Business Department

Certification

SECURING A LICENSE OR CERTIFICATE

The educator shall be responsible for securing a license or certificate, verifying its accuracy, maintaining its validity, registering it with the employing board of education, and meeting the requirements of T.C.A. 49-5-101. Teaching contracts are invalid if a license is allowed to lapse.

KINDS OF LICENSES

Apprentice Licenses

An apprentice license is issued to a teacher who completes an approved program of teacher education. The license is valid for five years; but once it is used three years in a Tennessee public school, it is no longer valid. In other words, the person who has an apprentice license has five years in which to teach three years in a Tennessee public school system.

An out-of-state license is issued to an applicant who meets Tennessee licensure requirements and has at least one year of acceptable teaching experience in another state. It is equivalent to an apprentice license. Upon completion of three years of teaching (meaning a combination of in-state/out-of-state, with the last year in Tennessee) and a positive local evaluation, the person will receive a professional license.

Professional Licenses (Teacher, Occupational Education, and School Service Personnel)

A 10-year professional license is issued to a teacher who has completed three years of experience in an approved school and who has positive local evaluations. If a person teaches three years on the apprentice license in a Tennessee public school and receives a positive evaluation, he will be issued a 10-year professional license.

NAME AND ADDRESS CHANGES

It is the responsibility of the teacher to report any name or address changes to the Office of Teacher Licensing and Certification.

NEW CERTIFICATES

It is the responsibility of the teacher to supply the employing system with the superintendentÕs copy of any and all teaching certificates. When employment is terminated, all superintendentÕs copies of certificates will be returned to the teacher.

ADDITIONAL COURSE WORK

The teacher pay scale reflects the following educational levels:

Bachelors (state and local) Bachelors + 15 (local) Bachelors + 30 (local) Masters (state and local) Masters + 15 (local) Masters + 30 (local) Masters + 45 (state and local) Ed. Specialist (state and local) Ed. Doctorate (state and local)

Any degree changes recognized by the state must be turned in to the Disbursement Office of the Tenn. Department of Education by December 1. All local degree changes must be in the director of schoolÕs office by November 1. Course work must have been completed by September 1.