Level II Certification FAQ’s

ACT​ 48 FAQ’s

The 24 semester-hour credits required for Level II certification must be earned after the conferral of the initial bachelor's degree. A minimum of 6 of the 24 credits must be in the content area of the Level I certificate or in something that improves professional practice. Credits completed after the conferral of the initial bachelor' degree that meet the requirements below will be accepted even if the credits were completed to obtain initial certification.

• Graduate or undergraduate credits earned at a regionally or nationally accredited or state-approved associate, baccalaureate or graduate degree-granting institution.
• Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE)-approved credits (not Act 48 hours) offered by intermediate units submitted on letterhead with a raised seal.

For further guidance on the credits required for Level II, see CSPG #7-Level II (Permanent) Certification.

See Level II Certification FAQ's for additional information.

Special Not​​​es:

• PDE does not receive your transcripts with an instate program completion application. You MUST sub​mit your official​​ transcripts as required documents. If submitting transcripts electronically, do not submit your transcript request until you have submitted your application in TIMS.
• Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality does not use transcripts submitted to the Act 48 office for Level II review.
• ​Credits in the fields of medicine, law, theology, or real estate are not acceptable unless the educator can present evidence of relevance to his/her certification area and assignment.​

A Level I certificate is valid for six years of service working in Pennsylvania’s public school entities, APS, or PK-Counts approved facilities. Validity is defined as service years, not calendar years. Service years are the maximum years the educator may be employed on a Level I.  Periods of time in which the holder is not working on the certificate in PA do not count against the life of the certificate.

Below is an example of a certificate without a calculated expiration date. In this example, the Level I is valid for the specified number of years of service, not calendar years. The certificate holder and the employing school entity are responsible for keeping track of the number of service years completed on the Level I.

In order to convert to Level II, three years of satisfactory service is required and defined as:

• service in Pennsylvania​
  
• full-time service (see CSPG 7 for definition of full-time)
• actual teaching time, not calendar years, from the date Level I was issued

More detailed information regarding service requirements (mandatory and optional) can be found in CSPG 7-Lev​el II (Permanent) Certification.

See Level II Certification FAQ's for additional information.

Special ​Notes:

• All instructional subject areas will convert to Level II regardless of subject area of service. Instructional areas have a total of 6 service years combined.
• All education specialist subject areas convert as single subject areas.
• Service under an ESL Program Specialist counts against the 6 years of your Level I instructional certificate.
• Work experience data may not be complete or accurate in TIMS. IT IS YOUR RESPONISIBLITY TO EDIT OR ADD WORK EXPERIENCE.

• ​Level II certification requires completion of a PDE-approved induction program to include a mentoring component for all newly employed professional educators.
• Public school entities in PA are required to provide a PDE-approved induction program.   Induction completed out of state cannot be substituted for the PA required induction.
• Private school entities are not required to provide a PDE-approved induction program, but this requirement still needs to be met in order to obtain a Level II certificate.  Contact your employer to verify if they have a PDE-approved induction program.
• If you have not completed a PDE-approved induction or are unsure if you have, contact your employer.
• For additional information on policies and guidelines, please see CSPG​ 20-Indu​ction.

• Six (6) semi-annual satisfactory ratings completed and retained by the school entity.
• Evaluations and assessments are verified electronically through TIMS or if applicable, on the 338P form. Do not submit the rating forms.
• Both satisfactory and unsatisfactory service counts against the validity of a Level I certificate.

For further information, refer to CSPG #7-Level I​I (Permanen​t) Certification​

​ Three (3) years of Pennsylvania satisfactory service in a PA public school entity.​

• Service is verified by your employer(s) electronically through TIMS by PA public school entities.
• Work experience already in TIMS may not be complete or accurate. It is your responsibility to edit or add work experience into your TIMS application.
• Form 338P is required to report service with any PA school (private) not found in TIMS and can be uploaded directly into your Level II application.  This form must be signed by the Superintendent or CSA of the school.  

Twenty four (24) postbaccalaureate credits – transcripts can be submitted by:

• Contacting your university/college and requesting they mail a transcript to you. Upon receipt, mail transcript in the unopened college envelope along with the TIMS application cover sheet to the address on the cover sheet.
• Contacting your university/college and requesting the transcripts be emailed DIRECTLY to PDE to the ra-teachercert@pa.gov account. Transcripts must be submitted in the name on your TIMS application to utilize the electronic method. Do not submit your request for electronic transcripts until you have submitted your application in TIMS.
  
• Contacting your intermediate unit and requesting original IU letters that have the IU raised seal.  Mail original letters to PDE along with the TIMS application cover sheet. IU letters do not need to be submitted in a sealed envelope.

Induction

• Reported electronically by your employing entities in TIMS or the 338P form if applicable.

Assessments

• Reported electronically by your employing entities in TIMS or the 338P form if applicable.
  

Upon completion of the requirements, submit an application in TIMS for your Level II following the instructions under Help With TIMS for generating and submitting an application.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Documents should not be submitted to PDE until you have generated, paid for, and submitted your application in TIMS. All documents should be submitted with the TIMS application cover sheet that you print out AFTER you have successfully submitted your application in TIMS. Our address is located at the bottom of the cover sheet.

Working in one or more of the following school settings in Pennsylvania in your certified subject area is considered Mandatory Service towards your Level II certification:

• Public schools
  
• Intermediate units
• Career and technical schools
• Approved private schools for special education (APS)
• Special program jointures
• Pre-K Counts programs (effective 2008-09 school year)
• State-owned schools:
• Scotland School for Veterans Children
• Scranton State School for the Deaf
• State correctional facilities (when providing inmate education and training to school age inmates)
• Juvenile correctional facilities or county jails (when employed by a public-school entity)
• An alternative education after-school program (if the students are receiving credit for the coursework taken)
• A charter school as a principal, assistant principal, or vice principal

Service in one of the above Mandatory Service Settings must be counted against your Level I's years of service and should be used towards gaining your Level II certificate. If you are not actively working on your certificate in a PA Mandatory Service Setting, the employment does not count against the validity of your certificate. Mandatory Service Settings, Optional Service Settings, and Non-Creditable Service Settings are all outlined in our Certification Staffing Policy Guidelines (CS​PG #7.)

For Instruction​​​al I and Educational Specialist I Certificates

An Instructional I and Educational Specialist I certificate is valid for six (6) service years. If you are not actively working on the certificate in your certified assignment, then you are not using time against the validity of your certificate.

Additionally, an individual must serve 70 or more days in a single assignment on the Level I certificate to receive credit toward Level II certification. Calculation of service time for Level I certificates is based on 90-day fall and spring semesters and a 180-day school year as follows:

• ​0 - 69 days served = 0 years of service
• 70 - 139 days served = 1/2 a year of service
• 140 - 180 days served = 1 year of service

If you are unsure of the number of days served in an assignment, please contact your employer.

Calculating Supervi​​sory Service

(refer to CSPG #3 for validity periods)

• Type Code 81 Supervisory I certificates require three years of satisfactory service.
• Type Code 76 Supervisory certificates have no service requirements.
• Service will be calculated by the school year (July 1 to June 30) as follows:
  
• ​0 to less than 3 months of service = no credit
• ​3 months to less than 9 months of service = 1/2 year credit
• 9 to 12 months of service = 1 year credit
  

Calculatin​​g Administrative Service

(refer to CSPG #3 for validity periods)

• Type Code 83 Administrative I certificates require three years of satisfactory service.
• Type Code 78 Administrative certificates are permanent and do not have a service requirement.
• Type Code 75 Administrative I certificates require three years of satisfactory service.
• Service will be calculated by the school year (July 1 to June 30) as follows:
• ​0 to less than 3 months of service = no credit
• ​3 to 6 months of service = 1/2 year credit
• ​More than 6 and less than 9 months of se​rvice = 1/2 year credit
• ​9 to 12 months of service = 1 year credit