How to renew or upgrade your Kansas teaching license

One key task all teachers must do in Kansas is to renew or upgrade their teaching license when it expires. This guide will provide an outline of when and how you need to take one of these two steps. It will also provide steps for how to complete those tasks. 

Which teachers need to renew their licenses?

Any teacher who holds an initial license for Kansas must renew their license every two years. A teacher who holds a professional license must renew their license every five years. A teacher may choose to upgrade their license from an initial to a professional license instead of renewing. Below, we’ll discuss how to decide whether to renew or upgrade your teaching license.

When does a teacher need to renew their license?

The type of license that a teacher currently holds determines how frequently they must renew their license. For both an initial and professional license, it is critical that the license is renewed before it expires. If the license expires first, there are several extra steps that must be taken in order to renew.

Initial License

An initial license is a license that is first issued after an educator completes an approved education preparation program. This license expires after two years. To be eligible to be hired for most teaching positions, an educator must hold a valid and unexpired license. While the license expires after 2 years there’s a three-year grace period from when the license expires to when you have to renew it via a lengthier process, thus educators have in effect up to 5 years to renew. If it is beyond that five-year period, the steps are more complex. We will break those down below. Alternatively, a teacher with a valid initial license can choose to upgrade to an initial license. This step replaces the need to renew an initial license.

Professional License

A professional license is a license that is issued as an upgrade of an initial license. It must be renewed every five years. Some educators continue to renew their initial licenses, while others prefer to upgrade to a professional license. This comes with various benefits, including signifying that you are a veteran teacher and having to be renewed less frequently. Several steps must be taken to complete this renewal. These steps vary depending on several factors, such as work experience and what level of education the teacher holds. We will break those down in the following section.

What steps do I take to renew or upgrade my initial license? 

We’ll go step by step based on the different types of licenses and whether or not the license is expired. Based on this information, you should be able to decide whether to renew or upgrade your license. We will also break down professional license options by what your education experience is. Each of the outlines below includes using the KLAS system. You can find more information about how to use that system in our guide to applying for KSDE licensure. 

If your initial license is current and you wish to renew it…

If you have a current initial license, you simply need to file a form with KSDE and pay a fee. This form you need to fill out is titled Form 20 and can be found in the KLAS portal. 

If your initial license is expired, but it has been less than five years since it was issued…

You can apply for a Form 20 renewal, but must include evidence of the following: 

• Passing scores for the appropriate content assessment(s) or;
• Eight semester hours of recent credit related to endorsement(s) on the initial license or;
• One year of recent accredited experience in your initial endorsement(s) area or;
• Completion of professional development points awarded by a Kansas local professional development council: 160 including at least 80 points for college credit or 120 with an advanced degree or;
• If you are completing a program to add a new teaching, school specialist, or leadership endorsement during this license period, you may renew on eight of the semester credit hours you complete as part of the program.

Upgrading your initial license

If your initial license is current, you also have the option of upgrading your initial license to a professional license. In order to do this, you must meet both of the following requirements. 

1. You must have completed KSDE’s two year mentoring program
2. You must have completed one year of teaching in the content area that your initial license covers

There are several advantages to upgrading instead of renewing your license. First, many districts see a professional license as an indicator that you are no longer a novice teacher. That may make it more likely for you to be hired. Second, professional licenses are valid for longer. As a result, you will have longer until you need to renew your license. 

If you have completed those requirements, you need to use Form 21 in the KLAS portal to request an upgrade. As with other forms, you can follow the progress of your application via that portal. 

If your professional license is current…

Teachers with current professional licenses can use Form 3a in the KLAS portal to renew their license. To complete this process, educators must complete certain requirements during the term of their license, before it expires. Those requirements change based on the level of education someone has. The table below outlines the requirements and is sourced directly from KSDE’s website.

In order to complete your form in the KLAS portal, you will need to provide copies of documentation confirming your completion of the steps above. You will also need to provide copies of your transcripts. As with other forms, you can track your application status in the KLAS system. 

Consider being an Educator Academy Mentor Teacher

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