A professional certificate is renewed or reinstated and certification coverages retained on the certificate in accordance with the following provisions:
    (1) Professional certificate. A professional certificate may be renewed for the individual who meets the requirements specified below:
    (a) Completes six (6) semester hours of college credit or the equivalent as described below or an amount as specified in subsection (2) of this rule for retention of certificate coverages:
    1. College credit. College credit earned at an accredited or approved institution or community or junior college as specified in Fl. Admin. Code R. 6A-4.003, may be used to renew the professional certificate.
    2. Inservice training. Inservice points earned through inservice education activities which were part of a District Professional Learning Catalog developed and approved by a Florida school district in accordance with Fl. Admin. Code R. 6A-5.071, may be used to renew the professional certificate. Twenty (20) inservice points shall be equal to one (1) semester hour of college credit. The inservice training shall be verified by the Florida district school superintendent or chairperson of the governing board and shall include the number of inservice points earned in each area of certification.
    (b) Subject area tests. A passing score on a subject area test in the certification area shown on the certificate may be used to renew the coverage on the professional certificate. A subject area test shall be approved by the Florida State Board of Education and shall be in a certification area shown on the certificate. One (1) test shall be equal to three (3) semester hours of college credit. Official documentation of a passing score on each subject area test used for renewal of the certificate shall be submitted electronically from the test administration agency beginning July 1, 2002, to the Bureau of Educator Certification, Florida Department of Education or shall be the original score report issued by the test administration agency for scores earned prior to July 1, 2002.
    (c) National board certification. A certificate issued by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is deemed to meet state renewal requirements for the life of the educator’s national certificate in the subject shown on the national certificate. Official documentation shall be a photocopy of the national certificate.
    (2) Retention of certification coverages. When renewing a professional certificate, certification coverages shall be retained on a professional certificate in accordance with the following:
    (a) To retain one (1) certification coverage on a professional certificate, at least three (3) semester hours of college credit or the equivalent shall be completed in the specialization area or an appropriate category in accordance with Section 1012.585(3)(a), F.S. Three (3) additional semester hours or sixty (60) additional inservice points may be completed in any area.
    (b) To retain two (2) coverages on a professional certificate, at least three (3) semester hours of college credit or the equivalent shall be completed for each subject in the specialization area or an appropriate category in accordance with Section 1012.585(3)(a), F.S. When requirements have not been satisfied for the retention of a certification coverage on the certificate, the coverage shall be deleted from the certificate when the certificate is renewed.
    (c) To retain more than two (2) certification coverages on a professional certificate, the applicant shall be permitted two (2) successive validity periods for renewal of all specialization areas, but must earn no fewer than six (6) semester hours or the equivalent in any one (1) validity period. A coverage shall not continue to be retained on a certificate unless three (3) semester hours or the equivalent is completed in the specialization area or an appropriate category in accordance with Section 1012.585(3)(a), F.S., during one (1) of two (2) successive validity periods. When requirements specified herein have not been satisfied for the retention of a certification coverage or coverages on a certificate, the coverage or coverages shall be deleted from the certificate when the certificate is renewed.
    (3) General requirements.
    (a) All requirements necessary for the renewal of a certificate shall be completed during the last validity period of the certificate to be renewed and prior to the expiration date of the certificate. College credits, inservice training and subject area tests used to satisfy requirements for issuance of the initial professional certificate shall not be used for renewal of the professional certificate.
    (b) Inservice training in mandatory topics not linked to student learning or professional growth per Fl. Admin. Code R. 6A-5.071, may only earn an educator credit once during each five-year validity period.
    (c) Application and appropriate fee as specified in Fl. Admin. Code R. 6A-4.0012, for renewal of a certificate shall be submitted to the Bureau of Educator Certification, Florida Department of Education or the employing Florida school district, during the last year of the validity period of the certificate and prior to the expiration date of the certificate. However, if the renewal application form is not received by the Bureau of Educator Certification or the employing Florida school district, before the expiration of the professional certificate, the application form, application fee, and a thirty ($30.00) dollar late fee shall be submitted prior to July 1 of the year following expiration of the certificate in order to retain the professional certificate.
    (d) The validity period of the renewed certificate shall be for a period not to exceed five (5) years from July 1 of the school fiscal year following the date that the application was received in the Bureau of Educator Certification, Florida Department of Education or the employing Florida school district. However, if the renewal application is received by the Bureau of Educator Certification or the employing Florida school district after expiration of the professional certificate as specified in paragraph (3)(b) of this rule, the validity period of the renewed certificate shall be for a period not to exceed five (5) years from July 1 following the expiration of the last professional certificate.
    (e) A grade of at least “”C”” or the equivalent shall be earned in each course used for the renewal of a certificate. A grade of pass shall be acceptable under the pass or fail grading system.
    (f) A certification coverage which has been deleted from a professional certificate shall be added to the certificate when requirements specified in subsection 6A-4.004(6), F.A.C., have been completed.
    (g) A one (1) year extension of the validity period of a professional certificate shall be granted by the Florida Department of Education in the event of serious illness, injury, or other extraordinary extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the applicant. The extension shall be granted only upon written request of the applicant or the superintendent of the local school district or of the chief administrative officer of a state supported or nonpublic school. The written request shall explain the extenuating circumstances. In case of illness or injury, a physician’s written verification shall be submitted.
    (4) Special provisions for military service. An individual who holds a valid professional certificate and who is called into or volunteers for actual wartime military service or required peacetime military service may renew the professional certificate and retain all certification coverages shown on the certificate for the period of time equal to the time spent in military service. To qualify for the renewal of the certificate, the individual shall complete the application requirements as specified in Fl. Admin. Code R. 6A-4.0012, and submit a notarized copy of the military separation papers.
    (5) Special provisions for teachers of limited English proficient students, teachers of students with disabilities and teachers of reading.
    (a) An educator who holds a professional certificate may use college credits or inservice points completed in English-for-Speakers-of-Other-Languages training, training in the instruction of students with disabilities, and the teaching of reading in excess of six (6) semester hours during one certificate-validity period toward renewal of the professional certificate during the subsequent validity periods.
    (b) An educator who holds a temporary certificate may use college credits or inservice points completed in English-for-Speakers-of-Other-Languages training, training in the instruction of students with disabilities, and the teaching of reading toward renewal of the educator’s first professional certificate. Such training must not have been included within the degree program, and the educator’s temporary and professional certificates must be issued for consecutive school years.
    (c) These provisions supersede the requirements in paragraph (3)(a) of this rule for the individuals noted in paragraphs (5)(a) and (b) of this rule.
    (6) Special provisions for training in the instruction of students with disabilities.
    (a) As a component of the credit requirements specified under paragraph (1)(a) of this rule, an educator whose application for renewal is received on or after July 1, 2014, must have earned at least one (1) college credit, twenty (20) inservice points, or a combination thereof, in the instruction of students with disabilities during the last validity period of the certificate to be renewed and prior to the expiration date of the certificate.
    (b) As specified in paragraph (1)(b) of this rule, a passing score earned on a subject area test during the validity period of the professional certificate to be renewed on the Exceptional Student Education (Grades K-12), Hearing Impaired (Grades K-12), Visually Impaired (Grades K-12), or Speech-Language Impaired (Grades K-12) subject area exam may be used to satisfy the requirement for credit in the instruction of students with disabilities when certification coverage for the instruction of students with disabilities is shown on the professional certificate.
    (c) An educator may earn acceptable credit for training in any certification subject area related to the instruction of students with disabilities, including, but not limited to, hearing impaired, speech-language impaired, and visually impaired, to satisfy the requirement for credit in the instruction of student with disabilities. Acceptable credit in the instruction of students with disabilities may be applied to retain any specialization area on the professional certificate to be renewed.
    (d) In accordance with paragraph (1)(c) of this rule, national board certification in an Exceptional Needs Specialist subject area satisfies the requirement for the instruction of students with disabilities.
    (7) Special provisions for training in the instruction of reading for grades K-6.
    (a) As a component of the credit requirements specified under paragraph (1)(a) of this rule, an educator whose application for renewal of a certificate with a beginning validity date of July 1, 2020, or thereafter, as specified in this rule, must have earned at least two (2) college credits, forty (40) inservice points, or a combination thereof, in evidence-based instruction and interventions grounded in the science of reading per Fl. Admin. Code R. 6A-6.053, specifically designed for students with characteristics of dyslexia, including the use of explicit, systematic, and sequential approaches to reading instruction, developing phonological and phonemic awareness, decoding, and implementing multisensory intervention strategies if the educator is renewing any of the following coverages: Elementary Education (K-6), Prekindergarten/Primary Education (age 3 through grade 3), Elementary Education (grades 1-6), Primary Education (grades K-3), English (grades 1-6), Middle Grades English (grades 5-9), Middle Grades Integrated Curriculum (grades 5-9), English (6-12), Exceptional Student Education (grades K-12) (renewal beginning with a validity date of July 1, 2025), Reading (K-12), Reading (Endorsement), and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) (grades K-12).
    (b) An educator may use earned credit for both the purposes of paragraphs (6)(a) and (7)(a) of this rule.
    (c) An educator may use credit earned during the five (5) years immediately preceding the current validity period that meets the requirements of paragraph (7)(a) of this rule, if the credit was not already used for a prior renewal period.
    (8) Special provisions for educational leadership renewal of a professional certificate. As a component of the credit requirements specified under paragraph (1)(a) of this rule, an educator whose application for renewal of a professional certificate in educational leadership under Fl. Admin. Code R. 6A-4.0082, or school principal under Fl. Admin. Code R. 6A-4.0083, with a beginning validity date of July 1, 2025, or later must have earned at least one (1) college credit or twenty (20) inservice points in Florida’s educational leadership standards found in Fl. Admin. Code R. 6A-5.080
    (9) Reinstatement of a professional certificate. The Department may reinstate an expired professional certificate if the certificate holder:
    (a) Completes the application requirements as specified in Fl. Admin. Code R. 6A-4.0012;
    (b) Satisfies the fingerprint requirement as specified in subFl. Admin. Code R. 6A-4.004(1)(a)3.;
    (c) Documents completion of six (6) semester hours of college credit during the five (5) years immediately preceding reinstatement of the expired certificate, completion of one hundred twenty (120) inservice points, or a combination thereof, as specified in paragraph (1)(a) of this rule;
    (d) During the five (5) years immediately preceding reinstatement of the certificate, achieves a passing score on the subject area examination for each subject to be shown on the reinstated certificate. Only subjects currently issued by the Department may be shown on a reinstated certificate; and,
    (e) An educator whose application for reinstatement is received on or after July 1, 2014, must have earned at least one (1) college credit or the equivalent inservice points in the instruction of students with disabilities during the five (5) years immediately preceding reinstatement of the expired certificate.
Rulemaking Authority 1001.02, 1012.55, 1012.585 FS. Law Implemented 1012.55, 1012.585 FS. History-New 12-25-86, Amended 4-23-91, 2-12-92, 10-15-01, 12-27-04, 2-25-14, 12-31-14, 12-22-19, 3-15-22, 9-26-23.