Indiana guide

Indiana teacher salary schedules, lane changes and license renewal

Indiana gives teachers two ways to renew a license: 90 Professional Growth Plan points or six semester hours of college coursework. Pay works differently from most states, because state law limits what a raise can be based on, and two of the largest districts' contracts reward a content-area master's degree or nothing education-based at all.

By TeacherPayGuide editorsPublished · 10 min read

Short answer

How do Indiana teachers renew a license and move up the salary schedule?

Indiana renews a 5- or 10-year license with a 90-point Professional Growth Plan (one clock hour is one point; one college credit hour is 15) or six semester hours of college coursework, all earned since the license was issued. Raises come from each district's bargained compensation plan, which under IC 20-28-9-1.5 may reward only content-area degrees or credit hours beyond hiring requirements.

Source: Indiana Department of Education, Current Indiana educator to renew a license. Checked .

TeacherPayGuide is not affiliated with or endorsed by Indiana's state education agency or any Indiana school district. This guide summarizes published state rules and district documents as read on ; the agency and your district decide what counts for you. It is general information, not legal or employment advice. Disclaimer Report an error

How do you renew an Indiana teaching license?

The Office of Educator Licensing at the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) handles renewals through its online system, LVIS. Its renewal page offers two routes for a 5-year or 10-year license, and a teacher may also mix them by entering coursework inside a growth plan.

Route 1: a 90-point Professional Growth Plan

IDOE's Professional Growth Plan page sets the total at 90 points for renewing a 5- or 10-year license, and says "PGP Points must be obtained since the issue date of the license being renewed." The state's experience documentation chart lists what counts and how it is valued:

  • Clock hours: one clock hour of a qualifying activity earns one point, covering in-service, conferences and workshops (time as a learner only), mentoring, curriculum and school improvement committees, and presentations.
  • College credit: one credit hour equals 15 points, verified by official transcript, and it "Must be earned from an accredited college or university."
  • Fixed values: hosting a student teacher is worth 30 points and an undergraduate field experience or practicum 15.
  • Career-focused options: professional development on career navigation and coaching students in career programs such as robotics or FFA also qualify. A 15-point career-awareness requirement that once sat inside the 90 was removed in 2020.

For teachers employed in an Indiana school, the direct supervisor verifies points within the district, and IDOE notes that "PGPs must be verified prior to beginning an application in LVIS." Teachers not working in a school, or renewing from out of state, upload documentation for the Office of Educator Licensing to verify.

Route 2: six semester hours of coursework

The coursework route asks for six hours of college coursework in education, a licensed content area, or both. IDOE says "Courses used for license renewal must be from a regionally accredited institution" and must be earned after the issue date of the license being renewed. Undergraduate coursework is accepted; graduate coursework is encouraged for administrative and school services licenses. Out-of-state coursework needs official transcripts with a visible registrar signature.

Either route also requires current CPR and AED certification from an IDOE-approved provider and completion of child abuse and neglect training. IDOE asks teachers not to apply more than 45 days before the expiration date. For how points, clock hours and credits relate, see clock hours, CEUs and semester credits; the license renewal hub compares Indiana with other states.

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Six credit hours and 90 points are the same size. At 15 points per credit hour, a single three-credit course supplies half of a growth plan, and the remaining 45 points can come from logged clock hours.

How do Indiana teachers move to a higher salary lane?

Indiana has no state salary schedule. Pay is set by a compensation plan bargained between each school corporation and its teachers' union under IC 20-28-9-1.5, and the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board (IEERB) reviews every contract for compliance. The statute allows five factors for a raise:

  • years of experience;
  • "possession of an additional content area degree or credit hours beyond the requirements for employment" (the education factor);
  • evaluation results;
  • instructional leadership roles; and
  • the academic needs of students in the corporation.

The rules around those factors are what make Indiana different. According to IEERB's 2026 Compensation Plan FAQs, a bargained increase must use at least two factors, one of them academic needs, which must make up at least 10 percent of the calculation. Experience and education together cannot account for more than half of the total possible increase. A full-time classroom teacher also has to earn at least the statutory minimum salary, which the compensation plan must show.

The education factor is narrow. IEERB's 2026 guide to compensating teachers for graduate degrees and credit hours says the parties can define it more narrowly than the statute but not more broadly; "content area" means the subject a teacher is licensed to teach, or the service or administrative function licensed. The guide adds that pay for PGPs or similar professional development "cannot be part of the education factor," though it can be bargained as a stipend or under another factor. Districts may also bargain reimbursement for graduate degrees or credit hours, which is not limited to particular degrees.

Two more state rules shape a teacher's plan. Pay for degrees or graduate-level credits earned before a local plan created before July 1, 2015 took effect continues. And districts must differentiate base salary for teachers who hold the literacy endorsement. The practical effect is that a credit course in Indiana raises pay only when your contract names credit hours in its education factor or bargains a stipend or reimbursement; otherwise it serves renewal. Our article on a master's degree versus stacking credits walks through that trade-off.

What do the largest Indiana districts require?

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Indianapolis Public Schools

Read the full IPS guide →

The 2025-27 agreement between the Board of School Commissioners and the Indianapolis Education Association bases raises on three factors: evaluation rating, years of experience and academic needs. It has no education factor, so new degrees or credit hours do not add to base salary under this contract.

  • Eligibility: no increase after an Ineffective or Improvement Necessary rating, or without 120 contract days worked the prior year.
  • Academic needs: added amounts for special education, ENL, STEM and dual credit assignments, and for holding the literacy endorsement.
  • Frozen lane pay: teachers employed by IPS before October 1, 2014 keep "educational or 'lane' pay determined by degree status as of September 2, 2014."
  • Workshops: voluntary professional development earns PGP points and/or an hourly rate set in the contract.
Source: IPS-IEA agreement 2025-27, Professional Compensation
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Fort Wayne Community Schools

Read the full Fort Wayne guide →

The FWEA Master Contract 2025-27 runs a two-column schedule, bachelor's and master's, with lettered rows. Teachers advance a row when they meet the evaluation factor and move to the master's column through the education factor.

  • Education factor: "The first year of possessing a content-area master's degree from an accredited college or university." The contract defines content area by the license held.
  • Credit hours: no credit-hour column appears; a teacher on the bachelor's column moves only on completing the master's.
  • Dual credit: a one-time stipend for teachers completing coursework required to teach a dual credit course by June 30, 2027, then a stipend each semester they teach it.
  • Literacy endorsement: a separate annual increase for teachers who hold it.
Source: FWCS Human Resources, FWEA master contract 2025-27

Neither of these contracts pays for credit hours short of a degree. Other contracts can differ: IEERB's guidance says a district may bargain credit hours into its education factor or bargain reimbursement for coursework. Read your own corporation's contract on file with IEERB before counting on a raise from a course.

Full district guides for Indiana

Fort WayneFort Wayne Community Schools pays teachers on a bachelor's and a master's column with lettered rows. Teachers advance a row through the evaluation factor and move to the master's column only by earning a content-area master's degree; credit hours alone do not change the column.IPSIndianapolis Public Schools does not pay by degree or credit hour. Under the 2025-27 agreement, raises come from evaluation rating, years of IPS service and academic needs such as special education, STEM or dual credit assignments and the literacy endorsement; coursework counts toward license renewal instead.

Before you enroll

  1. Check your license dates in LVIS. Everything you count must be earned after the current license's issue date.
  2. Pick the route. Six semester hours, 90 PGP points, or a mix entered in one growth plan at 15 points per credit hour.
  3. Read your contract's education factor. Fort Wayne pays only for a content-area master's; IPS has no education factor; your district may differ.
  4. Match the course to your license. Indiana's education factor covers only content-area degrees or credit hours, defined by what you are licensed to teach.
  5. Keep the paperwork. Official transcripts for coursework, supervisor verification for points, plus current CPR/AED and child abuse and neglect training.

The provider directory groups semester-credit providers by need, and the comparison table shows their costs and formats side by side.

Indiana questions teachers ask

How many PGP points do I need to renew an Indiana teaching license?

Ninety points for a 5-year or 10-year license, earned since the issue date of the license being renewed. Six semester hours of college coursework is the alternative.

How many PGP points is a college credit worth in Indiana?

Fifteen. IDOE's experience chart values one college credit hour at 15 points, verified with an official transcript from an accredited college or university.

Can undergraduate courses renew an Indiana license?

Yes. IDOE accepts undergraduate coursework from a regionally accredited institution for renewal, in education or a licensed content area. It encourages graduate coursework for administrative and school services licenses.

Do graduate-level credit hours raise pay in Indiana?

Only if your district's bargained compensation plan includes credit hours in its education factor, and only for content-area credit beyond hiring requirements. The Indianapolis and Fort Wayne contracts do not pay for credit hours short of a degree.

When can I apply to renew my Indiana license?

IDOE asks applicants not to apply more than 45 days before the expiration date, and points must be verified before an LVIS application is started.

Sources

  1. Current Indiana educator to renew a license, Indiana Department of Education. Checked
  2. Professional Growth Plans (PGPs), Indiana Department of Education. Checked
  3. Professional growth experience documentation (updated April 6, 2020), Indiana Department of Education. Checked
  4. 2026 Compensation Plan FAQs (IC 20-28-9-1.5), Indiana Education Employment Relations Board. Checked
  5. 2026 Guide to Compensating Teachers for Graduate Degrees and Credit Hours, Indiana Education Employment Relations Board. Checked
  6. Agreement between IPS and the Indianapolis Education Association, 2025-27, Indianapolis Public Schools. Checked
  7. FWEA Master Contract 2025-27, Fort Wayne Community Schools. Checked
  8. FWEA master contract 2025-27, FWCS Human Resources. Checked

Reviewed November 11, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error

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