Continuing licenses shall be issued with five-year renewal cycles. Holders must renew their licenses at the end of each five-year period. Credit earned for renewal purposes shall apply to the person’s license field(s) and professional duties.
Renewal or reinstatement of a license shall be based on 8.0 units of renewal credit. A unit of credit shall be equal to one quarter hour or two-thirds of a semester hour of college credit.
Five-year renewal cycles shall be initially based on the completion of credit requirements to qualify for licensure, the completion of licensure renewal requirements, or a valid license held from another state. A new five-year renewal cycle is established for a Continuing license when an expired license is renewed. A new five-year renewal cycle also is established upon the completion of program requirements for converting an Initial license to a Continuing license.
Teachers (including instructional support, student support, specialists, and resource personnel), excluding school based and central services administrators, that are not deemed 'proficient' on the most recent final summative evaluation may be placed on a mandatory improvement plan and may, therefore, be eligible to receive an Initial license at the time of license renewal (not another Continuing license); provided all other licensure requirements are met.
- A teacher who meets the criteria above, but who is not placed on a mandatory
improvement plan by the employing agency shall be deemed to have an “expired”
teaching license. A teacher whose license has expired pursuant to the provision in this
section shall be eligible to apply for an Initial license upon receipt of official notification
from the State Board of Education and after a 30-day waiting period.
- “Proficient” shall be defined as achieving a rating of proficient or higher on all of the five standards of the NC Educator Evaluation System (NCEES), or both Standards I and IV for abbreviated evaluations.
- The term of the mandatory improvement plan shall be 90 instructional days for teachers
in schools identified as low performing and 60 instructional days for teachers in schools
not identified as low performing. Teachers who are placed on a mandatory improvement
plan as a result of this policy shall be issued an Initial license provided the teacher meets
other licensing requirements.
- Local education agencies (LEAs) that move to dismiss a teacher under the provisions of
this policy must follow all due process procedures as outlined in G.S. § 325.1, et seq. The
reversion of a teacher’s license from Continuing to Initial shall not be construed as a
demotion or result in a reduction of the teacher’s salary. At the end of the term of the
Initial license (three years), a teacher may be eligible for a Continuing license.
Teachers and licensed support personnel whose license expire due to performance issues in the license renewal year must follow the procedures listed below:
For educators, whose continuing licenses reverted to an initial license and/or expired due to performance issues, the LEAs shall have discretion over what professional development is required of the teacher. LEAs may prescribe professional development to the employee in accordance with his/her demonstrated deficiencies. At the end of the three-year cycle, if all 8 credits have been completed, the license will be issued with a new five-year dating cycle or the license remains expired until all renewal credits have been earned. This option shall not be for currently employed individuals who have not met renewal requirements.
Requirements for licensed educators whose license expire on or after June 30, 2019:
Teachers of grades kindergarten through five must complete 8 renewal credits during each five-year renewal cycle that meet the following requirements:
- 3.0 CEUS in academic subject area(s)
- 3.0 CEUS addressing literacy
- 2.0 CEUS addressing the Digital Learning Competencies
Teachers of grades B-K, six through twelve and Instructional/Student Support Personnel and Central Services Administrators (includes media. counselors, psychologists, social workers, resource teachers, specialists, etc.) must complete 8 renewal credits during each five-year renewal cycle that meet the following requirements:
- 3.0 CEUS in academic subject area(s)
- 2.0 CEUS addressing the Digital Learning Competencies
- 3.0 CEUS in other education or technology activities
School Administrators:
- 3.0 CEUS focused on the standards for school executives in Instructional and Managerial Leadership
- 2.0 CEUS addressing the Digital Learning Competencies
- 3.0 CEUS in other education or technology activities
The Human Resource Management System (HRMS) used by our LEA that records and tracks educator's renewal credits is restrictive enough to prevent teachers from earning both Academic Credit and Literacy Credit for the same course. This is due to the rule (based on State Board policy) that states that an individual course/workshop cannot be counted toward two state sub-category licensure requirements simultaneously (i.e. Literacy and Academic Credit). However, CEU credits for a course can be split between these two categories and our Personnel Department will split credit when needed to provide the most benefit to our educators.
Credits can be completed at your school, other schools within the district, schools in other districts, at higher education institutions, DPI, etc. If the staff development activity is not taken 'in-house' you must submit a certificate of credit or copy of transcript to the Human Resource Services Department in order to get credit for the activity. Be sure to keep a copy of the certificate for your records because the HR Department will destroy credits once entered into the HRMS.
Some other Professional Development opportunities are offered through:
Completion of National Board earns the total 8.0 renewal credits (covering all categories) regardless of passing. Documentation of completing National Boards or a letter indicating the attempt must be submitted to the Licensure Specialist. Renewal is granted either in the educator's current renewal cycle or the next cycle and is only granted one time. Renewal of National Board is required every ten years and awards 2.0 renewal credits.
Renewal credit is no longer given for experience.
Credit is only awarded for activities totaling 10 contact hours or more (1.0 CEUs)
Credit is not awarding for hosting activities or attending meetings.
Credit is not awarded in increments less than 1 hour (ex: Activity is 10 hours and 45 minutes - only 1.0 credit is awarded)
Credit is earned as follows:
- one contact hour is equivalent to 0.1 renewal credit
- ten contact hours is equivalent to 1.0 renewal credit
- a quarter hour is the equivalent of 1.0 renewal credit
- a semester hour is equivalent to 1.5 renewal credits
Employees can check their renewal credit history through our Human Resource Management System. To view your credits, you must view it from a computer on our premises (school or central office) and must be viewed using Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher. See third link on main Licensure web page.
There is a non-refundable $35 licensure processing fee required and can only be paid by VISA or MasterCard. Instructions for handling the renewal process will be e-mailed to present employees in the Spring of each year.
If you identify an error, omission, or have a question regarding the information provided on your renewal history, e-mail
Angie Starkweather or call her at 641-2624.