PA Resources
Activating Your Inactive Certification
If you have your Pennsylvania certification but did not complete 180 credits under the time span indicated in the Act 48 guidelines (usually five years), you can still take steps to get it activated again. Remember, your certification is still valid, it’s just not active. There is one process to get your certification activated: complete the Act 48 credit requirements. Once the remaining Act 48 credits are completed, your certificate will return to active status. You cannot be employed by a Pennsylvania public school entity, either in a professional (tenured) or a temporary professional status, until all Act 48 requirements are completed. You can, however, substitute for up to 90 days with an inactive certification. You may be an educator that is certified in another state in addition to Pennsylvania. If your Pennsylvania certification has become inactive and you have been actively employed in that other state within the previous two calendar years, you can reactivate your Pennsylvania certification. Currently, this costs $75 and you must submit an application through the Teacher Information Management System (TIMS). An educator who is not currently employed by a Pennsylvania school entity can ask for voluntary inactive status through TIMS. If you are considering this option, we recommend that you contact the Act 48 office. They can advise you if your specific scenario warrants this option. Their email is: RA-EDAct48@pa.gov
Continuing Education (Act 48 Professional Development)
Act 48 of 1999 required Pennsylvania educators holding public school certification to participate in ongoing professional education. On their website, they created the Professional Education Record Management System (PERMS). You can access PERMS through this link:
https://www.perms.pa.gov/screens/wfpublicaccess.aspx
PERMS keeps track of your continuing education process, gives you access to current course offerings throughout the state (mostly through Intermediate Units), and gives you access to approved providers for continuing education. Once in PERMS, you can find your specific Act 48 period, your total hours recorded, and your number of hours still needed to complete the requirement. To access your information on PERMS, you will need your Professional Personnel ID (PPID).
PPID began in 2006 and became the sole identifier for educators in PERMS on July 1, 2013. If you do not know your PPID, there is a link on the page where you can retrieve it with your social security number and birthdate. Look for “Find Your Professional Personnel ID (PPID).”
Currently, there is a 180 credit/hour requirement for every five years of service. If you are employed full-time by a district, you can usually achieve this goal with your in-service days. Though your school will give the information to the state for the credits you have earned, it is still your responsibility as an educator to monitor your record of credits or hours in PERMS. It is also your responsibility to contact the provider(s) of the credits to correct any discrepancies.
The 180 continuing education hours for Act 48 can be obtained in the following ways: ·
- College courses. Six credits at a 2- or 4-year college = 180 CU hours
- Intermediate Unit courses
- In-service hours from approved providers
Educator Credentials
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has several required credentials for educators. Below is the list of credentials that you should have prepared before applying for employment:
- Pennsylvania Department of Education Certification
- Act 168 Forms must be completed for every employer you have had where you have worked with children and your current employer even if you are not currently working with children.
https://www.education.pa.gov/Documents/Codes%20and%20Regulations/Basic%20Education%20Circulars/Purdons%20Statutes/Act%20168%20-%20Attachment%20-%20Commonwealth%20of%20Pennsylvania%27s%20Sexual%20Misconduct-Abuse%20Disclosure%20Release.pdf - Pennsylvania Mandated Reporter Training certificate. This may be obtained free through the University of Pittsburgh.
https://www.reportabusepa.pitt.edu/ - Pennsylvania Child Abuse Clearance
https://www.compass.state.pa.us/cwis/public/home - Pennsylvania Criminal History Clearance
https://epatch.state.pa.us/Home.jsp - FBI Fingerprinting Criminal Background Check. You will need to know the correct code to enter on the website in order to receive the correct clearance.
https://www.identogo.com/services/live-scan-fingerprinting - Pennsylvania Arrest/Conviction Report and Certification Form (Act 24 and Act 81) https://www.education.pa.gov/documents/teachers-administrators/background%20Checks/arrest%20or%20conviction%20form.pdf
In addition, potential employers will ask for a routine physical form to be completed by your physician which will include a tuberculosis test. If you are working as an independent contractor, you will be required to purchase liability insurance. KEYTA can supply you with this insurance.
Transferring an Out of State Certification to Pennsylvania Certification
There are several routes you can take if you have a teaching certification in another state and wish to be certified in Pennsylvania. The two most common scenarios are:
- If you hold a National Board for Professional Teachings Standards Credential
- Obtain all Official Transcripts
- Obtain a photocopy of your current and valid professional certification that relates directly to the certificate you wish to obtain for Pennsylvania
- Obtain a photocopy of your National Board Credential
- You will not need additional certification testing
- Complete the application on Teachers Information Management System (TIMS)
2. If you hold an Active/Valid Professional Certification with Two Years of Teaching Experience (Instructional Only)
- Obtain all Official Transcripts
- Obtain a photocopy of your current and valid professional certification that relates directly to the certificate you wish to obtain for Pennsylvania
- Obtain proof of two years of classroom experience by having your current/previous administrator complete the Verification of Experience form
- Confirm that required content test scores have been reported directly from the test administrator. You must take the PA content tests and meet the PA qualifying score. No other substitutions are allowed.
- Complete the application on TIMS
There are other scenarios that the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) addresses on their website. To find further information, please go to Out of State Educators.
If you have any further questions, please contact PDE or KEYTA directly.
Level II Certification
It is the responsibility of every Pennsylvania educator to ensure that they have completed the requirements and apply for their Level II certification. School districts do a good job of keeping track of this information, but ultimately, it is the educator’s responsibility to see that everything is completed correctly.
It is important to remember that a Level I certificate is only valid for six (6) years of service. Not calendar years, service years.
When do I need to apply for my Level II Certification?
- You have been teaching in Pennsylvania for 3-6 years of satisfactory service
- You have completed 24 post-baccalaureate credits with six (6) of those credits being in your content are or designed to improve professional practice
- You must have completed a Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) induction program verified by your chief school administrator.
You can view more details of these requirements at: https://www.education.pa.gov/Educators/Certification/Staffing%20Guidelines/Pages/CSPG7.aspx
School districts usually do the application process. If yours does not, you need to apply through the Teacher Information Management System (TIMS)
If your certification lapses prior to obtaining your Level II certification, you can still apply. Complete all the requirements and apply through TIMS.
Once you receive your Level II certification, it is permanent. It will never expire. This should not be confused with VALID. You must keep up with the required Continuing Education Units per Act 48 in order to keep your certification valid.
Government Resources
- PA Department of Education: https://www.education.pa.gov/Pages/default.aspx
- Pennsylvania Code Title 22 Education: http://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/
- Pennsylvania House of Representatives: https://www.house.state.pa.us/
- Pennsylvania General Assembly: https://www.legis.state.pa.us/
- Pennsylvania State Senate: https://www.pasen.gov/index.cfm
- Official Pennsylvania State Site: https://www.pa.gov/
- Pennsylvania Act 48 and Professional Education Record Management System (PERMS): https://www.education.pa.gov/
- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): https://sites.ed.gov/idea/
- U.S. Department of Education: https://www.ed.gov/
- U.S. House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/
- U.S. Senate: http://www.senate.gov/
- The White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov/
- Supreme Court: https://www.supremecourt.gov/
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