Local Professional Development Committee

Introduction for Educators

Senate Bill 230, approved by the Ohio Legislature and the State Board of Education in 1996, became effective for Ohio Educators on January 1, 1998 (for students entering university programs leading to licensure) and September 1, 1998 (for other applicable rules).

The comprehensive provisions of Senate Bill 230 are available to you within our district. In outline form the new rules will:

  • Eliminate "certificates" and replace them with "licenses."
  • Permanent certificates will remain for an educator's career; no permanent licenses will be issued.
  • Licenses issued will either be "provisional" (for entry year educators, who must pass a performance assessment to advance), or "professional" (the only license granted under the new rules, which lasts for 5 years, and is renewed with the appropriate professional development throughout an educator's career.
  • A transition period exists so that educators can convert existing certificates to licenses and to move smoothly from provisions of the old standards to the new licensure rules.
  • Professional development linked to an educator's area of certification/licensure, the needs of students, and the goals of the school district are required in the form of a Individual Professional Development Plan (IPDP).
  • A Local Professional Development Committee (LPDC), comprised of a majority of classroom teachers and operating under provisions approved by law, and the XCS Board of Education is required to review and approve an IPDP submitted by an educator that identifies his/her professional development goals.
  • That LPDC will likewise review and must approve coursework that an educator wishes to use towards certificate or license renewal.
  • Only renewals of existing certificates or licenses go through local LPDC process. Certificate upgrades, new certificates and licenses, and temporary and educational aide certificates still go directly to the Department of Education.
  • All educators should study the transition charts to licensure very carefully, and particularly the deadline dates for expiration and for conversion of certificates. It is strongly recommended that you complete your upgrade paperwork twelve weeks prior to the deadline, which will impact your coursework and CEU deadlines.

LPDC Overview and Resources