Colorado Department of Education (Licensure)
APPLY/REVIEW LICENSE
The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) is governing body under the State Board of Education that regulates licensing requirements and procedures. The following information was obtained directly from the CDE website at pertains to changes in CDE procedures and protocols of the past few years. This is not an all-inclusive list of changes in the licensure process or requirements.
Information/news about educator preparation and licensure
In July of 2018, the State Board of Education approved new rules to ensure educators in Colorado are prepared to meet the needs of English learners in our schools. Effective September 1, 2018, educators endorsed in elementary, math, science, social studies, or English seeking a renewal of their professional license must complete or demonstrate completion of professional development activities equivalent to 45 clock/contact hours or three semester hours in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Education within a full five-year renewal period that meets or exceeds the standards outlined in section 5.12-5.15 of 1 CCR 301-37. This requirement must only be completed once during the term of the educator's career. To find out more about these requirements, if and how they apply to you, what you'll need to do and by when, visit the English Learner PD Requirements Information for Educators page.
For more detailed information on the process for renewing a professional teaching license and how to document professional development, please see the Professional Teacher Renewal Checklist
Visit the CDE website for all licensure needs and processes.
FINGERPRINTS
New Changes to the Fingerprint Process (Updated 10/17/18) - Please visit the website below for more detailed information
http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeprof/fingerprints
CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT D11 EMPLOYEE FINGERPRINTING
State statute regarding fingerprints changed and to meet the changes of that statute, CBI has implemented the Colorado Applicant Background Services (CABS) program to increase the number of locations where people can obtain fingerprints and to decrease processing time for background checks.
IDEMIA is pleased to announce their selection as an approved vendor for the Colorado Applicant Background Services (CABS) contract for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI). IDEMIA will begin fingerprint services for Colorado on September 24, 2018. IdentoGO Centers provide convenient, professional environments for live scan (electronic) fingerprinting services, which are delivered by trained Enrollment Agents. IdentoGO is the preeminent live scan fingerprinting provider for the state of Colorado and is a certified FBI Channeling Agent. Office locations and hours vary by the day.
CDE ENDORSEMENT REQUIREMENTS
Current Professionally Certified Educators
To help better support students in Colorado who are English language learners, the State Board of Education adopted new rules in June 2018 requiring educators with elementary, math, science, social studies and English language arts endorsements to complete Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Education training or professional development (PD). Educators holding these endorsements must meet the new licensing requirement:
- Within their next five-year license renewal period (For example, teachers holding a professional license that expires in September 2018 would need to meet the requirements by September 2023. See below for more examples of the timeline for meeting this requirement.)
- Only once over the course of their professional licensure as a teacher in Colorado.Educators must demonstrate completion of training or professional development activities equivalent to 45 clock/contact hours or three semester hours in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Education. Educators with previous CLD training or past experience can count it toward meeting their:
- What is the English Learner PD requirement
- new English Learner Professional Development requirement, and
- their 90 clock hours of professional development requirement for renewing their educator license.