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How do I transfer my teaching license to Georgia?

Georgia allows out-of-state teachers to earn a Clear Renewable Teaching through Interstate Reciprocity.

By License LookupPublished 2 years ago 3 min read
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Georgia Teaching License

Georgia allows out-of-state teachers to earn a Clear Renewable Teaching through Interstate Reciprocity. You must either have a current NASDTEC member state Professional Educator Certification or have completed an approved teacher preparation program in another state while meeting all other certification standards.

What is teacher certification reciprocity?

Teacher certification reciprocity is a slightly deceptive concept, since it is frequently misunderstood to suggest that a teaching license given in one state will be unconditionally acknowledged by another state. Interstate cooperation is not automatic, even though most states have reciprocity guidelines. If educators want to teach in a state but don't have a license, they must apply for a new one, and request for teaching certificate reciprocity. Government normally reviews it on a case-by-case basis by the teacher licensing body for that state.

In practice, teaching license reciprocity specifies which qualifications one state will accept from another state and which it will reject. There is good news for educators. States with cooperation agreements for teaching certification usually give educators, who are moving from place to place, more time to complete the new state's requirements. In that period they are teaching on a temporary or provisional license.

What does teacher reciprocity mean?

“Reciprocity” is a bit of a misnomer when it comes to teacher certification. In all 50 US states and Washington, DC you must acquire a teaching license from the state in which you wish to work before teaching in a public school. This means that you cannot directly transfer your teaching license from one state to another. However, most states do have what would be more accurately called “teacher credential reciprocity.” This means that most states will consider the teacher testing, experience, and college degree that you earned in another state as a basis for issuing a new teaching license.

Interstate reciprocity and the NASDTEC interstate agreement

Although interstate teaching license reciprocity agreements exist, they can be confusing for those trying to transfer their teaching license or certificate from one state to another. While they may have agreements with other ones that their education or testing standards are equal, as part of the interstate reciprocity agreement, a state may and frequently does impose its own state-specific criteria.

The National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification is the most well-known agreement for teaching reciprocity between states. By allowing compact agencies to check a teacher's license status in other states, the NASDTEC Interstate Agreement makes the educator certification reciprocity procedure easier. This means that teachers with certificates sometimes don't have to show extra verification of their credentials. State-to-state NASDTEC agreements also specify which sorts of certification one state will accept from another. Maryland, for example, issues three different types of professional teaching credentials, whereas Virginia only issues two. Cooperation between states is a concept that explains how they transfer these licenses between each other.

Many jurisdictions only allow cooperation for standard or professional teaching credentials, meaning that anyone teaching on a provisional or emergency certificate will not be able to transfer their certificate to another state.

Reciprocity of foreign teachers' credentials in the US

State regulations govern teacher certification for foreign-educated and foreign-certified teachers. Many states may provide foreign educators provisional or temporary teaching certifications if they can demonstrate that their background and experience match the state's educator reciprocity rules. A foreign credentials review from a service that is a member of the NACES or the AICE is normally the first step in this process. Those having credentials from countries other than the US should check with their state's teacher licensing organization for the most updated requirements.

Teaching certification reciprocity is available in some US counties for international teaching licenses. Explore the Georgia Department of Education website or call (800) 869-7775 for additional information on the reciprocity certification procedure.

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