Office of Educator Licensure

Process to Request a Waiver for Educator Licensure

Persons employed under hardship waivers must demonstrate that they are making continuous progress toward meeting the requirements for licensure in the field in which they are employed in order for additional waivers to be granted. How Continuous Progress is Defined

The Directory Administrator (DA) for your District, Collaborative or Approved Special Education Agency must follow these steps to obtain access to request a waiver on-line:

If you are the Directory Administrator and wish to set up the process for yourself or another user:

  1. Go to MassEdu Gateway/Security Portal
  2. Login and click "Applications List" and then choose "Directory Administration"
  3. Click on "Organizations"
  4. Click on your District, Collaborative or Agency name
  5. Click on "Members" and then select the individual you will be assigning the roles to
  6. Click on "Edit" next to "Assigned Security roles" and then check off the following two roles:
    • Educator Licensure (ELAR) – Inquiry
    • Educator Licensure (ELAR) – Waiver Request
  7. Click the "Save" button to apply your changes

Please note: Waivers can only be requested at the administrative (District/Agency) level. Waivers cannot be requested by school or program users.

If you are not the Directory Administrator and wish to obtain access to request a waiver:

Please go to the list of Directory Administrators for your organization type and reach out to them directly for assistance.

To request a waiver:

Troubleshooting:

If you receive an error message stating that you are unable to request a waiver, you may want to ensure the following:

  • The educator has an application on file for the field, grade level and license type in which you are trying to request the waiver.
  • The field and grade level of licensure in which you are trying to request the waiver is not towards an application for either a "Temporary" or "Initial Extension" license.
  • The educator does not hold an active license in the field and at the grade level of the intended waiver request. For example, if the educator holds an Early Childhood PreK-2 "Preliminary "license, and also has an application on file for the "Initial" license in the same field and grade level of the waiver request, the system will not recognize the waiver request.

Last Updated: October 23, 2024