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​​​​​Private Academic Certificates

In addition to public school certification, there is also private academic school certification. Either certification is appropriate for nonpublic and private academic schools in the appropriate areas.

Teachers who teach in a private academic school licensed by the Department of Education are required to be Pennsylvania certified.

Teachers who teach in a nonpublic school (religious school) registered by the Department of Education are not required to be Pennsylvania certified; however, the school can choose to request certification of their teachers.

Further information can be found on the Frequently Asked Questions section of the website.

The requirements for the full private academic school certification can be found in Guidelines and Competencies for Private Academic Teacher Certification.

A temporary private academic certification can be requested by a licensed private academic school in the event an applicant does not meet the requirements, but has the minimum of 6 of the content area credits.  See questions 6 through 9 of Frequently Asked Questions for more information.

Applications for Private Academic School teaching certificates must be submitted through the Teacher Information Management System (TIMS)

  • Only one certification area may be selected per application.
  • After completing the payment selection and successfully SUBMITTING your application in TIMS, you will be provided a link to the application cover sheet.  Include the cover sheet with all required documents and mail to the address indicated on the cover sheet.
  • Electronic payment (see Certification Fees) accepted in TIMS.
  • Foreign educated applicants must submit the following as part of the required documentation:

The regulations for the certification areas available can be found in the documents listed below. ​

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