maximum years the educator may be employed on a Level I. Periods of time in which the holder is not working on the certificate in PA do not count against the life of the certificate.
Below is an example of a certificate without a calculated expiration date. In this example, the Level I is valid for the specified number of years of service, not calendar years. The certificate holder and the employing school entity are responsible for keeping track of the number of service years completed on the Level I.
In order to convert to Level II, three years of satisfactory service is required and defined as:
- service in Pennsylvania
- full-time service (see CSPG 7 for definition of full-time)
- actual teaching time, not calendar years, from the date Level I was issued
More detailed information regarding service requirements (mandatory and optional) can be found in CSPG 7-Level II (Permanent) Certification.
See Level II Certification Frequently Asked Questions for additional information.
Special Notes:
- All instructional subject areas will convert to Level II regardless of subject area of service. Instructional areas have a total of 6 service years combined.
- All education specialist subject areas convert as single subject areas.
- Service under an ESL Program Specialist counts against the 6 years of your Level I instructional certificate.
- Work experience data may not be complete or accurate in TIMS. IT IS YOUR RESPONISIBLITY TO EDIT OR ADD WORK EXPERIENCE.
- Level II certification requires completion of a PDE-approved induction program to include a mentoring component for all newly employed professional educators.
- Public school entities in PA are required to provide a PDE-approved induction program. Induction completed out of state cannot be substituted for the PA required induction.
- Private school entities are not required to provide a PDE-approved induction program, but this requirement still needs to be met in order to obtain a Level II certificate. Contact your employer to verify if they have a PDE-approved induction program.
- If you have not completed a PDE-approved induction or are unsure if you have, contact your employer.
- For additional information on policies and guidelines, please see CSPG 20-Induction.
- A recommendation for Level II permanent certification from the superintendent or chief school administrator based on a satisfactory Level I to Level II assessment, Form PDE-427, affirms satisfactory completion of the assessment required for Level II certification.
- The assessment is verified electronically through TIMS or, if applicable, on the PDE 338P form. Do not submit the assessment forms.
- Both satisfactory and unsatisfactory service counts against the validity of a Level I certificate.
For further information, refer to CSPG 7-Level II (Permanent) Certification
Three (3) years of Pennsylvania satisfactory service in a PA public school entity.
- Service is verified by your employer(s) electronically through TIMS by PA public school entities.
- Work experience already in TIMS may not be complete or accurate. It is your responsibility to edit or add work experience into your TIMS application.
- Form 338P is required to report service with any PA school (private) not found in TIMS and can be uploaded directly into your Level II application. This form must be signed by the Superintendent or CSA of the school. A completed form is required for each employer not found in TIMS but indicated in the application.
Twenty four (24) postbaccalaureate credits – transcripts can be submitted by:
- Contacting your university/college and requesting they mail a transcript to you. Upon receipt, mail transcript in the unopened college envelope along with the TIMS application cover sheet to the address on the cover sheet.
- Contacting your university/college and requesting the transcripts be emailed DIRECTLY to PDE to the ra-teachercert@pa.gov account. Transcripts must be submitted in the name on your TIMS application to utilize the electronic method. Do not submit your request for electronic transcripts until you have submitted your application in TIMS.
- Contacting your intermediate unit and requesting original IU letters that have the IU raised seal. Mail original letters to PDE along with the TIMS application cover sheet. IU letters do not need to be submitted in a sealed envelope.
Induction
- Reported electronically by your employing entities in TIMS or the 338P form if applicable.
Assessment
- Satisfactory completion of this required assessment is verified electronically by your employing entity in TIMS or, when applicable, on the 338P form.
Upon completion of the requirements, submit an application in TIMS for your Level II following the instructions under Help With TIMS for generating and submitting an application.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Documents should not be submitted to PDE until you have generated, paid for, and submitted your application in TIMS. All documents should be submitted with the TIMS application cover sheet that you print out AFTER you have successfully submitted your application in TIMS. Our address is located at the bottom of the cover sheet.