Short answer
How do Clayton teachers move to a higher column on the salary schedule?
In Clayton the column is your certificate level: T-4, T-5, T-6 or T-7 on a 190-day schedule. A higher level pays from the certificate issuance date, with no retroactive pay. If it is issued after the last contracted workday, the raise starts the following contract year. Credit hours without an upgrade do not count.
Source: FY2026-2027 Compensation Handbook, Clayton County Public Schools. Checked .
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How is the Clayton teacher salary schedule organized?
The "Teacher Annual Salary Schedule, 2026-2027 School Year (190 Day)" states its own logic in a margin note: "Each Tier represents the degree level and each step represents the number years of verified experience." The tiers a classroom teacher will recognize are T-4 Bachelors Degree, T-5 Masters Degree, T-6 Specialist Degree and T-7 Doctorate Degree.
Two more tiers appear on the sheet, BT-4 and BT-5. The copy in the Compensation Handbook labels BT-5 "Pre-K Leads Only." Neither document defines the BT prefix, so a teacher unsure which tier applies should ask the Compensation Department directly.
Steps run from E through 34. The first three rows, E, 1 and 2, carry the same figure in each tier. A note at the foot of the schedule says CCPS sets the step by State of Georgia guidelines for creditable years. The handbook reprints those guidelines, including the minimum of 120 full-time days for a year.
Ten- and eleven-month employees are paid from September to August. If the tier and step vocabulary is new to you, salary lane names compares how districts label columns.
What moves a Clayton teacher to a higher certificate level on the schedule?
The handbook places teachers "based on certificate level (T-level) and the number of verifiable teaching years." The T in the code is the GaPSC certificate level, so a new degree helps only once GaPSC writes the higher level onto your certificate.
That decision belongs to GaPSC under Rule 505-2-.33. A master's supports level 5, an Ed.S. level 6 and a doctorate level 7. The program has to be either In-Field, building on a field you already hold, or New Field, a state-approved program that adds a field and comes with a GACE content test. Certificates that are provisional, permits or non-renewable cannot be upgraded until they are converted to a professional certificate.
Graduate-level credit earned outside a qualifying degree has no tier of its own in Clayton. For the general picture, read lane changes explained.
Does Clayton require approval before you take a course?
Clayton does not post a pre-approval form for degree programs or courses. The approval step is GaPSC's upgrade decision. The district's role starts once paperwork moves: the CCPS Certification Department receives official electronic transcripts from colleges through services such as Parchment or E-Script, and colleges can also send them to GaPSC.
On pay, the Division of Business Services' Compensation Department has the final word. The handbook's disclaimer says that if the handbook and the department's current documents disagree, the department's documents govern.
When are transcripts due, and when does the new column take effect?
Clayton's "Certificate Upgrades" rules, in the handbook's salary policy section:
- Certificate upgrades are effective on the certificate issuance date.
- Retroactive pay will not be issued for certificate upgrades.
- If an upgraded certificate becomes effective after the last contracted workday of the school year, the salary adjustment takes effect in the following contract year.
- If an upgraded certificate is not effective on the employee's first workday of the school year, the upgraded salary is prorated by the workdays completed.
Worked through without dollars: a teacher whose level 5 certificate is issued in November is paid at T-4 for the days before that date and at T-5 for the rest of the year. If the same certificate is issued in mid-June, after the last contracted day, the T-5 rate begins with the next contract year. Every week GaPSC spends on a late application is a week at the lower rate. Transcript deadlines covers how to file without delay.
Experience credit has a separate clock. Verification of Experience forms received within 60 calendar days of the hire date are paid retroactively; forms received later adjust pay without back pay. Salary-review requests need a valid reason, are completed within 30 days of receipt, and reach back no more than two years.
Do the same units count toward Georgia license renewal?
Renewal answers to GaPSC Rule 505-2-.36. Standard professional certificates are valid for five years, and teachers employed by a Georgia district renew through that district's professional learning, as verified by a supervisor, plus a criminal record check. The window opens December 1 of the year before the certificate expires and closes June 30. Renewal does not change your T-level. See the Georgia renewal summary for the full rule.
Where can Clayton teachers earn graduate-level units?
Every district, Clayton included, decides for itself whether a course counts for the purpose a teacher needs it for: license renewal, an added endorsement or a degree program. No provider, university or website can make that decision, so the rules above come first, and written approval from Clayton's human resources office is the safest record to have before you pay.
Clayton pays by completed degree, certificate level or rating rather than by units, so courses short of a degree do not change a Clayton salary on their own (see units that count). Where graduate-level units still help is license renewal, explained in the renewal section, and any other purpose Clayton or Georgia names in writing.
| Question | What Clayton says | What to look for on the provider's site |
|---|---|---|
| Type of unit | Clayton: Certificate level only; T-level from GaPSC | 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 | See approval | Published grading and transcript-posting time, and any rush option |
| Approval | Clayton: No district form; GaPSC decides upgrades | 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
For renewal, or for a future move to a district that pays for units, many providers issue graduate-level units through accredited universities. 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)
- Teaching Channel: self-paced, units through a choice of eight universities; $489 for 3 credits (price notes)
- TLC Graduate Credits: self-paced, units through CSU Pueblo; $425 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 Clayton has approved a provider or course; only the district can do that. TeacherPayGuide has commercial relationships with some providers it lists; how listings work.
Clayton salary questions teachers ask
Does Clayton pay back pay when my certificate is upgraded?
No. The Compensation Handbook says upgrades are effective on the certificate issuance date and that retroactive pay will not be issued for certificate upgrades.
My upgrade was issued in June. When does Clayton raise my pay?
If the certificate became effective after the last contracted workday of the school year, the adjustment starts in the following contract year.
How long do I have to send experience verification to Clayton?
Sixty calendar days from the hire date for retroactive pay. Later forms can still adjust salary, but not retroactively.
How far back can a Clayton salary review go?
Two years at most. Requests need a valid reason and are completed within 30 days of receipt.
Where can Clayton teachers take graduate-level courses for license renewal?
Clayton does not raise pay for units short of a degree, so check the renewal rules on this page and confirm with human resources or the state agency before you enroll. Providers that teachers compare include Teacher Friendly, Credits for Educators, Teaching Channel, TLC Graduate Credits, 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
- Teacher Annual Salary Schedule 2026-2027 (190 Day), Clayton County Public Schools. Checked
- FY2026-2027 Compensation Handbook, Clayton County Public Schools Division of Business Services. Checked
- 2026-27 Teacher and Counselor Salary Tables, Clayton County Public Schools. Checked
- Certification FAQs, Clayton County Public Schools Human Resources. Checked
- Upgrade rule (GaPSC 505-2-.33). Checked
- Salary experience rule (SBOE 160-5-2-.05). Checked
- Renewal rule (GaPSC 505-2-.36). Checked
Reviewed November 11, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error