If you decide to enter the teaching field, it is important to be aware of the requirements for both obtaining and maintaining your professional license. Once you’ve completed your coursework, student teaching, and classroom observation obligations, as well as any of your university’s requirements for graduation, you will obtain your education degree. To become a certified teacher in a public school, you will then have to fulfill licensing requirements in your state. Because each state has its own licensing standards, if you move or change jobs, you can expect to meet additional requirements in order to maintain your license and teach in that state.
What is Required for a Teaching License?
Most states have similar but varying requirements for teacher certification. The U.S. Department of Education publishes up-to-date information about exact teacher credentialing structures, searchable by state. Many states require at least a Bachelor’s degree, along with a video of the teacher’s performance in the classroom and a portfolio of pertinent information. Proof of continuing professional development may also be necessary. While many states offer high-quality teachers tenure in the classroom and a permanent teaching license, others only offer a provisional license with requirements that must be fulfilled in order to keep that license.
What License Requirements Vary by State?
Some states have more rigorous requirements for a teaching license. Should a teacher acquire a license where the standards have been set at an exceptionally high level, there is a good chance their license will transfer to any other part of the country. If a license does not transfer, teachers may need to take additional coursework and a certification exam that is part of a particular state’s requirements for a teaching license.
National Certification: The Route to Certification Across the Country
Teachers can opt to earn national certification in order to have more flexibility and mobility in the teaching field. National certification involves a rigorous set of requirements that must be followed in addition to the teaching license. Once national certification has been achieved, a teacher can hold a teaching license in any state across the nation.
Must a Teaching License be Obtained When Transferring Before Teaching Begins?
In some states, a teacher may be allowed to hold a position in the classroom while fulfilling the requirements for a teaching license in a new state. There is generally a time limit placed on fulfilling those requirements. If a teacher does not follow through on all of the steps involved in transferring a teaching license, the position will be lost at the end of the specified period of time. In other states, a teacher must fulfill all requirements for a transferred license before applying for a position.
As teachers consider moving to a new state, it is wise to check into the requirements for a teaching license that belong to a particular locale. Before applying for a position, one must ask: do different states have different licensing requirements? Will my license transfer from state to state? Very often, teaching jobs lead to tenure-track positions, so although it is important to be aware of how one’s license and ability to teach will be affected by moving to another state, one should make every effort to accept a job offer in an area which is likely to be one’s permanent residence.