Short answer
How do Sac City Unified teachers move to a higher column on the salary schedule?
Sac City Unified pays five classes, A through E. Class B takes 45 semester units beyond the BA or a master's; C, D and E take 60, 75 and 90 units, or 12, 24 and 39 beyond a master's. Units filed by October 10 date the change to July 1; units filed by March 10 date it to February 1.
Source: 2026-27 Teachers' Salary Schedule and SCTA agreement, Article 12.4. Checked .
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How is the Sac City Unified teacher salary schedule organized?
The district's salary schedules page posts the SCTA "K-12 and Preschool Teachers' Salary Schedule (Fully Credentialed/Permitted)" for 2026-27. It is effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, covers 184 service days (181 plus 3 professional development days), applies a 2% increase, and was updated July 23, 2026. The posted PDF carries the figures; we describe only the grid.
Each class has two doors, one for teachers counting units past the BA and one for teachers who hold a master's:
| Class | Without a master's | With a master's |
|---|---|---|
| A | BA degree | n/a |
| B | BA+45 | Master's |
| C | BA+60 | MA+12 |
| D | BA+75 | MA+24 |
| E | BA+90 | MA+39 |
A doctorate is not a separate class; it adds an annual amount on top of the teacher's cell. Teachers still earning a credential are paid from a separate schedule with only Classes A to C, and special education has its own schedule. Positions that require certain vocational credentials are placed no lower than Class B once the teacher has a BA and meets the credential requirements. Our salary lane names explainer compares "classes" with the lanes and columns other districts use.
Which units count toward a Sac City Unified column change?
Article 12.4.1 bases training classification on earned degrees plus regular credits beyond degree requirements. Credits are accepted from three places: a college or university accredited by a regional accrediting association; coursework the state credentialing commission accepts for credentialing purposes; or activity reported on the forms of the district's Professional Improvement Program, which runs under Board Policies P-3572 to P-3575, adopted July 10, 1978.
One clause sets Sacramento apart. Article 12.4.1.1 defines excess units as units beyond the minimum the granting institution required for the degree, and says they may have been earned before or after the degree was awarded. A teacher who graduated with 132 units from a program that required 120 brings 12 excess units on day one.
The Professional Improvement allowances in Article 12.4.2 are specific:
- Junior college or adult education courses: 1 unit per 15 lecture hours or 45 laboratory hours.
- Workshops, textbook evaluation or curriculum development, educational research, professional organization work and private study: 1 unit per 32 hours.
- Conferences, visitations or observations, and developing teaching materials: 1 unit per 40 hours.
- Travel: 1 unit per week, capped at 3 units in any three-year period.
Article 22.17 adds that professional growth activities can count toward training classification when they meet 12.4. Article 12.4 itself does not set an upper-division requirement or a quarter-unit conversion, so a teacher holding quarter units should ask Human Resources how they will be entered. The units that count article explains why that conversion matters.
Does Sac City Unified require approval before you take a course?
For ordinary college classes, Article 12.4 describes no advance approval step; the test is accreditation, applied when the transcript arrives. Professional Improvement Program credit works differently. Those units count only if they are "reported on appropriate forms" under the program, so the program's forms, not a college transcript, are the record. Teachers planning workshop or conference hours should get the current Professional Improvement forms from Human Resources before logging time.
When are transcripts due, and when does the new column take effect?
Article 12.4.3 asks teachers to file transcripts or official grade cards immediately on completion, then sets two hard dates:
- October 10 for a class change effective July 1.
- March 10 for a class change effective February 1.
Changes based on credits earned before the deadline are retroactive to July 1 or February 1. In practice, a teacher who finishes a summer course in August and files by October 10 is paid the higher class back to July 1; one who files on October 11 waits for February 1. One wrinkle: a July 1 class change is not used to set that year's summer school per-session rates.
Records filed are not returned, so send an official copy rather than an original you need. A handwritten or typed grade card is accepted only with the school seal. Teachers new to the district have 60 days from their first day of required service to file units. The transcript deadlines guide covers ordering ahead of a cutoff.
Do the same units count toward California license renewal?
California does not ask for units to renew a clear credential; CL-494 from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing sets a five-year renewal with no coursework. Holders of a preliminary credential must clear it instead. Units filed for a Sac City Unified class change therefore affect pay, not licensure. See the California renewal rules.
Where can Sac City Unified teachers earn graduate-level units?
Every district, Sac City Unified included, decides for itself whether a course counts for the purpose a teacher needs it for: a column move, a stipend, license renewal or an added endorsement. No provider, university or website can make that decision, so the rules above come first, and written approval from Sac City Unified's human resources office is the safest record to have before you pay.
| Question | What Sac City Unified says | What to look for on the provider's site |
|---|---|---|
| Type of unit | Sac City Unified: Regionally accredited, CTC-accepted, or Professional Improvement Program; excess units may predate the degree | Semester or quarter units, graduate-level or not, and the university named on the transcript and its accreditor |
| Grade | See units that count | Letter grade or pass/fail on the transcript |
| Deadline | Sac City Unified: October 10 and March 10 | Published grading and transcript-posting time, and any rush option |
| Approval | Sac City Unified: None stated for college units; PIP credit needs the program's forms | Course descriptions or syllabi you can attach to an approval form |
| Price | Not set by the district | All-in price per credit, including any university or first-course fee (compare) |
Graduate-level credit providers, listed with the same facts
With those rules in hand, compare providers on the same points. Providers listed on this site, each with the same facts:
- Teacher Friendly: self-paced online, units through University of the Pacific; $336 first course for 3 credits (price notes)
- Credits for Educators: self-paced online, units through University of the Pacific; $297 for 3 credits (price notes)
- CE Credits Online: self-paced, 180 days, units through Valley City State, Augustana, Adams State or Cal Poly Humboldt; from $449 for 3 credits (price notes)
- Connected Classroom Courses: self-paced, letter grade, units through CSU Pueblo; $389 + university fee for 3 credits (price notes)
- Upward Teachers: self-paced, 1 to 6 months, letter grade, units through UMass Global; $240 sale for 3 credits (price notes)
- VESi: self-paced online, 2- or 3-unit courses on special-needs instruction, units through University of the Pacific; $444 for 3 credits (price notes)
The provider directory lists 28 providers and programs by what teachers need them for, and Compare sets published prices for 16 of them side by side, with transcripts from 11 universities. A listing on this site does not mean Sac City Unified has approved a provider or course; only the district can do that. TeacherPayGuide has commercial relationships with some providers it lists; how listings work.
Sac City Unified salary questions teachers ask
When is the Sac City Unified deadline to turn in units?
October 10 for a class change effective July 1, and March 10 for a change effective February 1. Credits earned before the deadline are paid retroactively to those dates.
Do units I took before my bachelor's was awarded count in Sacramento?
They can. Article 12.4.1.1 counts units earned beyond the minimum your institution required for the degree, whether they were earned before or after the degree was awarded.
Can conferences or workshops count toward a higher class?
Yes, through the Professional Improvement Program: 1 unit per 32 hours for workshops and 1 unit per 40 hours for conferences, reported on the program's forms.
Is there a doctorate column at Sac City Unified?
No. Class E is the top column; a doctorate adds an annual amount to the teacher's salary on the 2026-27 schedule.
Where can Sac City Unified teachers take graduate-level courses for salary credit or renewal?
Sac City Unified decides which courses count, under the rules on this page, so check with human resources before you enroll. Providers that teachers compare include Teacher Friendly, Credits for Educators, CE Credits Online, Connected Classroom Courses, Upward Teachers and VESi. They differ in format, transcript university, grading time and price; the provider directory and the Compare page list 16 providers with the same facts for each.
Sources
- SCTA K-12 and Preschool Teachers' Salary Schedule (Fully Credentialed/Permitted), 2026-27, Sacramento City Unified School District. Checked
- Salary Schedules, Human Resources, Sacramento City Unified School District. Checked
- SCTA Collective Bargaining Agreement, July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2027 (Article 12.4; posted by the district as an unofficial draft), Sacramento City Unified School District. Checked
- Collective Bargaining Agreements, Sacramento City Unified School District. Checked
- Renewal and Reissuance of Credentials (CL-494), California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Checked
Reviewed November 11, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error