Short answer
How do Illinois teachers renew a license and move up the salary schedule?
A Professional Educator License (PEL) renews on a five-year cycle with 120 hours of professional development, or 60 for a current National Board certified teacher. One semester hour of education-related college coursework counts as 15 hours. Pay follows each district's schedule; state law sets only a minimum salary, so lane credits and deadlines come from the local contract.
Source: 105 ILCS 5/21B-45, Professional Educator License renewal. Checked .
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How do you renew an Illinois Professional Educator License?
The rules sit in the School Code itself. Section 21B-45 says each licensee "shall complete a total of 120 hours of professional development per 5-year renewal cycle," unless another part of the section applies. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) carries out the details in Part 25 of its administrative rules, most recently amended effective July 21, 2026.
The hour count varies by role:
- Teachers and most school support staff: 120 hours per cycle.
- National Board certified teachers holding a current master teacher designation: 60 hours per cycle. If the certification has lapsed by renewal time, the full requirement applies.
- Administrators working in a role that needs the endorsement: 100 hours plus one Illinois Administrators' Academy course each fiscal year.
- Support staff with a related professional license or listed national certification, such as a nationally certified school psychologist, are treated as having met the hours and pay only the registration fee.
Activities have to come from a provider the statute approves: ISBE, regional offices of education, approved professional associations, Illinois school districts, state agencies, museums and certain higher education institutions, among others. Each activity should meet at least one of the statute's criteria, such as sustained learning tied to student growth, alignment with state standards, or higher education coursework. One clock hour of attendance earns one professional development hour.
College coursework converts at a fixed rate. Under 23 Ill. Adm. Code 25.805(c), "One semester hour of college coursework related to education from a regionally accredited institution shall equal 15 clock hours," and one quarter hour equals 10. The same rule says coursework may be completed through an Illinois institution that offers approved educator preparation programs or an Illinois public community college, and the licensee has to upload a transcript to the Educator Licensure Information System (ELIS). Eight semester hours of qualifying coursework therefore cover the full 120 hours. For more on converting between units, see clock hours, CEUs and semester credits.
Timing rules are worth marking on a calendar:
- Log as you go. Before renewal, each activity is entered in ELIS with its name, date, location, hours and provider. ISBE's educator renewal page notes that the renewal option will not open until every required hour is entered on the Professional Development tab.
- Register in the spring. Registration fees for the next cycle are paid between April 1 and June 30 of the cycle's last year.
- Catch up by September 1. Missing hours can be finished before September 1 of that year while the teacher keeps working; a license not renewed lapses on that date.
- Carry over a little. Extra hours earned from April 1 through June 30 of the final year may roll into the next cycle. Hours otherwise count toward only one cycle.
ISBE audits renewals. Section 21B-45 directs random audits of licensees, and a license found short of hours or proof lapses. Keep certificates and transcripts for every activity you enter in ELIS. The license renewal hub compares Illinois with other hour-based states.
How do Illinois teachers move to a higher salary lane?
Illinois has no statewide salary schedule. 105 ILCS 5/24-8 sets a minimum rate that every school board must pay a full-time teacher. The minimum rises each year with the Consumer Price Index, and the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability certifies and publishes the new rate by July 20. The same section also guarantees experienced teachers set increases above the district's starting salary after 5, 8 and 13 years, keyed to a bachelor's or master's degree.
Everything above that floor comes from the district's own schedule, usually bargained with the local union. Most Illinois schedules are grids: steps for years of service down the side and education lanes across the top. What a lane requires, and which credits count, varies sharply from one district to the next. Some lanes start at the master's degree and count graduate hours only after it; others count credit in steady increments from the bachelor's.
Section 24-8 includes one timing rule that helps new graduates: a teacher who "submits a certificate of completion to the school office prior to the first day of the school term" is treated as holding the degree named in it. Beyond that, the contract decides when a lane change takes effect, as the two districts below show. For the general sequence, see how lane changes work; for what tends to qualify, see units that count.
Renewal hours and salary credit are judged separately. An ISBE-approved workshop logged in ELIS can renew a license without moving a teacher on the district schedule, and a graduate-level course accepted for a lane change still has to meet ISBE's provider and conversion rules before it counts toward the 120 hours. Our renewal versus salary credit guide sets the two tests side by side.
What do the largest Illinois districts require?
Chicago Public Schools
CPS runs six lanes under Board Policy 302.8 and Article 36-6 of the 2024-28 contract with the Chicago Teachers Union. Lane I needs a bachelor's degree, Lane II a master's, and Lanes III, IV and V add 15, 30 and 45 graduate semester hours beyond the master's. Lane VI requires a Ph.D. or Ed.D.
- Coursework: graduate-level credit from a regionally accredited college or university; medicine and theology courses earn no lane credit.
- Undergraduate courses: only in narrow cases, such as special education qualifications or Spanish for communicating with families, with advance Talent Office approval.
- Workshops: credit for subject-related workshops must be "approved in advance by the BOARD"; CPS-offered courses count up to four semester hours each with advance approval.
- Effective date: the completion date, if the claim and proof are on file within 60 calendar days; otherwise the filing date. The teacher bears "sole responsibility for applying for lane adjustments."
School District U-46 (Elgin)
The Elgin Agreement 2023-2027 between the board and the Elgin Teachers Association uses eight lanes, from BA through BA+70 in 10-credit steps, and 20 steps lettered A to T. Movement is "limited to two (2) lanes, or its equivalent, in any given year."
- Pre-approval: academic credits earned from the fall 2024 term onward "must be preapproved by the district" through an online portal.
- What qualifies: graduate-level courses from an accredited institution that are part of an education-related graduate degree, a new license endorsement, or directly related to the teaching assignment; a grade of C or better on a transcript, with pass/fail allowed only for degree and endorsement programs.
- Timing: only credits earned after the bachelor's degree; quarter hours convert at 0.6667 semester hours each.
- Deadlines: official transcripts by October 15 or February 15, paid on the last check in November or March, retroactive to the start of the semester.
- Other routes: up to five Professional Credits a year for district-approved PD (15 CPDUs or CEUs per credit), committees and PLCs; National Board certification counts as nine graduate-level credit hours.
The two contracts take opposite approaches. Chicago measures most lanes from the master's degree and asks for graduate hours beyond it; U-46 counts post-bachelor's graduate-level credit in 10-credit lanes but screens each course in advance. U-46's agreement also lets Human Resources "identify colleges or universities from which courses may not be accepted," so the pre-approval step matters before any enrollment.
Full district guides for Illinois
Before you enroll
- Find your cycle's end date in ELIS. Count the hours already logged against 120, or 60 if you hold a current National Board certificate.
- Decide what the course is for. Renewal hours, a lane change, or both. ISBE's provider and conversion rules apply to renewal; your contract's rules apply to pay.
- Get district approval in writing. U-46 requires portal pre-approval for academic credit; Chicago requires advance approval for workshops and any undergraduate course.
- Check the degree baseline. Chicago's Lanes III to V count hours beyond the master's; U-46 counts credit earned after the bachelor's.
- File on time. Sixty days after completion in Chicago, October 15 or February 15 in U-46, and enter renewal coursework in ELIS with a transcript.
The provider directory groups semester-credit providers by need, and the comparison table shows their costs and formats side by side.
Illinois questions teachers ask
How many PD hours does an Illinois teacher need to renew a PEL?
120 hours per five-year renewal cycle under 105 ILCS 5/21B-45. A teacher with a current National Board master teacher designation needs 60.
How many PD hours is a college semester hour worth in Illinois?
Fifteen. ISBE's rule counts one semester hour of education-related coursework from a regionally accredited institution as 15 clock hours, and one quarter hour as 10. The transcript is uploaded to ELIS.
What happens if I have not finished my hours by June 30?
The statute lets a licensee finish missing hours before September 1 of that year while continuing to work. A PEL that is not renewed lapses on September 1.
Can extra PD hours carry into my next Illinois renewal cycle?
Only hours earned from April 1 through June 30 of the cycle's last year, beyond the required total. Other hours count toward a single cycle.
Is there a statewide teacher salary schedule in Illinois?
No. Section 24-8 of the School Code sets a minimum salary that rises with inflation; each district sets its own steps and lanes, usually through a negotiated contract.
Does Chicago Public Schools count undergraduate courses for a lane change?
Only in limited cases named in Policy 302.8, such as courses meeting special education qualifications or Spanish courses for communicating with families, and only with advance Talent Office approval.
Sources
- 105 ILCS 5/21B-45, Professional Educator License renewal, Illinois General Assembly. Checked
- 23 Ill. Adm. Code Part 25, Educator Licensure (Sections 25.805 and 25.830), Illinois State Board of Education. Checked
- Educator license renewal, Illinois State Board of Education. Checked
- 105 ILCS 5/24-8, Minimum salary, Illinois General Assembly. Checked
- Board Policy 302.8, lane placement requirements, Chicago Public Schools. Checked
- Article 36-6, Step and lane adjustments, 2024-28 agreement, Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Board of Education. Checked
- Elgin Agreement 2023-2027, School District U-46 and the Elgin Teachers Association. Checked
Reviewed November 11, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error