The purpose of the Limited Professional certificate is to provide a certificate advancement option for educators who hold South Carolina Initial teaching certificates and who are employed as educators in eligible, non-regulated educational entities in this state. In this context, “non-regulated” means that the entity is not required to comply with State Board of Education regulations and guidelines for evaluating educator performance and effectiveness.

Examples of Qualifying Employers Include:

• State or regionally accredited private and parochial schools in South Carolina,
• South Carolina public charter schools that elect not to participate in the State Board of Education approved process for evaluating teacher performance and effectiveness, and
• South Carolina institutions of higher education that have programs approved for teacher preparation by the State Board of Education.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for advancement from an Initial certificate to a Limited Professional certificate, the educator must be employed by an eligible, non-regulated educational entity in South Carolina and must have accrued a minimum total of three years of experience credit, in their certification area, over the previous seven years in one or more of these entities. The Initial certificate must not have been expired for more than one school year.

During the entirety of the qualifying time period, the educator must have:

• held a current, valid South Carolina Initial teaching certificate;
• been employed in a position which aligns (both in content and grade range) with a field in which the educator holds Initial certification;
• been employed in a South Carolina non-regulated educational entity; and
• successfully completed an annual performance evaluation process that is approved by the employing educational entity.

Applying

Once all eligibility criteria are met, educators may request advancement from the Initial certificate level to the Limited Professional certificate level by submitting the following:

• Submit a request using My SC Educator Portal
• Submit experience verification
  • Have your employer complete an Experience Verification Form on your behalf; they may email the completed form to certification@ed.sc.gov or you may then upload the completed form using My SC Educator Portal
• Submit copies of annual performance evaluations successfully completed at the educational entity during the qualifying period
  • PDF copies may be submitted using My SC Educator Portal
• Submit a recommendation for advancement
  • Have your employer's lead administrator complete a Recommendation for the Limited Professional Certificate Form on your behalf; they may email the completed form to certification@ed.sc.gov or you may then upload the completed form using My SC Educator Portal

Renewing a Limited Professional Certificate

Limited Professional certificates are valid for a period of up to five years and are renewable. In order to renew a Limited Professional certificate, educators must earn 120 renewal credits during that five-year period to renew the certificate.

Requirements for renewing Limited Professional certificates are the same as those for Renewing Professional Certificates, as specified in State Board of Education Regulation 43-55 (Renewal of Credentials).

Applying for a Position in a South Carolina Public School

An educator who holds a valid Limited Professional Certificate and who applies for a position as a teacher or a professional support specialist in a “regulated” South Carolina public school is eligible for employment at the annual-contract level. Once employed under an annual contract, the teacher is subject to all requirements and sanctions for annual-contract teachers, as set forth in the applicable state statutes, regulations, and guidelines. Upon successful completion of the SBE-approved process for evaluating teaching performance and effectiveness, the educator is eligible to move from a Limited Professional Certificate to a Professional Certificate and to be employed under a continuing contract.

Limitations

Limited Professional certificates are not eligible to add leadership fields (School Principal, Career and Technology (CTE) Center Director, or District Superintendent).