The requirements for teaching certification are set by each state in the United States. All states require a teacher to have, at minimum, a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, but other certification requirements vary greatly from state to state. Most states require completion of a teacher education program and a state certification exam or the Praxis exam.
Teacher certification reciprocity is an agreement that allows an educator who is certified to teach in one state to transfer his or her certification and teach in a different state. More than 40 states have some type of reciprocity policy in place. In many cases, the certification transfer is temporary. Once a time limit has been reached, a teacher will need to complete additional requirements, such as classroom experience or coursework, in order to be officially certified in the new state.
The National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC) maintains the Interstate Agreement for teacher certification. Most states as well as the District of Columbia have signed NASDTEC’s Interstate Agreement, which is actually comprised of more than 50 separate agreements that cover participating states, as well as Canadian provinces. The Interstate Agreement facilitates the movement of educators between jurisdictions that have signed the agreement. Each state’s agreement includes details about which types of certifications (teachers, administrators, career, technical or service personnel) and which styles of certification that state will accept, and under which circumstances.
It should be noted that NASDTEC reciprocity agreements are not necessarily accepted bilaterally. For example, if state A has agreed to accept teacher certifications from state B, that does not necessarily mean that state B has agreed to accept certifications from state A. Interstate agreements also hold no guarantee that all types of certificates from another state will be honored. A teacher who holds a provisional teaching certification from one state might be prohibited from transferring it to another state even though a reciprocity agreement exists between the two states.
The NASDTEC Interstate Agreement makes it easier for teachers to move from one state to another in search of career opportunities or for personal reasons. Before making plans to move to another state, check with your destination state’s department of education to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information about reciprocity.
To find out more about certification in each state, as well as information about that state’s reciprocity policy, visit Teach.com.
