Types of Certification

Standard Professional I License (initial license)
Issued to those individuals with less than 3 years experience who complete an approved education program.  Those seeking licensure in ESOL (English as a Second Other Language), Elementary Education or Exceptional Children’s areas that complete an approved North Carolina Education Program must also pass appropriate PRAXIS II tests in order to receive the federal “highly qualified” designation and a Standard Professional I license.  Those teachers who complete an out-of-state Education Program must be designated “highly qualified” by that state in order to receive “highly qualified” designation in North Carolina and a Standard Professional I license (evidence of “highly qualified” status may be required if not clearly indicated on out-of-state license).

License is issued for a three-year period during which time the teacher must complete the Beginning Teacher Program as outlined by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.  In order to convert a Standard Professional I license to a Standard Professional II license, the license holder must complete the following;

• 3 years of teaching AND
• Be recommended by the Local Education Agency (LEA) AND
• Any Professional Development prescribed by the LEA (in Guilford County, we require two (2) continuing education units per year while in the Beginning Teacher Program) AND
• Passing PRAXIS II scores for NC OR
• Completion of NC HOUSSE (High Objective Uniform State Standard of Evaluation) OR
• Successful evaluation in most recent year of employment in NC verifying ability to positively impact student learning and verification of the LEA to offer re-employment to the individual for the following year

Standard Professional II License (continuing license)
Issued to individuals with three or more years of teaching experience who have been designated as highly qualified in North Carolina.   License is issued for a five-year cycle in which time the individual must complete renewal requirements (see License Renewal for specific requirements).

Individuals from out-of-state with three or more years of teaching experience and have a degree from a regionally accredited institution, have been designated as fully licensed and highly qualified in the other state AND who meet NC PRAXIS testing requirements or have National Board Certification will be issued a Standard Professional II license.

Individuals from out-of-state with three or more years of teaching experience and have a degree from a regionally accredited institution, BUT who have NOT met NC PRAXIS testing requirements or earned National Board Certification will be issued a Standard Professional II license after one year of successful teaching in North Carolina with the recommendation for re-employment by the Local Education Agency.

Temporary Permit
Issued to individuals who completed an approved education program, but did not complete required testing.  Temporary permits are valid for the school year in which licensure was established and are issued in non-core teaching areas only.

Provisional License
Issued in non-core teaching areas such as Career and Technical Education areas.  License holders must complete a minimum of six (6) semester hours of coursework per year in order to be eligible for continued employment.  Licensure requirements, including PRAXIS II (if applicable) must be met as established by the North Carolina Department of Public instruction in the letter issued with the license.

Lateral Entry License
Allows skilled individuals outside of the public education system to enter the teaching profession while completing an approved program.  All new Lateral Entry teachers are REQUIRED by law to complete a ten day training prior to taking over teaching responsibilities. Lateral entry licensure requirements must be met within three years.  In order to qualify for a Lateral Entry license, individuals must have at least a Bachelor’s degree from a Regionally Accredited college or university AND

EITHER:

Relevant Degree (except for Elementary Education and Exceptional Children) OR
24 semester hours of course work in the core area (except for Elementary Education and Exceptional Children) OR
Passing PRAXIS II subject assessment scores for the licensure area or The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL-only for World Languages except English)

AND

ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:

• 2.5 GPA OR
• Five years of relevant experience that occurred after Bachelor’s degree OR
• Passing PRAXIS I scores or a total SAT score of 1100 or a total ACT score of 24 PLUS one of the following:
  • 3.0 GPA in the major field of study or
  • 3.0 GPA in all courses in senior year or
  • 3.0 GPA on a minimum of 15 semester hours of courses (related to teaching area of licensure) completed within the last five years
    
    

NOTE:

To qualify for a Lateral Entry license in Elementary Education or Exceptional Children (Teacher of Record positions), the PRAXIS II subject assessment must be met prior to employment.

To qualify for a Lateral Entry license in English As a Second Language you must have either 24 semester hours in English, Linguistics, a degree in English or the PRAXIS II.

Once a license is established, the holder must either associate with a college or university with an approved education program in the area of licensure OR submit their credentials to the Regional Alternative Licensing Center (RALC).  Either agency should outline a program of study of which the licensed individual must complete a minimum of six semester hours each year in order to be eligible for re-employment. (Note: Whether or not employment continues in a North Carolina school system, the lateral entry license holder must complete all requirements within the three year period.)

EXAMPLE 
Year 1: Begin teaching the 2013-2014 school year, but before the beginning of the second school year (2014-2015), must complete 6 semester hours of coursework.
Year 2: Teach the 2014-2015 school year, but before the beginning of the third school year (2015-2016), must have completed a minimum total of 12 semester hours of coursework. 
Year 3: Teach the 2015-2016 school year, but before the beginning of the fourth school year (2016-2017), must have completed all required coursework and PRAXIS II testing.

Emergency Permits
Issued at the request of a Local Education Agency based on critical need.  Emergency Permits CANNOT be requested for CORE teaching areas (i.e. English/Language Arts, Social Studies, Math, Science, Art, Music, Foreign Language, Elementary Education, Reading, ESOL or Exceptional Children’s areas).  To be eligible for an emergency permit an individual must hold at least a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college/university and NOT qualify for a license under any other provisions.  Emergency Permits are issued only for the remainder of the current school year and NO EXTENSIONS are available.  Those with an Emergency Permit are paid at the A-00 pay level only.