To renew a Professional certificate, verification of having earned 120 renewal credits must be submitted to the Office of Human Resources. Educators may also be required to meet Read to Succeed (R2S) endorsement requirements and/or Jason Flatt suicide awareness training requirements. All credits must be earned during the current five-year validity period of the certificate. Renewal credit that is over five years old is not acceptable for renewal.
A signed computation sheet along with official transcripts/renewal credit certificates/additional verification documents must be approved by the school-level renewal administrator before submission to Human Resources for processing. Please note that renewal requests sent directly to the State Department of Education will be denied.
Professional Certificate Renewal Guidelines
Renewal Credit Matrix
Renewal Computation Sheet
Pre-Approved Renewal Course Providers:
The following providers offer pre-approved coursework that meet the requirements of either Option 1 or 2 of the renewal credit matrix:
VirtualSC Professional Development
ETV LEARN
TeacherStep Professional Development
Jason Flatt Act Requirement for Middle and High School Educators:
Educators working in a middle or high school setting must satisfy the Jason Flatt Act requirements once in their career before the certificate can be renewed. The Jason Foundation's Mental Health Issues Surrounding Suicidal Ideation (Module 2) will meet this requirement. A certificate of completion must be submitted as verification.
Read to Succeed Endorsement:
Educators holding Professional certificate that expires in 2020 or beyond must earn the appropriate R2S endorsement to remain eligible for certification renewal. Each course that is accepted for meeting R2S endorsement requirements is also pre-approved for earning 60 renewal credits. It is highly recommended that educators complete R2S coursework as part of their 120 renewal credits, rather than in addition to these requirements. R2S requirements can be found on the State Department's website.
Extension Requests:
If renewal requirements are not met by June 30th, a one-year extension can be requested by visiting My SC Educator Portal with the State Department of Education. This option is only available if an extension has not been granted in the last five years.
When an extension is granted, the following certificate validity period will be issued for four years instead of five years.