Office of Educator Licensure

Emergency Extension Update: August 2022

Via the Supplemental Budget, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Department) was authorized to be able to reissue the Emergency license and effective May 26, 2022, individuals could apply for this new version of the Emergency license.

The new Emergency license is similar but not exactly like the previous version of the Emergency license. For example, the new Emergency license will be valid for one calendar year from the date of issuance and can be extended twice so long as the individual is making progress towards obtaining a license. This announcement is to provide an update regarding the requirements and process to obtain an Emergency extension.

The Department anticipates that ELAR will be modified to accept applications for the Emergency Extension no later than September 29, 2022. Please note that this extension only applies to Emergency licenses issued on/after May 26, 2022. The cost to apply for an Emergency Extension will be $25.00.

The Office of Educator Licensure (OEL) is currently inserting the requirements to obtain an Emergency Extension into the License Requirements Tool. This will be available on a phased in approach according to the following schedule:

• Academic Teachers — all fields will be available by Friday, August 5^th.
• All Administrators and Professional Support licenses — all fields will be available by Friday, August 12^th.
• Vocational Teachers — available by Thursday, August 11^th.

The Requirements Tool is interactive where the user would insert the license they were seeking (teacher), the field (Chemistry), grade level (8–12) and license type (Emergency Extension) and the system displays the requirements to obtain the license. Each requirement listed in the Requirements Tool (and ELAR) is an active link with advice and links intended to help an applicant with documenting compliance with the requirement. Please note that in some instances, you may utilize the Requirement Tool and see the option for the Emergency Extension, however, no requirements are appearing. If such a situation arises, this means that the requirement set has not yet been inserted into the tool.

An example of an academic teacher demonstrating progress for their first extension would be:

Since obtaining the emergency license, the educator has participated in an induction program provided by their school district and completed one of the following:

• Passing the C&L test
• Passing a required content test
• Enrolling in an approved preparation program
• Having completed coursework within an approved preparation program

For clarity on the meaning of "since obtaining the emergency license", please see the following examples:

1. Samantha obtained an Emergency license on July 25, 2022, in Early Childhood. She passed the Communication & Literacy Skills test on June 30, 2022. Although Samantha has passed a test that is required to obtain an Early Childhood license, since the Communication & Literacy Skills test was passed prior to when she obtained the Emergency license, that test will not be accepted as progress towards obtaining an extension.
2. Jamal obtained an Emergency license on August 1, 2022, in Chemistry. He passes the Chemistry MTEL test on September 23, 2022. Since Jamal passed the Chemistry MTEL test after he obtained the Emergency license, that can be counted towards making progress towards an Emergency Extension.

Please note that the Department encourages individuals that obtained an Emergency license in special education or English as a Second Language (ESL) on or before December 12, 2021 to apply for an Emergency Extension ASAP. All Emergency licenses issued on/before December 12, 2021, except for special education and ESL licenses have been extended to June 30, 2023. Individuals with a special education or ESL license issued on/before December 12, 2021, are eligible to receive a no-cost extension to June 30, 2023, by demonstrating the subject matter knowledge requirements for their respective field. Individuals that are eligible for this no-cost extension are strongly encouraged to apply for that extension as soon as possible. Individuals that apply for this extension after September 29, 2022, will be subject to paying the fee of $25.00 but will be eligible to receive a refund.

OEL has developed over 40 videos about how to use ELAR and how to obtain a license on our YouTube Channel. Videos range from earning a teacher, professional support or administrator license and cover multiple scenarios including those prepared in the Commonwealth, compared to out-of-state applicants vs. those looking to add a license in a new field or grade span. One of our latest videos describes how someone with an Emergency license can obtain a Provisional/Preliminary (Vocational) or Initial license.

For questions about licensure, please contact our Licensure Call Center at 781-338-6600. The Call Center is open each business day from 9 am – 1 pm and 2 pm – 5 pm.