Teachers, Teacher Education, and Professional Development
The purpose of Florida educator certification is to support the academic achievement of students by ensuring that educators are qualified professionally for highly effective instruction. Florida’s highest educator qualification, the Professional Certificate, is valid for five school years and renewable through completion of approved professional development activities. To prepare school teachers, Florida offers numerous pathways leading to the Professional Certificate through demonstrating mastery in three essential areas—general knowledge, subject area knowledge, and professional education competence. To pursue any pathway to certification, a candidate must hold at least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited or approved post-secondary institution. To assess mastery of the competencies and skills required for professional educator certification, the Florida Teacher Certification Examinations (FTCE) program develops and administers rigorous examinations.
Florida offers three state-approved pathways for teacher preparation that align to the same competency-based completion requirements and satisfy all mastery requirements for the Professional Certificate. The Initial Teacher Preparation (traditional) program is delivered by Florida post-secondary institutions, culminates in an internship or student teaching, and awards an undergraduate or graduate degree. An Educator Preparation Institute (EPI), offered through a Florida post-secondary institution or other approved provider, prepares individuals who hold a bachelor’s degree by focusing on professional education competence in teaching their content area to ensure student learning. A Florida public school district may offer a Professional Development Certification and Education Competence Program to provide noneducation baccalaureate or higher degree holders a cohesive, competency-based program intensified through practical teaching experience in the school district. All state-approved programs require attendees to pass the FTCE General Knowledge Test, Professional Education Test, and subject area examination(s) appropriate to their content area(s).
Reciprocity pathways allow teachers who hold a valid standard professional certificate or license issued by another recognized authority to qualify for a Florida Professional Certificate. An educator with a certificate issued by another state or territory based on a comparable level of preparation in a comparable subject may satisfy requirements for the Florida Professional Certificate. A National Board Certified Teacher qualifies for a Florida Professional Certificate based on a certificate issued by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). An educator also may qualify for the Professional Certificate based on a certificate from the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) and completion of an approved program for demonstration of educational competence through a Florida public or state supported school employer.
Individuals who satisfy subject specialization may be employed in a Florida public school under a Temporary Certificate. Although it is not renewable, the three year validity of the Temporary Certificate provides instructional personnel the opportunity to satisfy the necessary mastery requirements for issuance of the Professional Certificate.
In the 2014–2015 school year, 100 percent of Florida’s more than 194,000 primary and secondary public school teachers held at least a bachelor’s degree, and 34 percent held a master’s degree or another degree or certificate beyond a bachelor’s degree.7
Teacher Education Specific to Mathematics and Science
Teachers in Florida are required to specialize in specific subjects for certification to teach general science and mathematics in Grades 5 to 9, and biology, chemistry, earth space or earth science, physics, and mathematics in Grades 6 to 12. These specialization requirements are codified in administrative rules 6a-4.0321 and 6a-4.0322 for science and 6a-4.0261 and 6a-4.0262 for mathematics, respectively, and may be accessed through the following Florida Administrative Code Web page: https://www.flrules.org/gateway/ChapterHome.asp?Chapter=6a-4
Requirements for Ongoing Professional Development
Florida requires teachers to participate in continuing education and professional development for renewal of their Professional Certificate. The purpose of professional development is to enhance instructional strategies that promote rigor and relevance, increase student achievement, and prepare students for continuing education and the workforce. Professional learning is the result of educators’ commitment to apply these strategies for the benefit of the students in the classrooms to which they are assigned. Consequently, professional development activities are selected to correspond to specific schools’ student needs, then organized and scheduled locally by school districts and educational consortia of small or rural districts. Many districts have professional development coordinators or specialists whose primary focus is to assist teachers with completing professional development and attaining credits toward recertification.