Hi all,
My partner and I have our teaching certification in Oklahoma that will expire in June of 2019. We plan to continue teaching internationally for years to come but have come upon a roadblock of how to transfer our certification. To renew our Oklahoma certification, we would have to move back and teach one year in OK, which is not desirable. Does anyone have a recommendation on another state that has easy transferability for certification as well as a simple renewal policy?
Transferring teaching certification
Re: Transferring teaching certification
New Jersey. They still offer a lifetime professional license. You'll have to check to see if they have a reciprocity agreement with Oklahoma though. I know they do for Florida, which is where my original license was from.
Response
What is your goal, long term plan or strategy? Do you intend to retire out in IE or do you plan to return to the US to teach in DE and if you do would you resettle in Oklahoma? How many years of teaching experience do you have and are they recent? Have you done and PD, and do you intend to continue to do PD in the future, or is NOT doing PD moving forward a priority? Are your teaching fields also what you studied/have degrees in, and do you intend to keep your credentials in the fields you have or is expanding into other teaching subjects or different roles a priority? Do you have professional grade credentials now or are they entry grade credentials? You have several options. What do you define as easy to transfer and simple renewal?
First, you could dump the US credential entirely and apply for QTS in the UK. QTS is a lifetime credential and isnt limited for practical purposes within IE to subject or grade level. The cost is zero, the processing time is a couple weeks, and its little more than an online application and at most a letter from the OK regulatory agency. There is no PD or renewal requirement. If you teach what your degrees are in and you intend to retire out of IE and not return to the US this is a viable option.
Second, within the US the two best options for an IT to park their credentials are NJ and CA. All of NJs credentials are lifetime credentials and CA offers a 5 year renewable credential but there are no PD requirements to renew the credential. CA is the gold standard of US IE curriculum. CC, NextGen, Arrow, WASC all those standards were either wholly lifted or adapted versions of the CA state curriculum. The fees are very modest and there is no PD requirement. However, CA has some pretty high standards to grant you a CLEAR credential you effectively would need a Masters degree and have obtained or be able to add an ESOL endorsement or credential to your current credential, in addition to having taken some exams and have 2 years of teaching experience. NJ is easier, you dont need a Masters degree but you need 2 years of essentially (recent within the last three years) teaching experience. If your applying for a professional services credential the experience requirement does not apply. Even if you dont have acceptable experience (and NJ can be picky about acceptable experience) the CEAS (Entry grade credential) is also a lifetime credential. There are some minor though significant differences between them. CA is horrible in terms of SPED/SEN/LD compared to NJ which is easier but has only one generic endorsement area for SPED/SEN/LD. CA has more options though for CTE credentials whereas NJ is very limited.
Third, Missouri (MM) has a 99 year which for all practical purposes is a lifetime credential (Career, Advance Grade) that requires no PD, the problem is that if you dont qualify for the Career credential the pathway to transition from the initial to career credential is not possible to complete with out teaching in MM. I usually recommend the MM route when the IT has a doctoral degree in a teachable subject and wants to transition to K12/KS in IE.
Fourth, the easiest and fastest credential to apply for is probably Hawaii (HI). While they require PD to renew their credentials the application process is some transcripts and photocopies and an application.
Fifth, if you just need to buy time a number of states will grant you 5 year or comparable credentials that while they require PD, you can always transition them to another state before they expire. A number of states (such as CA) will also accept expired credentials.
First, you could dump the US credential entirely and apply for QTS in the UK. QTS is a lifetime credential and isnt limited for practical purposes within IE to subject or grade level. The cost is zero, the processing time is a couple weeks, and its little more than an online application and at most a letter from the OK regulatory agency. There is no PD or renewal requirement. If you teach what your degrees are in and you intend to retire out of IE and not return to the US this is a viable option.
Second, within the US the two best options for an IT to park their credentials are NJ and CA. All of NJs credentials are lifetime credentials and CA offers a 5 year renewable credential but there are no PD requirements to renew the credential. CA is the gold standard of US IE curriculum. CC, NextGen, Arrow, WASC all those standards were either wholly lifted or adapted versions of the CA state curriculum. The fees are very modest and there is no PD requirement. However, CA has some pretty high standards to grant you a CLEAR credential you effectively would need a Masters degree and have obtained or be able to add an ESOL endorsement or credential to your current credential, in addition to having taken some exams and have 2 years of teaching experience. NJ is easier, you dont need a Masters degree but you need 2 years of essentially (recent within the last three years) teaching experience. If your applying for a professional services credential the experience requirement does not apply. Even if you dont have acceptable experience (and NJ can be picky about acceptable experience) the CEAS (Entry grade credential) is also a lifetime credential. There are some minor though significant differences between them. CA is horrible in terms of SPED/SEN/LD compared to NJ which is easier but has only one generic endorsement area for SPED/SEN/LD. CA has more options though for CTE credentials whereas NJ is very limited.
Third, Missouri (MM) has a 99 year which for all practical purposes is a lifetime credential (Career, Advance Grade) that requires no PD, the problem is that if you dont qualify for the Career credential the pathway to transition from the initial to career credential is not possible to complete with out teaching in MM. I usually recommend the MM route when the IT has a doctoral degree in a teachable subject and wants to transition to K12/KS in IE.
Fourth, the easiest and fastest credential to apply for is probably Hawaii (HI). While they require PD to renew their credentials the application process is some transcripts and photocopies and an application.
Fifth, if you just need to buy time a number of states will grant you 5 year or comparable credentials that while they require PD, you can always transition them to another state before they expire. A number of states (such as CA) will also accept expired credentials.