Educator Certification Procedures
The Office of Educator Quality is open to the
public 8:00- 4:00 Monday - Friday
Processing
time for certification applications is approximately 4 weeks.
Certification
Fees Effective January 1, 2009
Renewal notices will no longer be mailed. Use
your system id and password to access and update your certification information.
Revised Regents regulations were recently
adopted. For the renewal of a five (5) year Professional Certificate that expires in
2008 or 2009 the following credits must be completed: 6 graduate credits
in ANY area AND 3 other college credits (undergraduate or graduate) or 45 hours
of approved professional development.
This page will provide you with all the information you need relating to the certification regulations in Rhode Island. Included on this page are the application procedures, forms, regulations and fee structure. Links
below will direct you to the information you need.
Please note that applications are processed in the order in which they are
received. Be certain that the application packet is complete. Only
complete packets can be processed. Every effort is made to respond to your
request in a timely manner.
Federal legislation, the “No Child Left Behind” Act mandates that all teachers of core academic subjects be “highly qualified” as defined by the law. To meet the federal definition of a “highly qualified” teacher you must:
- Hold a Bachelor’s Degree
- Hold full state certification
- Demonstrate subject matter competency in the core academic subject (s) by having a major or its equivalent or by passing a rigorous content knowledge test.
It is important to understand that by holding a Rhode Island teaching certificate does not necessarily mean that you have met the federal definition of a “highly qualified” teacher. This is especially true for educators securing certification by reciprocity. These educators may need to meet the Rhode Island testing requirement to meet the federal definition of a “highly qualified” teacher.