Initial to Standard Certification
Initial certificate holders, whether employed in public
or nonpublic schools, are required to move from Initial to
Standard level certification. To do so, you must complete
one of the professional development options for moving from
initial to standard level certification and accrue four (4)
full years of teaching experience on a valid certificate.
Professional Development Options
Click here for
a detailed list of the professional development options for
initial to standard level certification.
Four Years of
Teaching Experience
“Four years of teaching experience” means the
equivalent of four years’ full-time employment, i.e.,
eight semesters of full-time teaching on a valid teaching
certificate. Experience
does not have to be accumulated through full-time teaching.
For example, a teacher who teaches half-time for a full year
can accumulate four years over eight school years. The years
do not need to be consecutive.
A valid teaching certificate for this purpose is a certificate
equivalent to an Illinois Master, Standard, Initial or Provisional
early childhood, elementary, secondary, or special certificate
or a comparable certificate from another state.
Time spent teaching or substituting in public or private
schools on a valid teaching certificate counts towards the
four years of experience. Teaching in a home school or on
a substitute certificate (Type 39) or a Transitional Bilingual
(Type 29) does not count. Unless you are in a territory or
possession of the United States, teaching outside of the
United States does not count.
How Do I Move from the Initial
to Standard Level Certificate?
In order to move from the Initial to Standard level certificate,
you must first log all of your professional development onto
the Educator Certification System (www.isbe.net/ecs), submit
an electronic Statement of Assurance, and submit official
letters of teaching experience that verify that you have
four (4) full years of teaching experience. Once you have
secured the necessary approvals from your LPDC and ROE, you
may formally apply for the standard level certificate. Click
here for detailed information
and instructions.
Still have trouble using the Educator Certification System
(ECS) to move from initial to standard? Click
here to view our ECS System Guide for initial
to standard applicants. The system guide is a step by step
manual for using ECS to
move from the initial to the standard level certificate.
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