Reciprocity and Acceptance of Teaching Certificates Across State Lines

NASDTEC Interstate Contract --- Most states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico have signed the Interstate Contract for teacher certification, maintained by the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC). The NASDTEC Interstate Contract provides a vehicle to recognize training in state-approved programs, comparable licenses, and teaching experiences when teachers and other educators move from one state to another. Each state, however, determines comparability and reciprocity with each of the other participating states and teachers must still meet certain requirements before becoming certified in states other than the state that issued the initial license.

Regional Collaborations on Reciprocity:

Northeast Common Market: In 1988, eight states in the northeastern region: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont established a Northeast Common Market for educators. The participating states developed a regional credential that allows teachers with an initial license in one state to teach in another state for up to two years before meeting the latter state’s licensing requirements. Educators can receive a regional credential only once.

Midwest Regional Exchange: Nine states (Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missorui, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin) have an exchange program that is similar to the Northeast Common Market. Teaching candidates or experienced teachers who complete a regionally accredited preparation program or hold a license from one of the participating states can obtain a two-year conditional license in any one of the other states. This agreement is based on the requirements for teacher preparation programs; candidates so licensed must still meet any additional grade point average, testing, coursework, or other requirements the receiving state demands to earn a regular license or certificate.

Mid-Atlantic Regional Teacher Project: In 1999, a meeting of the Council for Basic Education, the Maryland Department of Education, and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Educational Laboratory produced the Mid-Atlantic Regional Teacher Project (MARTP). MARTP is a regional partnership among Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia to collectively address teacher supply and demand issues in the region, including common strategies for preparing, recruiting, hiring, and retaining new teachers.

Reciprocity for Advanced Certification:

NBPTS: The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards has developed standards for advancd certification and program accreditation in more than 30 fields. Some states and the District of Columbia automatically grant licenses to out-of-state teachers with national board certification. States still vary in the type of license they issue, and in stome states teachers must meet additional requirements before they can earn a standard or advanced state license.

NCATE: Some states accept individuals who completed teacher preparation in another state at an institution of higher education whose teacher preparation program has been accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

ABCTE: The American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE), recently funded by the United States Department of Education, will provide a credential for teachers who pass rigorous content area examinations and document a history of student learning gains.