TN Education Licensure Renewal
Dept. of Education Licensure Renewal Information & FAQ's
"What kind of PD do I need to get PD Points that qualify for my practitioner or professional license with the TN Dept. of Education?"
As a general rule, only Professional Development events that will count as "PD Points" are sessions/ trainings that where the content directly supports and relates to teaching methodology in a classroom setting.
Examples of qualifying trainings/PD sessions:
Content specific trainings: how to teach math, social studies, ESL, reading, literacy, etc.
Social-Emotional learning: how to support students with disrupted education background, trauma-informed teaching, addressing learning disabilities etc.
Examples of trainings/PD sessions that DO NOT qualify for Dept. of Ed PD Points:
Technology specific trainings: how to use Google Suite, Schoology, PowerPoint or any other platform
General Leadership sessions
Policy or informational sessions: Informational sessions about new education policies or guidelines, curriculum presentations/ sales pitches from company representatives
Many of the rules around licensure renewal have changed in recent years and are complex in nature. For more information, please visit the TN Department of Education's PDP FAQ page or contact them directly at Educator.Licensure@tn.gov
"Why do I need updated PD certificates from the TN Adult Education Division for past PD events I attended?"
After many conversations with the Department of Education, it’s come to our attention that quite a few of our past professional development certificates distributed by the Division may not have contained the appropriate level of detail/documentation for those events/ sessions to qualify for Professional Development Points required for licensure renewal.
PD Point Information Requirements: The Department of Education states that they need the following information for our professional development offerings and they must be notated on an official certificate PDF.
PD event title/ name of agency or organization hosting the event
The specific session title
The session description
Content: only content that directly supports and relates to teaching methodology in a classroom setting will apply
Presenter name/title (contact information if available)
Organization contact information (if available)
Signature of the Assistant Commissioner (current or past)
Name of attendee
Date the session was completed/attended
2020 & Future State Adult Education PD: Any PD certificate you received in 2020 will clearly state if it qualifies for a Professional Development hour and contains the level of detail needed for licensure renewal. Please note that not all PD or trainings offered by the state qualify for PD Points with the department of education if the content is not specifically supporting and developing teaching methodology. For example, a training about phonics and reading DOES count but a training about how to use the schoology platform would not.
All future PD events will be approved by the Dept. of Education going forward so our participants will know ahead of time if a training they attend will or will not qualify for their licensure renewal.
"Does this apply for Adult Educators who do not have a teaching license and/or are not renewing their license in the future?"
No. This information specifically applies to those seeking to maintain/renew their education license with the Department of Education. If you do not have a K-12 teaching license or professional license, this will not apply to you. You do not need any kind of new certification from any past PD event you attended.
"Does this apply for Adult Educators who do not have a teaching license and/or are not renewing their license in the future?"
No. This information specifically applies to those seeking to maintain/renew their education license with the Department of Education. If you do not have a K-12 teaching license or professional license, this will not apply to you. You do not need any kind of new certification from any past PD event you attended.
"How do I know which PD events qualify for PD points towards my licensure renewal?"
PD Certificates from 2014-2019:
Any PD certificate you received between 2014-2019 most likely does not contain the level of detail you will need in order for them to qualify for PD Points. A general practitioner's license needs to be renewed every 3 years and only PD completed within those 3 years can be submitted for PD Points. A Professional license is renewed every 6 years and PD completed within those 6 years can be submitted for PD Points. It will depend on your type of license as to which PD event certificates you will need from the Adult Education Division.
Content: Remember, only trainings or PD sessions with content that directly supports and relates to teaching methodology in a classroom setting will apply.
2020 & Future State Adult Education PD: Any PD certificate you received in 2020 will clearly state if it qualifies for a Professional Development hour and contains the level of detail needed for licensure renewal.
All future PD events will be approved by the Dept. of Education going forward so our participants will know ahead of time if a training they attend will or will not qualify for their licensure renewal.
PD Point Information Requirements: The Department of Education states that they need the following information for our professional development offerings and they must be notated on an official certificate PDF.
PD event title/ name of agency or organization hosting the event
The specific session title
The session description
Content: only content that directly supports and relates to teaching methodology in a classroom setting will apply
Presenter name/title (contact information if available)
Organization contact information (if available)
Signature of the Assistant Commissioner (current or past)
Name of attendee
Date the session was completed/attended