Certification Renewal Requirements

CPDUs or CEUs:
The Certification Renewal Requirements (as I understand them)

By Phil Koehl, Past President

As you know, the requirements for renewal of your Type 73 School Service Personnel Certificate (School Social Worker) changed July 1, 2008. What follows is an overview of those changes; please check the ISBE website for more specific information. I have focused on the school social work requirements so if you also hold another certificate, i.e., Teacher, Counselor, etc., other requirements or exemptions may apply but are not included here.

Just to make sure we are communicating effectively, let me first go over some vocabulary and abbreviations as two State agencies may play a part in your certificate renewal.

School social workers who hold a Type 73 Certificate but NOT a LSW or LCSW:

You will need to earn 80 CPDUs before the end of each 5-year renewal period. When it is your renewal time, you will need to provide a statement of assurance that you have completed the required CPDUs. In addition, you must maintain the required form of evidence of completion for each CPDU activity for 5 years after your renewal and present the evidence of completion upon request by the regional superintendent or a representative of the State Board of Education or if required during an appeal.

If fewer than five years remain in the period of a certificate’s validity as of July 1, 2008, the number of CPDUs required in order to renew the certificate at the conclusion of that period shall be proportionately reduced. So if your certificate is valid until June 30, 2009, you will have to earn 16 CPDUs for the one year under the new requirements.

There are many opportunities to earn CPDUs. It is not possible to list them all here so I will just give you a few examples. The number of CPDUs is related to how much time is spent or how many meetings are attended. Remember that you can substitute “school service personnel” anywhere “teachers” appears:

1. Working with representatives of community agencies to structure or facilitate their interaction with the school’s or district’s staff or students for the purpose of meeting one or more needs identified in the school improvement plan; must include more than the class(es) directly taught by the certificate-holder. 2-8 CPDUs. 
2. Arranging for or coordinating presentations in the context of a formally established program designed to serve parents of the students in a particular school or district by informing or training them in one or more areas related either to their children’s achievement or to another need identified in a school improvement plan. 2-16 CPDUs. 
3. Supervising a student teacher or teacher education candidate in clinical supervision, provided that the supervision may only be counted once during the course of 5 years. 12-30 CPDUs. 
4. Completing undergraduate or graduate credit earned from a regionally accredited institution in coursework relevant to the certificate area being renewed, including coursework that incorporates induction activities and development of a portfolio of both student and teacher work that provides experience in reflective practices, provided the coursework meets Illinois professional teaching standards or Illinois content-area standards and supports the essential characteristics of quality professional development. 15 CPDUs per semester hour. 
5. Teaching college or university courses in areas relevant to the certificate area being renewed, provided that the teaching may only be counted once during the course of 5 years. 20 CPDUs per course. 
6. Participating in or presenting at workshops, seminars, conferences, institutes, and symposiums. 1 CPDU per hour attended; 3-8 per presentation. 
7. Participating in team or department leadership in a school or school district. 5-10 CPDUs. 
8. Publishing educational articles, columns, or books relevant to the certificate area being renewed. 5-40 CPDUs. 
9. Participating in non-strike-related professional association or labor organization service or activities related to professional development. 8-22 CPDUs. 

There is an additional requirement that the CPDUs earned must address and reflect 3 of the following 4 purposes:

1. Advance the certificate holder’s knowledge and skills consistent with the Illinois Standards for the service area in which the certificate is endorsed. 
2. Develop the certificate holder's knowledge and skills in areas determined by the State Board of Education to be critical for all school service personnel. 
3. Address the knowledge, skills, and goals of the certificate holder's local school improvement plan, if the certificate holder is employed in an Illinois public or State-operated elementary school, secondary school, or cooperative or joint agreement with a governing body or board of control. 
4. Address the needs of serving students with disabilities, including adapting and modifying clinical or professional practices to meet the needs of students with disabilities and serving such students in the least restrictive environment. 

School social workers who hold a Type 73 Certificate AND a LSW or LCSW:

If you hold an ISBE Type 73 Certificate AND hold an IDFPR LSW or LCSW license, then nothing has changed for you. You will still need to earn 30 IDFPR-approved CEUs every two years. Meeting the requirements to renew your license will meet the requirements to renew your ISBE certificate.