Sunday, January 26, 2014

License Renewal 2014

There are a large number of educators who are up for license renewal this year.  The Massachusetts DESE recently issued a memo to Superintendents to be shared with educators throughout the Commonwealth regarding recertification.  Please read the memo below, and don't hesitate to contact Liz Haskell, Director of Secondary Education for Humanities if you need additional assistance.


To:             MASS
From:          Office of Educational Licensure     
Re:            GETTING THE WORD OUT-LICENSURE RENEWAL for 6/17/14 Cycle
Date:          January 2014

We at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) trust that your school year has been successful thus far and that the New Year is embraced with optimism and renewed energy. At ESE, we are also looking forward to the challenges of the New Year and a different kind of renewal, which is the purpose of this communication to you and your staff.

This memo serves as a reminder that many educators will need to renew their licensure by the conclusion of the current school year. As you know, educators who hold Professional level licenses must renew their professional licenses every five years. In order to remain legally eligible for employment, all educators who are currently employed under a professional license that has a renewal date of June 17, 2014, must renew online or submit a completed license renewal application to the ESE by June 17, 2014 (please note that the license(s) is renewed immediately when the application is completed online in ELAR). We expect some 35,000 educators may be renewing during the 6/17/2014 renewal cycle.

 In an effort to make this process as streamlined and stress-free as possible, it may be in the best interest of all involved to begin the renewal process well before the June deadline. Applications for licensure renewal may be submitted at any time before the actual due date, in fact, educators may renew their professional license one year prior to its expiration. If renewing early, please keep in mind that all requirements must be met before renewal. You may renew online and/or download a renewal application at www.doe.mass.edu/recert.

NOTE: If the Professional license is renewed early (before 6/17/2014), the next renewal cycle will begin from the date of expiration (ex, 6/17/2014-617/2019). Any PDPs accrued between the date of the educator’s early renewal and the expected expiration (6/17/2014) will not apply towards the new renewal cycle.

The Licensure Office is committed to helping educators and districts manage the license renewal process. In addition to the existing resources (outlined below), the Department is developing a License Renewal Addendum that will focus on the regulatory changes approved by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in June of 2012, including the impact of the Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Endorsement and new requirements for those renewing on/after July 1, 2016. For additional information about the SEI Endorsement and the RETELL initiative, please visit: http://www.doe.mass.edu/retell/.




Additionally, the Licensure Office will establish License Renewal Labs, where educators can come to the Department in Malden to renew their license(s) in person. If schools and districts are interested in conducting their own version of a renewal lab, with a dedicated ESE staff person available by phone to troubleshoot any issues, please contact Joseph Casey at jcasey@doe.mass.edu or 781-338-6607 for additional information.


Existing DESE Renewal Resources:
·         ELAR Password Help: James Wilkinson: jwilkinson@doe.mass.edu or 781-338-6614.
·         Professional License Renewal http://www.doe.mass.edu/recert/
·         Recertification Regulations: http://www.doe.mass.edu/lawsregs/603cmr44.html
·         Recertification Questions & Answers: http://www.doe.mass.edu/recert/qa.html
·         Recertification Guidelines (2000): http://www.doe.mass.edu/recert/2000guidelines/guidelines.pdf
·         Guidelines for Reviewing, Approving and Endorsing Individual Professional Development Plans (October, 2001): http://www.doe.mass.edu/pd/01guideline/default.html
·         Professional License Renewal Application:  http://www.doe.mass.edu/recert/application.pdf




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