License Renewal - FAQ's
Below are Frequently Asked Questions about the relicensure process and the Association's MACS Relicensure Committee.
If, after you have reviewed the questions and answers below, you still have questions, please contact your school level relicensure representative or the MACS office at relicensure@mncharterschools.org
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1. Do I need to have CEU hours in various categories?
Yes! You must verify completion of experiences in two (2) or more of the categories outlined in Minnesota Rules 8710.7200. See Category Reference Sheet.
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2. What if I only want to renew some of my current licenses?
If you choose not to renew some of your professional licenses, you must notify the Professional Educator Licensing & Standards Board of your intent to surrender your license(s) before December 31 of the previous year your license expires. (For example, if your license expires on June 30, 2020, you must notify the Board by December 31, 2019.)
Failure to notify the Board means that you must submit clock hours for each license area.
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3. What would count for CEUs toward the Reading Preparation requirement?
Workshops, conferences, or onsite staff development and/or university courses reflecting comprehensive, scientifically based research in reading instruction, which may include one or more of the following:
- Instruction and practice in phonemic awareness
- Phonics and other word-recognition skills
- Guided oral reading for beginning readers
- Vocabulary instruction
- Instruction in fostering understanding and higher-order thinking for readers of all ages and proficiency levels
- Reading in the content areas
- Specific reading strategies to impact comprehension
- Current research and best practices in reading research and instruction
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4. Which individuals are exempt from the Reading Preparation requirement?
- School Counselors;
- School Psychologists;
- School Nurses;
- School Social Workers;
- School Speech-Language Pathologists
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5. What counts toward the Positive Behavioral Intervention requirement?
Further preparation in the areas of using positive behavior interventions and in accommodating, modifying, and adapting curricula, materials, and strategies to appropriately meet the needs of individual students and ensure adequate progress toward the state's graduation rule.
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6. What counts toward the Mental Health requirement?
*In accordance with MN Statute 122A.187, during the first renewal period candidates must take the "Key Warning Signs of Early Onset Mental Illness in Youth and Adolescents" training (sometimes called "Early Onset Mental Illness in Children and Adolescents"). In subsequent renewal periods, candidates may participate in a Mental Illness training on a different topic.
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7. What is the requirement for Suicide Prevention?
At least one hour of suicide prevention training - that meets the training criteria for suicide prevention adopted by the Professional Educator Licensing & Standards Board.
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8. What is the requirement for Cultural Competency?
As of 2020, all tiered renewals are required to fulfill a Cultural Competency requirement accoridng to MN Rule 8710.0310 Sub 1D. MACS requires a minimum of 5 hours to fulfill the statutory requirements.
PELSB-sponsored trainings are guaranteed to be approved by the MACS Committee. All other trainings will be reviewed on an individual basis based on the criteria in the Statute above. MACS does not endorse any one specific training. Please contact PELSB directly for training options at 651-539-4200.
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9. What should I do if I am unsure the committee will be able to determine whether or not an activity is relevant to my licensure area or a state requirement?
Use the Clock Hour Activity Explanation Sheet to provide explanations of any activities for which you feel may need additional information, or clarification.
Not all activities require an explanation on the Clock Hour Explanation Sheet - however, "When in doubt, fill it out." Explaining the activity will help eliminate ambiguity and make it much easier for the committee to make a determination.
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10. Should I submit more than the required hours for consideration?
We recommend that you submit more than the required hours if you have enough hours to do so. In this way, if the committee does not approve some CEUs, you will have additional hours for consideration. This will help you avoid need to compile more hours and resubmit to the committee for the following meeting.
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11. What is the minimum number of hours that can be granted for a CEU activity?
One hour. You may combine similar trainings (i.e., writing strategies) of less than one hour together as long as you have signed documentation.
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12. What is the maximum number of hours that will be granted per day?
7 hours
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13. If I give a presentation on a topic within my license area, can I count it?
If it falls under your regular job duties, you cannot count the presentation for clock hours. However, you may count the preparation time for clock hours as CEUs. Candidates can claim up to 2 hours of preparation time for every hour of presentation time.
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14. How many hours do I get for college credit?
Each semester credit is worth 24 hours (i.e. a 3 credit semester class would be 72 hours). Each quarter credit is worth 16 hours (i.e. a 3 quarter credit class would be 48 hours).
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15. Do any teaching duties count towards re-licensure?
No - they are part of your job.
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16. Do extra duties, such as developing teaching manuals or writing curriculum, count towards professional development clock hours?
Not if it is part of your regular job duties or if you are being paid to develop these materials. Volunteer hours devoted to such tasks would count towards clock hours. Hours must be documented and signed by a school administrator. Candidates may claim a maximum of 30 hours for this work.
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17. What is the number of hours I can submit for service on a charter school board?
Our committee's policy is to allow a maximum of only 30 hours for this activity - which includes board training and participation on the board.
As documentation verifying your service, a copy of the board minutes' attendance record, or a written letter signed by the board chair are acceptable.
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18. What is the limit on how many volunteer hours I can submit? How do I submit volunteer hours?
Our committee has instituted a 30-hour limit. According to state rules, volunteer hours need to be volunteer work in professional organizations related to the areas of his/her licenses.
Teachers can also submit an additional 30 hours of peer mentoring experience if they have been mentoring a student teacher, for instance.
To verify volunteer hours for approval, you will need to include a letter in your submission from whoever supervises the program to verify the hours and the date range. How they want to track that on their end is up to them. Below is an example of sample language that could be used:
Between the dates of (START DATE) and (END DATE), (NAME) volunteered with our organization. Duties included (BRIEF DESCRIPTION, JUST TO VERIFY IT'S RELATED TO EDUCATION OR THE CANDIDATE'S LICENSE AREA). The total hours spent volunteering were (HOURS, OR "MORE THAN 30 HOURS").
(SIGNATURE, NAME, and JOB TITLE OF THE LETTER WRITER)
(NAME OF ORGANIZATION, or use official organization letterhead)
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19. If I want to receive clock hours for educational travel or work experience (Category I), who pre-approves these hours?
The MACS Re-licensure Committee pre-approves these hours, and not your local administrator.
Submit the Travel/Work Experience Pre-Approval Form to the Re-licensure Committee at least one month in advance of your trip or work experience.
When submitting your re-licensure materials to the committee for full review, you must submit the Travel Pre-Approval Form signed by the committee and a signed letter from your school administrator verifying the completion of your trip or the employer of the work experience.
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20. What information needs to be documented on my CEUs?
CEUs should be in the form of a certificate indicating the title of workshop/conference, the date, the presenter's name and signature, and your name.
CEUs from other areas, like coursework and volunteering, will require other documentation.
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21. What if I do not have certificates for my clock hours signed by presenters? Can my director sign off or provide a letter of explanation for me?
Yes, you may have your school director provide a signed letter of explanation for you, as long as the number of hours completed, the date of the activity, and an explanation of the activity are included.
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22. Do I need to submit an original, official transcript of college coursework to the committee, or may I submit a copy?
NO, unofficial copies of transcripts are acceptable.
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23. How do I document multiple classes from one college transcript on the Master Record Form?
If you are claiming multiple classes from one transcript, you only need to submit one copy of the transcript, but you must list each class separately on the Master Record Form.
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24. If my name does not match the name on my teaching license because I have been married, what should I do?
Contact the Professional Educator Licensing & Standards Board.
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25. If my license does not expire for another year or two, can I still submit hours in a non-renewal year to start the process?
MACS encourages people to "get ahead of the game" and submit hours in non-renewal years. However, policy requires a minimum of 50 hours be submitted at a time, and you may only submit hours once per year for review in non-renewal years.
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26. If I meet all requirements and amass all of my hours early, can I get relicensed early?
If you amass all of your hours early, you may submit them to the MACS Re-licensure Committee for review in a non-renewal year. If they are approved, we will send the approval electronically to the state. However, you cannot finish the process by completing the online application for license renewal with MDE until January 1 of the year of license expiration.
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27. Does the committee consider both teacher and administrator renewals?
Yes. Administrators should first get their CEUs approved through the Minnesota Board of School Administrators (BOSA). From there, charter school administrators should submit their hours to our committee to be counted and entered with the state. After our committee has counted and entered your hours, administrators will finish this process by completing the online application with BOSA.
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28. If I have both an administrator license and a teaching license, can I count my pre-approved administrator CEUs toward my teaching license as well?
Yes, you may count the hours that have been pre-approved by the MN Board of School Administrators toward both your administrator license and your teaching license. You do not need 125 separate hours for your administrator and teaching licenses, but you will still need to meet all the requirements in the state-required areas for your teaching license.
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29. When can I fill out the online license renewal application on the PELSB website?
When the committee approves your clock hours, MACS will send the approval of your hours electronically to PELSB. Only then will you be able to complete your application online directly through the state's website and pay the state's re-licensure fee.
Any attempt to fill out the online application prior to approval by our committee will delay your license renewal through PELSB.
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30. If I have had some clock hours approved by another committee, how do I show this?
The previous committee is responsible for submitting notice to PELSB they approved for you. When submitting remaining hours to our Re-licensure Committee, please note in your submission letting us know how many hours you already have approved by another committee.
You do not need to submit hours to the MACS Re-licensure Committee that have already been approved by another committee.
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31. What is the fee for processing re-licensure materials through the MACS Re-licensure Committee?
Please refer to the License Renewal portion of the MACS webpage (here) for amounts.
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32. What if I am not currently employed by a charter school?
If you have a service contract with a MACS member school, or if you have retired, or are no longer teaching and your last place of employment was a MACS member school you may utilize the services of our committee.
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33. What happens and what should I do if my license has expired?
If your license has lapsed and you want to teach in a public school you need to make arrangements to get your license renewed as quickly as possible as you cannot teach in a charter public schools until you have a valid license.
Contact PELSB for information on the steps you must take to renew your lapsed license.
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34. Are there alternative licensure options for school psychologists, nurses, and speech therapists?
School psychologists, nurses, and speech therapists can earn certification from the National Certification of School Psychologists (NCSP), the Minnesota Board of Nursing (click here for a list of recognized National Nursing Certification Organizations), and American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), respectively, and send proof of certification for the 5-year licensure period to the Re-licensure Committee, however, they must meet the other requirements established by PELSB for those professions.
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35. Why can't the committee review my file right away?
Our committee has a set schedule of meetings throughout the year to review relicensure packets. Committee members are volunteer full time educators at charter schools.
The MACS staff only processes the work of the Committee - the Committee makes all determinations.
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36. When will I find out what happened with my file?
An email notification of the status of your submission will be sent to you within five business days after the committee's review.
When the Re-licensure Committee approves your materials, the next step will be for you to complete the online application for license renewal through PELSB. The MACS office will provide approved applicants with instructions for completing the online application.
If your file is not approved, you will receive instructions about what needs to be done to complete the file so that it can be reviewed by the Committee at their next meeting.
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37. Can I receive CEUs for an audited course?
Yes. Our Committee policy is to allow up to half of the CEUs normally provided for “official” coursework (e.g. semester credits would be worth up to 12 hours per credit and quarter credits would be worth up to 8 hours per credit.)
Clear documentation that you attended and completed the course (as an audit) must be presented. This is typically noted on a transcript.
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38. How current do my CEUs need to be in order to be used towards my current license renewal?
Minnesota Administrative Rule 8710.7200, Subpart 8 states:
An applicant requesting renewal of a license to teach must earn a minimum of 75 clock hours during each three-year period preceding application for a Tier 3 licensure renewal and 125 clock hours during each five-year period preceding application for a Tier 4 licensure renewal. An applicant may not bank clock hours for purposes of relicensure, but clock hours earned after an application for renewal has been submitted may be applied to the next renewal period.
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39. How is renewal different if I am National Board Certified?
A local continuing education committee shall accept verification that a teacher is actively engaged in and making progress toward National Board of Professional Standards Certification or other national professional teaching certification approved by the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board at the time of renewal as equivalent to fulfilling all clock hour requirements for Tier 3 or 4 license renewal. A local continuing education committee shall accept verification that a teacher has earned National Board or other approved certification as equivalent to all clock hour requirements during the life of the certificate. If the certificate expires during the applicable renewal period, the local committee shall prorate hours completed under this exception and require completion of a prorated number of clock hours for the years the certificate is not in effect.
40. Can I earn hours for publication of professional articles in a professional journal?
Professional publication can be credited for up to 30 hours toward license renewal. Publications must be related to teaching or your license area. In order to document your work, track your hours and submit them along with a copy of the article as published.
41. What happens if the committee does not approve my relicensure application?
Within 5 business days of the scheduled Relicensure Committee meeting, you will receive an email notifying you that the Committee has not approved your application. This email will indicate the reasons and will provide guidance on what you will need to resubmit. There is no fee for submitting additional documents and you do not need to wait until the next committee meeting to do so.