The question of whether or not teaching certifications will transfer from one state to another is a valid one, and this question can be answered with a solid understanding of interstate reciprocity.
Generally speaking, teaching certifications acquired in one state can be honored in another state if the right conditions are honored; however, this is not always absolute. Interstate license reciprocity dictates that most certifications are generally honored in more than just the original state in which they were acquired, though certain conditions need to be kept in mind in order to guarantee that this is the case.
Licensure Reapplication
Under most circumstances, the transferring of credentials won’t be instantaneous. In order for certifications to be transferred from one state to another, there usually must first be a process of active application. Teachers who are moving from one state to another will usually have to undergo the application process for a teaching license once more in a new state before they can officially resume their duties with all prior certifications.
State Licensing Agency Consultation
In order to have their teaching certification honored once they’ve moved into a new state, a teacher’s best-advised move would be to consult with the local state licensing agency.
Upon meeting with the agency, a teacher can learn what the state’s unique process for license application is in order to begin working once more. Because different states have a different set of criteria in order for licensure to be acquired, each interstate teaching certification transference will be examined on a unique case-sensitive basis.
The experience of the teacher and the nature of their certification in question may factor into whether or not it can be transferred. Before moving from one state to another, a teacher can get a lot of headway by doing research into exactly what kind of qualifications and certifications are accepted between their state and the one that they have an interest in moving to.
Provisional Grace Period
In order to make the potentially complex process just a little bit easier to go through, most states generally have a policy that allows a grace period for the transfer process. With additional time permitted by the grace period, teachers can meet the circumstantial conditions of the certification reciprocity policy while fulfilling their duties as educators on a temporary basis.
If the teacher is able to meet all the qualifications of the transfer process under their provisional license period, their new state license with their prior certification can be regained.
Inquiring With The National Association Of State Directors
Because the relationships between different states in terms of certification transfers can be very complex, one of the easiest resources to get a good grasp on transfer eligibility is the National Association of State Directors of the Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC).
Before transferring to the new state, teachers can get in touch with NASDTEC to request that a compact agency researches and confirms certification compatibility. Depending on how many provisional teaching certifications are offered in the new state, certain choices in states to transfer certification to may be deemed by the commissioned compact agency to be more viable than others.
See also: Top 10 Best Online Master of Arts in Teaching Degree Programs
