Short answer
How do Massachusetts teachers renew a license and move up the salary schedule?
A Massachusetts professional license is valid for five calendar years and renews with 150 professional development points (PDPs) for your primary license, at least 15 each in content, pedagogy, SEI or ESL, and students with disabilities, under a plan your supervisor approves. One semester hour equals 15 PDPs. Pay columns come from each district's bargained agreement.
Source: Massachusetts DESE, Renewing a Professional License. Checked .
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How do you renew a Massachusetts professional license?
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) runs licensure through the Educator Licensure and Renewal (ELAR) system. Its renewal page says professional licenses are valid for five calendar years. A license that is within one year of expiring, or on inactive status, can be renewed only once the required PDPs are earned.
The rules are in the recertification regulation, 603 CMR 44.00. For the primary license you need at least 150 PDPs, including:
- 15 PDPs in content, the subject matter of the license.
- 15 PDPs in pedagogy, professional skills and knowledge.
- 15 PDPs in SEI, ESL or bilingual education.
- 15 PDPs in strategies for students with disabilities and instruction for diverse learning styles.
- 90 elective PDPs, which DESE says may address other topics that improve student learning, or more content or pedagogy.
Two further rules shape the plan. A minimum of 10 PDPs must be earned in a topic for it to count toward renewal, so a single short workshop on its own will not. Each additional license you renew needs 30 more PDPs in that license's content area.
The regulation's definitions set the conversions: one clock hour equals one PDP, "one semester hour is equivalent to 15 PDPs," and one CEU equals 10 PDPs. Advanced academic study and Department-sponsored or approved PD earn 1.5 PDPs per clock hour. Advanced academic study means a content course "equivalent to an upper-level undergraduate course or a graduate-level course." Passing a Board-approved performance assessment earns 120 PDPs, 90 in content and 30 in pedagogy.
The paperwork is light at the front end. If you are employed, your supervisor must give final approval of your Individual Professional Development Plan (IPDP), and the regulation lets the Educator Plan from your evaluation serve as the IPDP. You then renew in ELAR and, according to DESE, do not send documentation of your PDPs "unless you are selected for an audit." Keep your certificates and transcripts in case you are.
PDPs and salary credits are counted separately. A course that earns PDPs may not move you on a district schedule, and some districts accept only graduate-level credit for higher columns. Read renewal versus salary credit and graduate-level credit versus graduate credit before you enroll.
For unit conversions across states, see clock hours, CEUs and semester credits and the license renewal hub.
How do Massachusetts teachers move to a higher salary column?
Massachusetts has no statewide teacher salary schedule. Under the public employee bargaining law, a school committee and its teachers' union must negotiate "wages, hours, standards or productivity and performance, and any other terms and conditions of employment," including class size and workload for teachers (M.G.L. c. 150E, §6). Each district's columns, steps and credit rules come out of that bargaining.
The three agreements below show how far apart the results can be. Boston and Brockton pay on degree and credit lanes; Boston adds a prior-approval rule for newer teachers and a district-run credit of its own, and Brockton has a joint committee review each submission. Lawrence replaced its grid with a career ladder: teachers move up tiers on evaluation ratings, and the newest agreement adds a separate lane for teachers who hold a professional license. For the general sequence of a column move, see how lane changes work; for reading a grid, see how to read a salary schedule.
What do Boston, Brockton and Lawrence require?
Boston Public Schools
The agreement between the Boston School Committee and the Boston Teachers Union runs from September 1, 2024 through August 31, 2027. Its salary lanes include Bachelor's and 15 credits; Master's and 15, 30, 45 and 60 credits; and Doctorate. The Master's and 30 lane takes a master's degree plus "a total of thirty (30) additional graduate credits or a law degree" from an accredited institution.
- What counts: credit for salary is granted for in-service courses and for graduate courses at an accredited institution. In-service credit counts up to 30.
- Prior approval: a teacher hired after September 1, 2013 does not advance beyond the Master's +15 lane unless the courses "have received prior approval for lane advancement" from the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources.
- Relevance: the School Department may disapprove courses unrelated to education in the Boston Public Schools or to the subjects taught there.
- Academic Ladder Credits: district-designed, tuition-free courses award one ALC per 12 hours of instruction, and ALCs count like in-service credits without the 30-credit cap.
- Degrees: the agreement lets teachers use "combinations of graduate credits, in-service credits and ALCs," but the Master's lanes require a master's degree and the Doctorate lane a doctorate.
Brockton Public Schools
Read the full Brockton guide →
The agreement with the Brockton Education Association covers September 1, 2025 to August 31, 2026 and September 1, 2026 to August 31, 2029. Its schedules have nine columns: B.A., B+15, B+30, Master's, M+15, M+30, M+45, M+60 and Doctorate. As of August 31, 2029, the Bachelor's column is eliminated and B+15 becomes the new Bachelor's column.
- Review: a Salary Accreditation Committee of educators, administration and School Committee members meets monthly to examine submitted credits.
- Credit type: documentation must show courses "taken for graduate level credit"; undergraduate courses in foreign languages, computers and aviation are also accepted.
- M+45 and M+60: only graduate courses from accredited colleges or universities "within an area of certification" granted by the state Department of Education count.
- Timing: graduate courses completed before your master's was granted cannot count toward M+15 and above.
- Effective date: credits submitted before the September meeting take effect September 1; later in the year, from the next pay period after the meeting. Documentation is hand-delivered to Human Resources a week ahead.
Lawrence Public Schools
The 2022-2025 agreement with the Lawrence Teachers Union pays on a career ladder of five tiers, Novice, Developing, Career, Advanced and Expert, rather than degree and credit columns. The 2025 memorandum the district posts extends the term to June 30, 2028.
- Advancement: Career-level teachers move up a level each year with an end-of-year rating of "proficient" or "exemplary."
- Advanced and Expert: teachers at Career III or above with two years of qualifying ratings apply through a cumulative career portfolio.
- License lane: under the 2025 memorandum, teachers who attain professional licensure status move to a professional license lane at their current step.
- Courses: tuition reimbursement for graduate-level courses, and for professional development courses taken toward recertification, requires prior approval from the Superintendent.
Full district guides for Massachusetts
Before you enroll
- Map your 150 PDPs. Check that content, pedagogy, SEI or ESL, and students with disabilities each have at least 15, with 10 or more per topic.
- Put the course in your plan. If you are employed, your supervisor approves the IPDP, which can be your Educator Plan.
- Check your district's column rules. In Boston, teachers hired after September 1, 2013 need prior approval for courses beyond Master's +15; in Brockton, M+45 and M+60 take only graduate-level courses within an area of state certification; in Lawrence, pay moves on ratings and licensure status.
- Get prior approval for reimbursement. Lawrence requires the Superintendent's approval before a course is taken.
- Keep proof for two audiences. DESE may audit your PDPs, and Brockton's committee needs transcripts or grade reports before its meeting. See transcript deadlines.
The provider directory groups semester-credit providers by need, and the comparison table shows their costs and formats side by side.
Massachusetts questions teachers ask
How many PDPs do I need to renew a Massachusetts license?
150 for your primary license, with at least 15 each in content, pedagogy, SEI or ESL, and students with disabilities. Each additional license needs 30 more PDPs in its content area.
How many PDPs is a college course worth in Massachusetts?
Under 603 CMR 44.02, one semester hour equals 15 PDPs and one CEU equals 10. Advanced academic study, meaning upper-level undergraduate or graduate-level content coursework, earns 1.5 PDPs per clock hour.
Do I send my PDP certificates to DESE when I renew?
No. DESE says to renew in ELAR and not send supporting documentation unless you are selected for an audit. If you are audited, you submit documentation for the licenses you renewed.
When can I renew my Massachusetts professional license?
A license that is within one year of expiring, or on inactive status, can be renewed once the required PDPs are earned.
Do Boston teachers need approval before taking courses for a lane change?
For teachers hired after September 1, 2013, yes beyond the Master's +15 lane: the 2024-2027 agreement requires courses to have prior approval for lane advancement from the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources. A master's degree is required for the Master's lanes in any case.
Do undergraduate courses count for a Brockton salary column?
Generally no. Brockton's guidelines require graduate-level credit, with exceptions for undergraduate courses in foreign languages, computers and aviation. M+45 and M+60 take only graduate courses within an area of state certification.
Sources
- Advancing, Extending, or Renewing a License, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Checked
- 603 CMR 44.00, Educator License Recertification, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Checked
- M.G.L. c. 150E, §6, Exclusive representative; duty to bargain, Massachusetts Legislature. Checked
- Contract, September 1, 2024 through August 31, 2027, Boston School Committee and Boston Teachers Union, Article VIII, Compensation and Benefits, linked from the union's contracts page. Checked
- Agreement, September 1, 2025 to August 31, 2026 and September 1, 2026 to August 31, 2029, Brockton School Committee and Brockton Education Association, listed on the district's contracts page. Checked
- Collective bargaining agreement, July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2025, Lawrence Public Schools and Lawrence Teachers Union. Checked
- Agreement amending the contract, July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2028, Lawrence Public Schools and Lawrence Teachers Union, listed on the district's human resources page. Checked
Reviewed November 11, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error