Recertification

To keep your Massachusetts Professional level teacher or specialist license current, you must complete relevant professional development programs and activities designed to support and increase student learning. You are required to apply for recertification every five years once you have achieved Professional licensure (formerly called standard certification). If you have let your license lapse, or become inactive or invalid, you can apply to activate it in the same way you would apply for recertification.

The recertification guidelines, regulations, application, and FAQs are detailed on the the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Recertification website. Please review these carefully; the Recertification Guidelines and FAQs are especially helpful.

Lesley University is a state-approved professional development provider, offering courses, seminars, institutes, workshops and other activities that fulfill Massachusetts recertification requirements. Professional development activities are available in a wide range of formats, on weekends, weekdays and evenings, on campus and at school sites. Please go to the School of Education Professional Development and Resources webpage and click on Teachers and Administrators to learn about upcoming programs, institutes and workshops.

Graduate courses are an excellent way to accumulate PDPs (67.5 PDPs for 3-credit courses), and we have developed a list of sample graduate courses that update and deepen teacher knowledge in the field.  The complete University course descriptions and schedules can be accessed at www.lesley.edu/courses.

Overview of the Process

Apply for recertification or reactivation online through your ELAR account at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). The fee is $100 for the primary area and $25 for each additional area. The entire process can be done online and although you must maintain a copy of your activities, you need not submit a hard copy of documentation unless requested through an audit.

You must earn 150 Professional Development Points (PDPs) in the primary Professional license area every 5 years, with a minimum of 90 points in content and 10 points in one topic. Each additional license area must have 30 points in content.

Different activities earn varied amounts of PDPs. A 3-credit graduate course is equivalent to 67.5 PDPs. The ways to earn PDPs are described in the MA DESE Recertification Guidelines.

You are required to maintain an Individual Professional Development Plan [pdf], with reasonable documentation that validates the completion of an activity and the number of points accrued, and a record of complete recertification activities. The record of complete recertification activities [pdf] must include the topic and type of professional activities completed, the dates of the activities, and the number of points completed.

If you are employed by a Massachusetts public school, your supervisor must endorse your Professional Development plan; if you are not employed by a Massachusetts public school district you may submit plans directly to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, without a supervisor's approval. The documentation does not have to be sent to the Department, but you must keep the records for five years from the date of recertification, and it is subject to an audit review by the DESE.

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