Saint Paul Public Schools salary schedule: how teachers move to a higher column

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How is the Saint Paul teacher salary schedule organized?

The agreement between Saint Paul Public Schools (ISD 625) and the Saint Paul Federation of Educators runs for 2025-2027. Its Appendix A schedules and the district's lane changes page number the lanes:

• Lanes 3 to 7: BA, BA+15, BA+30, BA+45 and BA+60.
• Lanes 8 to 13: MA, MA+15, MA+30, MA+45, MA+60 and Specialist. The schedule prints BA+60 with MA, and MA+60 with Specialist, in shared columns.
• Lane 14: PhD or EdD.

Steps advance only at the beginning of a school year (Article 8, Section 3). The dollar figures are in Appendix A; we do not reproduce them. For reading a grid, see how to read a salary schedule.

Which credits count toward a Saint Paul lane change?

Article 8, Section 2, Subd. 1 says credits and degrees "shall be earned from an institution recognized for the purposes of certification by the Minnesota DOE." Work from other institutions is considered only if equivalent content is not available at reasonably accessible accredited institutions, and only with the Superintendent's prior approval. The rest of Subd. 1 adds:

• Relevance. Credits must support the teacher's licensure area or another licensure area in public education; other coursework must be pre-approved. The lane changes page puts it shortly: "Lane Changes must be in the scope of Public Education."
• Accredited universities. "Graduate credits earned through colleges and universities accredited to grant advanced degrees will be acceptable," with the American Council on Education's directory of accredited institutions as the authority; institutions not listed need pre-approval.
• Undergraduate credit needs written HR approval before the course is taken. The district's lane change instructions add: "If any undergraduate course is available at the graduate level, it must be taken as such."
• Grades: C or better, Pass or Satisfactory.
• Unpaid time. Only classes taken on unpaid time, with tuition and fees not paid or reimbursed by the district, count.
• In-service credit. Superintendent-approved in-service courses count, to a lifetime maximum of 25 credits; credits from an approved Professional Development Plan may go beyond it. The instructions convert 10 hours of in-service to one quarter credit, and say classes taken for a stipend or clock hours do not count: "Clock hours are only good for re-licensure."
• District credit. Any future "SPPS Graduate Equivalent" credits count as if earned from an accredited institution.

The lane changes page sets the conversion: "Semester credits are weighted by 1.5 to determine the quarter credit equivalent (e.g. 3 semester credits X 1.5 = 4.5 quarter credits)." Worked example without dollars: a three-semester-credit course is recorded as 4.5 quarter credits, so four such courses come to 18 quarter credits. Our guide to quarter versus semester units explains the arithmetic.

One limit applies after the master's. Under Subd. 4, a teacher who enrolled in a master's program after January 10, 2004 advances only one lane per year after completing it, and the instructions apply the one-lane-per-year rule to teachers hired in 2006-07 or later who hold a master's.

Does Saint Paul require approval before you take a course?

Yes, for anything from outside the district. The lane changes page says "You must get PRE-APPROVAL for external classes in order for them to qualify for a lane change." The lane change instructions set the method:

• Submit the electronic pre-approval form in Employee Self Service at least two weeks before the course start date, with a course description attached.
• "Simply asking your supervisor or calling to speak with someone in HR does not establish pre-approval."
• Courses provided internally by SPPS do not need pre-approval.

The lane changes page explains what HR checks: whether the course is within the teacher's licensure area or K-12 public education, and whether the credits are graduate level from an accredited institution. It also says pre-approval "does not guarantee the credits will be accepted," and that credits can be refused if the pre-approval was submitted less than two weeks before classes began. Keep the approval e-mail. Our pre-approval forms guide covers what to include.

When are transcripts due, and when does the new lane take effect?

After the course, you file the lane change e-form in Employee Self Service and upload official transcripts, original grade reports, electronic transcripts or grade reports from the college, or a PowerSchool transcript for in-service credit. Article 8, Section 2, Subd. 2 says credits are evaluated within three full pay periods, and the instructions estimate two to three pay periods before the change appears on a paycheck. Lane changes are not retroactive to the date of the class.

Effective dates under Subd. 3:

• By September 30: credit verification received applies from the first day of the school year.
• October 1 to April 30: the change starts with the next pay period after HR receives the materials.
• After April 30: the request is held and, if granted, applies at the start of the next contract year. The instructions add that courses must be completed before the first day of school for that to happen.

Our page on transcript deadlines explains why a September 30 cutoff is worth planning a summer course around.

Do the same credits count toward Minnesota license renewal?

Often, through a separate process. Minnesota renews a Tier 4 license every five years with 125 clock hours, and Minnesota Rules 8710.7200 converts relevant college coursework at 24 clock hours per semester credit. The district relicensure committee approves those hours, not the lane change office, and SPPS clock-hour classes count for renewal only. The mandatory topics and filing order are in the Minnesota renewal section of our Minnesota guide.

Where can SPPS teachers earn graduate-level units?

Every district, SPPS 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 SPPS's human resources office is the safest record to have before you pay.

Before you enroll: SPPS's lane changes page says "You must get PRE-APPROVAL for external classes in order for them to qualify for a lane change," and the district's lane change instructions ask for the pre-approval e-form at least two weeks before the course starts. The same page warns that pre-approval does not check whether "credits listed on the pre-approval form as graduate level credits would only count as in-service credits," which have a 25-credit lifetime cap. Ask HR in writing how a graduate-level professional development course, such as one transcripted by the University of the Pacific, will be counted before you enroll.

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)
• Fresno Pacific University CE: self-paced, up to 1 year, units through Fresno Pacific University; ≈$475 for 3 credits (price notes)
• Graduate Credit Courses: self-paced, units through Cal Poly Humboldt; $570 for 3 credits (price notes)
• Model Teaching: self-paced, 1 year, units through a choice of six universities, including University of the Pacific; $359 for 3 credits (price notes)
• PD Courses (University of La Verne): online or pdf, semester-based, units through University of La Verne; $420 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 SPPS has approved a provider or course; only the district can do that. TeacherPayGuide has commercial relationships with some providers it lists; how listings work.

Sources

1. Terms and conditions of professional employment, 2025-2027, Saint Paul Public Schools and Saint Paul Federation of Educators, Article 8 and Appendix A. Checked November 12, 2026
2. Lane Changes, Saint Paul Public Schools Human Resources. Checked November 12, 2026
3. Teacher Lane Change Instructions, Saint Paul Public Schools (linked from the Lane Changes page). Checked November 12, 2026
4. Minnesota Rules 8710.7200, Clock hours; requirements for renewal of professional licenses, Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Checked November 12, 2026

Reviewed November 12, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error