Explanation of the Plan
 

The purpose of the new Certificate Renewal Plan is to provide a method that certified educators employed by the district with a contractual agreement can use to apply a broad range of relevant professional development activities to meet their certification renewal requirements. South Carolina state statute and State Board of Education regulations require that a teacher have a valid certificate in the area(s) he or she is teaching.  It is the sole responsibility and the contractual obligation of the employee to maintain a valid certificate.  For additional information about certification issues, please visit State Department of Education Office of Teacher Certification.

It is a systematic method to integrate the requirements of employment with evaluation and professional development to support the goals of teachers, districts, school renewal and strategic plans.

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Professional Development Sponsor Timeline
 

1. If a sponsor of a professional development activity intends to offer Certificate Renewal Credit for the professional development activity, the sponsor must first have the activity pre-approved for renewal credit throught the Office of Professional Development.  This pre-approval must occur prior to the first professional development session.  If the sponsor does not have the activity pre-approved, participants WILL NOT earn renewal credit for the activity.
   
   To apply for Certificate Renewal Pre-Approval, download the
   
   Certificate Renewal Request - Application and Pre-Approval Form
   
   by right-clicking and selecting Save target as (to save the form as a Word document).  Complete the form and submit to the sponsor's school renewal contact person.  If a district department is sponsoring the professional development activity, the department's director is responsible for pre-approving the activity.

2. For participants to earn Certificate Renewal Credit, they must attend at least 90% of all sessions.  Participants must also sign in to document their participation at each session.  It is the session sponsor's responsibility to maintain record of sign in sheets.  (See step 4.)
   
   Sign In Sheet 
   right-click and select Save target as.

3. The session sponsor is required to complete a Renewal Credit Verification Form for each participant who has attended at least 90% of all sessions.  The session sponsor gives a signed copy of the Renewal Credit Verification Form to each individual participant.  The participant is responsible for maintaining his/her own record of attendance for documentation to be attached to the Recertification Computation Sheet.
   
   Renewal Credit Verification Form
   right-click and select Save target as.
   
   An optional certificate to verify individual participation is also available as a Publisher document.
   
   Verification Certificate

4. At the conclusion of the professional development activity, the session sponsor submits a Summary Sheet (listing all participants who attended at least 90% of all sessions with their social security number) and all Sign In Sheets for the sessions to the Office of Certified Employment Services in Human Resource Services.
   
   Summary Sheet