Teacher Licensure Information

Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Endorsement:

Licensure Information:

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is responsible for licensing all professional educators including teachers, psychologists, guidance counselors, nurses, speech language pathologists and many other professional positions in the Weymouth Public Schools. You can apply for your license and maintain your license through your ELAR Account at DESE. It is very important for you to be familiar with your ELAR account which houses your demographic data, schools attended, license information and status, as well as other important documents that have been scanned into your file such as correspondence from DESE, MTEL test scores and other important documents. At the bottom of your profile, you will find all of this information.

Whether you are applying for a new license or renewing an existing license, it may take many months for DESE to process your request. Please plan accordingly.

Your license allows you to teach in Massachusetts, and every public school system is required by law to employ only teachers with an appropriate, valid license. Please be sure your license is always up to date and in good standing. Maintaining valid licensure is the responsibility of all certified staff, though APS will offer support.

Your License Is One of Four Types:

Temporary: You are a licensed teacher from another state and have taught under that license for at least three years. This license is good for one year and is not renewable. You must take the Massachusetts Test for Educator Licensure (MTEL) which consists of the Communication and Literacy and subject matter tests.

Provisional: You have not completed a teacher training program at the undergraduate or graduate level, but passed the MTEL tests. This license is good for five years, and it is not renewable. Within the five years, you must complete a teacher preparation program. Some licenses require a competency review such as special education, school guidance counselor, school psychologist and other specialist licenses.

Initial: You have completed a teacher preparation program at the undergraduate or graduate level. This license is good for five years, and can be extended for an additional five years. In order to move to the professional license, you must teach under that license for at least three years, complete a mentor/induction program, 50 hours of mentoring beyond the mentor/induction program, and a Master's degree containing 12 credits in your license content area. If you already hold a Master's degree, you must demonstrate that you have taken 12 graduate credits in your content area (i.e. if you are a math teacher, you must complete 12 graduate credits in mathematics - not pedagogy). In addition, you are required to submit a school-based verification form to the DESE from Weymouth's Human Resources office that you have taught under the license for at least three years, completed the mentor/induction program and 50 hours additional mentoring. The DESE provides more information regarding the requirements to move from the initial to the professional license on their website.

It is very important to note a specific requirement about your Master's degree or the 12 credit option. Your college transcript documenting the Master's or 12 credits must identify the course was taken in the department of your license content area. Using the example above, a math teacher's transcript must show 12 graduate credits taken from the college/university math department. For example, a transcript that lists the course "EDUC 5105 Mathematics in the Secondary Classroom" will not meet the DESE requirements. The course must be listed on the transcript as "MATH 5107 Calculus A/B" (please note this is simply an example for illustration purposes). Educators who hold an initial license will notice an asterisk under the expiration column. The asterisk indicates your license is valid for five years of employment. The clock begins when you start working under your license. If you do not teach immediately, or take a leave from your position, you have five full years to work under that license.

Professional: This is the level of licensure that all educators aspire to and are required to reach. The professional license is good for five years. Every five years, you must renew your license and certify that you have completed 150 PDPs, 80% of which must be in your content/content pedagogy. If you stop teaching and do not renew your professional license, the status will shift to inactive after five years. You may teach under an inactive license for two years, at which time you must complete the 150 PDP requirement.

Every educator at the professional stage is required to maintain an Individual Professional Development Plan outlining your professional goals and how they connect to the school and district goals. The Plan allows you to record and track your PDP's.

To determine all requirements for any teaching license, visit the Office of Educator Licensure website.

Professional Teacher Status:

Professional Teacher Status (PTS) in Massachusetts is part of the Education Reform Act of 1993.  Individual public school districts have authority to award PTS and not the DESE. Under the law, "teachers who serve for three consecutive school years shall be considered a teacher, and shall be entitled to professional teacher status."

It is important to note that in order to work towards PTS, teachers must hold a license at the temporary, preliminary, initial or professional level. Those teachers on a waiver cannot consider that year toward PTS, nor can teachers who start at anytime during the school year other than the first day of school. It is important to note the law requires three, full consecutive years in the district in order to earn PTS.

Other Information Related to Your DESE License: