Teaching Certification Renewal

Once you have your first time, full professional Minnesota teaching license, it is valid for five years. All licenses expire on June 30 of the year of expiration. They may be renewed online.

During the five-year validity of your teaching license, you must complete 125 professional development clock hours. These may be in courses representing a combination of each of the four areas below:

• Positive Behavior Intervention Strategies
• Accommodation, Modification, and Adaptation of Curriculum, Materials, and Instruction
• Key Warning Signs for Early-Onset Mental Illness in Children and Adolescents
• Reading Preparation

College courses count towards these hours, with one semester credit equaling 24 clock hour credits.

Each Minnesota school district and your local continuing education committee will determine the requirements for professional development for its teachers. You must submit to the Minnesota Department of Education a written narrative at the time of license renewal showing how you have met the requirements for all four areas above.

Reinstatement of Certification

Has your Minnesota teaching license lapsed? If so, you may have your license reinstated through one of the following methods:

• Apply for a five-year short call substitute license. This will allow you to teach up to 15 consecutive days in one classroom assignment
• Show that you have completed 125 clock hours of professional development in the past five years. Your local continuing education committee must verify and report these hours to the Department of Education.
• If you did not work in a Minnesota school district during the past year, submit official transcripts that show you completed eight semester or 12 quarter credits in education or related to your teaching field in the past five years.
• If you have been offered a Minnesota teaching position contingent upon receiving your teaching license, you may be granted a license extension. At the end of the school year, you must meet all renewal requirements.

There is no monetary penalty imposed by the state department of education if you let your Minnesota teaching license expire.