All educators, regardless of their employment, may use Options 1-3 of the Renewal Credit Matrix to renew their Professional certificate. These options include
Educators employed in a South Carolina public school district or a participating renewal entity have an expanded range of relevant opportunities for earning renewal credits, including the many professional development offerings coordinated by their employers. These expanded opportunities are outlined in Options 4-11 of the Renewal Credit Matrix and allow educators to earn renewal credits for
Courses eligible for renewal credit must directly relate to
- the educator's current certification field(s); or
- a certification field or specialized endorsement the educator is pursuing; or
- to the professional education goals of the educator and/or the educator’s employing district or entity
Eligible coursework must be
- Taken for credit through a regionally accredited college or university, an institution accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), or a college or university with educator preparation programs approved by the State Board of Education (SBE)
- documented on an official transcript issued by the institution
- result in a grade of C or better or a passing grade in a pass/fail course
Courses should enhance an educator’s professional knowledge and skills and may relate to a wide range of topics including content, instructional strategies, learning and developmental needs of students, instructional technology, curriculum design, assessing student learning, classroom management, and more.
One semester hour of eligible college credit is worth 20 renewal credits; one quarter hour of eligible college credit is worth 13 renewal credits.
The SCDE has established partnerships with several providers that offer professional development and graduate coursework that may be used for certificate renewal. All courses offered by these providers are pre-approved for earning renewal credits. For information on course enrollment, scheduling, costs, content, or credit type, please contact the coursework provider:
In addition to coursework offered through these SCDE partners, coursework that is approved for meeting Read to Succeed (R2S) endorsement requirements may also be used for certificate renewal.
CEUs approved for renewal credit by the SCDE include the following:
- CEUs issued by a regionally accredited college or university
- CEUs completed through the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) for the licensing and ongoing professional learning of speech-language pathologists
- CEUs completed through the Board of Examiners of Psychology for the licensing and ongoing professional learning of psychologists and professional counselors
Eligible courses completed for CEUs must relate directly to
- the educator's current certification field(s); or
- a certification field or specialized endorsement the educator is pursuing; or
- to the professional education goals of the educator and/or the educator’s employing district or entity
One CEU is equivalent to 10 renewal credits.
Speech Language Pathology (SLP): Educators certified solely in the field of SLP may receive 120 renewal credits by submitting a renewal request through My SC Educator Portal along with and a valid SLP license issued by the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation (LLR). The request may be submitted during the school year in which the SCDE certificate will expire, and the LLR license must be valid beyond the expiration date of the educator certificate. R2S endorsement requirements may also be required.
School Psychologists: Educators certified in the field of School Psychologist are eligible to receive renewal credit for Category A activities they complete toward renewal of their LLR license issued by the SC Board of Examiners of Psychology.
This renewal option is available only to educators employed in a South Carolina public school district or approved renewal entity.
An educator may earn renewal credit as an author of a professional publication. Eligible publications must
- appear in a professional journal or in a format that is sanctioned by the employing educational agency,
- contribute to the effective practice of the education profession and/or to the body of knowledge of the certification field (s)
- be a first-time publication (i.e., revised versions or second editions are excluded)
See the Renewal Credit Matrix for additional information on renewal credits that may be earned as an author of a professional publication.
This renewal option is available only to educators employed in a South Carolina public school district or approved renewal entity.
Educators may earn renewal credits for instruction (e.g., courses taught at colleges or universities; formal, prepared presentation given at conferences or meetings). Renewal credit may be awarded only for those activities that
- exceed job requirements for the educator’s position, as defined by the employing educational entity
- are professionally oriented and educationally relevant
- are offered for the first time by the educator
See the Renewal Credit Matrix for additional information on renewal credits that may be earned through instruction and professional presentations.
This renewal option is available only to educators employed in a South Carolina public school district or approved renewal entity.
Educators may earn renewal credits for participating in professional training that
- relates to the educator’s professional development plan, certification field(s), and/or the goals of employing educational entity
- is recognized as having professional relevance to the educational setting
- is completed successfully
See the Renewal Credit Matrix for additional information on renewal credits that may be earned through instruction and professional presentations.
This renewal option is available only to educators employed in a South Carolina public school district or approved renewal entity.
Educators may earn renewal credits for serving as a professional assessor or evaluator. Eligible activities
- exceed job requirements for the educator’s position, as defined by the employing school district or educational entity
- require that the educator has received training, approval, or certification prior to serving as an assessor or evaluator on a national- or state-approved evaluation team (e.g., ADEPT or PADEPP evaluator, Southern Association of College and Schools/COGNIA evaluator, CAEP accreditation team member, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) assessor
- may be counted for renewal credit only after the evaluation process has been completed
See the Renewal Credit Matrix for additional information on renewal credits that may be earned as a professional assessor or evaluator.
This renewal option is available only to educators employed in a South Carolina public school district or approved renewal entity.
Educators may earn renewal credits for providing mentorship, supervision, or coaching to an educator candidate or another educator. Renewal credits may be awarded only for activities that
- exceed the educator’s job responsibilities, as defined by the employing district or entity
- assist the professional growth of another educator or educator candidate (e.g., a student teacher, teacher, or administrator)
- are provided in conjunction with an approved teacher preparation program, induction program, or professional development process
An educator whose position description includes the mentorship, supervision, or coaching of other educators is not eligible for renewal credit if the activity is directly related to job responsibilities.
See the Renewal Credit Matrix for additional information on renewal credits that may be earned through mentorship, supervision, and coaching.
This renewal option is available only to educators employed in a South Carolina public school district or approved renewal entity.
Educators may earn renewal credits for educational projects, collaborations, grants, or research. Renewal credit may be awarded only for those activities that
- exceed job requirements for the educator’s position, as defined by the employing school district or educational entity
- are coordinated or approved by an educational entity
- are related to student achievement, the professional learning and development of educator, and/or to the goals of an educational entity
- result in a product that has relevance to the field of professional education
- are a minimum of 5 hours in length
See the Renewal Credit Matrix for additional information on renewal credits that may be earned for educational projects, collaborations, grants, or research.
This renewal option is available only to educators employed in a South Carolina public school district or approved renewal entity.
Educators may earn renewal credits for professional development activities (e.g., conferences, workshops, task forces) that
- are related to the educator’s certification field(s), job responsibilities, and/or the goals of the employing school district or educational entity
- are provided by a national, state, regional, or locally approved sponsor
- involve a minimum of 4 hours of direct contact, excluding meals and breaks
See the Renewal Credit Matrix for additional information on renewal credits that may be earned for professional development activities.
This renewal option is available only to educators employed in a South Carolina public school district or approved renewal entity.
Educators may earn renewal credits for professional development CEUs. Eligible renewal professional development activities (e.g., conferences, workshops, task forces) that
- are related to the educator’s certification field(s), job responsibilities, and/or the goals of the employing school district or educational entity
- are provided by an SCDE-approved CEU sponsor
- involve a minimum of 4 hours of direct contact, excluding meals and breaks
See the Renewal Credit Matrix for additional information on renewal credits that may be earned for professional development activities for which CEUs are awarded.
