• Act 48 Continuing Professional Education Requirements
     
    Act 48 of 1999 requires persons holding Pennsylvania professional educator certification to complete continuing education requirements every five years in order to maintain their certificates in active status.  It is the responsibility of the educator to monitor their record of credits or hours on TIMS during the five-year period. It is also the educator’s responsibility to contact the provider to correct any discrepancies in credits or hours reported. 
     
    Educators must earn six credits of collegiate study; or six credits of PDE-approved continuing professional education courses; or 180 hours of continuing professional education programs, activities or learning experiences; or any combination of the above every five years to maintain active certification status. Each semester collegiate credit is equal to 30 continuing education hours. Each quarter collegiate credit is equal to 20 continuing education hours. All credits and hours must be related to an educator’s certificate type or area of assignment, unless enrolled in an administrative program or approved by the school board.  
     
    If a certificate holder does not complete the requirements of Act 48, the certificate(s) will become inactive after the five-year compliance period and the holder will be disqualified from being employed by a Pennsylvania public school entity as a professional (tenured) or temporary professional (prior to gaining tenured status) employee until all Act 48 requirements have been met.
     
    Act 45 Continuing Professional Education Requirements for Administrators
     
    Are the continuing professional education requirements for school administrators the same as those that apply to teachers and other certified educators?
    No. Act 45 of 2007 defines continuing professional education requirements for school and system leaders serving under administrative certificates in specific covered positions (i.e., principals and assistant principals, superintendents and assistant superintendents, intermediate unit (IU) executive directors, assistant IU executive directors and directors of area vocational-technical schools). Individuals employed in these positions under administrative certificates must earn their continuing professional education requirements in courses and
    programs that have received Pennsylvania Inspired Leaders (PIL) approval from the Secretary of Education.
     
    Please see the following link for Act 45 Requirements: Act 45 Continuing Professional Education Requirements Administrators (PIL Program)
     
     
    How do educators check continuing education progress? Go to PERMS and enter your Professional Personnel ID (PPID).
     
    How do educators access records to determine current certificate status? Go to TIMS and enter your PPID.
     
    Read FAQs about Act 48 Continuing Professional Education Requirements: 
     
     
     Act 13 (Covid-19) Extension for satisfying Act 48/45 Continuing Professional Education Requirements
     
    Act 13 of 2020 (Act 13) provides a one-year extension of each professional educator's current continuing professional education compliance period, as required by 24 P.S. §12-1205.2 and 1205.5. The extension only applies to professional educators with an active certification as of the effective date of March 27, 2020 and expires one year later on March 27, 2021.
    Act 118 Extension for satisfying Act 48/45 Continuing Professional Requirements
     
    As of November 2, 2016, Act 118 of 2016 extended the window for educators to satisfy completion of Act 48/45 requirements by one year. For example, according to PDE, anyone whose current compliance period ended on June 30, 2017, now has until June 30, 2018.  The extension
    date is now reflected in PERMS, which you  should see when you log in. 
     
     

    Act 48/45 Rollover
     
    In addition to the one year extension for Act 48/45, the General Assembly enacted changes to the continuing education provisions of section 1205.2 of the Public School Code.  Section 1205.2 was amended to include subsection (n.2), which permits a professional educator to carry forward into the next compliance period up to 50 hours of continuing professional education credits obtained during the final two years of the educator's compliance period that are in excess of the required 180 credit hours for the current compliance period.  In light of these changes, PDE is providing this initial guidance to address preliminary questions related to the new statutory provision. The provisions of section 1205.2(n.2) are applicable to both Act 48 continuing education credit hours and Act 45 PIL credit hours required for school and system leaders.  Any professional educator or school or system leader who had an open compliance period on or after July 13, 2016, and has allowable carry over credit hours in accordance with section 1205.2(n.2) may have up to 50 excess credit hours applied to the succeeding compliance period.  Section 1205.2(n.2) is not retroactive to any compliance period that closed prior to July 13, 2016. 
     
    If you have any questions related to the application of Act 48 carry over credits, please send your questions to RA-edact48@pa.gov.   
     

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