Short answer
How do Lincoln Public Schools teachers move to a higher lane on the salary schedule?
LPS teachers move to BA+18, BA+36, MA+18 or MA+36 with each block of 18 graduate hours, or graduate hours combined with LPS staff development hours (no more than 30 staff development hours over a career). Only hours conferred after the master's count toward MA+18, MA+36 and the doctorate lane. Lane changes can be filed any time and take effect on the contract day HR receives the application and official transcripts.
Source: Horizontal Salary Advancement for Teachers, LPS Human Resources, and the LPS-LEA Professional Agreement 2026-2027 and 2027-2028, Article IX. Checked .
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How is the Lincoln teacher salary schedule organized?
The 2026-2027 certificated employee salary schedule has seven lanes: BA, BA+18, BA+36, MA, MA+18, MA+36 and Ed.D/Ph.D. The BA lane runs to Step 15 and the BA+18 lane to Step 16; the other lanes run to Step 25. The MA lane prints the same rates as BA+36 at every step it shares, so a teacher who already holds BA+36 is paid the same when a master's is conferred; the difference is that BA+36 stops at Step 17 for teachers hired since September 1, 2010, while MA continues to Step 25.
The professional agreement covers the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 school years. Under Article IX, section 9-2 b, every teacher employed under the prior year's contract moves one vertical step, where steps exist, in each of those years. Special education staff receive one extra step in 2026-2027, and staff newly hired into or transferring into a special education position receive an extra step from 2026-2027 on. Section 9-2 a(3) adds a limit: a teacher whose first contract day was on or after September 1, 2010 cannot advance past Step 17 on the BA+36 lane.
New hires with experience are placed by a chart printed with the salary schedule, which converts years of previous experience to a starting step. A new hire on the BA lane is placed no higher than Step 15, and on BA+18 or BA+36 no higher than Step 16. Our guide to reading a salary schedule explains lanes and steps.
Which units count toward a Lincoln lane change?
The district's horizontal advancement page says each move to BA18, BA36, MA18 or MA36 takes "a total of 18 graduate hours or a combination of 18 graduate hours/staff development (salary advancement) hours." Article IX of the agreement fills in the details:
- What an hour is: one hour of earned graduate study. One hour of upper-division undergraduate study in the teacher's major area or field can count only if approved in advance (section 9-2 a(2)).
- Where it is earned: generally at an institution approved by a state educational certification agency or accredited by a regional accrediting agency. Credit from other institutions counts only if Human Resources approves it before you enroll.
- After a degree: when a degree is conferred, hours beyond its requirements apply to the next lane. Only graduate hours conferred after the master's count toward MA+18, MA+36 and the doctorate lane.
- Staff development hours: LPS staff development courses count up to 30 hours of credit (section 9-3). They must have been taken while you were a contracted LPS teacher (or in the summer just before your first year), you must have paid LPS tuition for the course, and courses more than ten years old do not count. Once used for a lane, they cannot be reassigned when a degree is conferred.
- Not counted: professional learning the district mandates is offered during the contract day and cannot be used for horizontal advancement (Article V).
- Doctoral lane: a doctorate from a college of education, or in the teacher's instructional field or a related field (section 9-2 a(1)).
The rules do not limit graduate hours to a degree program, so stand-alone graduate courses from a regionally accredited university fit the stated test. The district still decides each application. For the general checklist, see which units count.
Does Lincoln require approval before you take a course?
For graduate courses at a state-approved or regionally accredited institution, no advance approval is described. Two cases do need approval before you enroll:
- Upper-division undergraduate courses: approved in advance by the principal, the curriculum specialist and Human Resources.
- Institutions that are neither state-approved nor regionally accredited: approved in advance by Human Resources.
The agreement also allows LPS to run a program that defrays the cost of up to 36 graduate hours of continuing education, with details published each year (section 9-9). Ask Human Resources whether a program is running and what it requires. Our pre-approval forms article covers what to keep on file.
When are transcripts due, and when does the new lane take effect?
Lincoln has no annual filing deadline. Section 9-2 a says lane adjustments "may be made at any time during the contract year." The new rate takes effect on the contract day Human Resources receives all the documents and appears in the first paycheck after that, or in September if the documents arrive in summer. The documents are:
- the Horizontal Advancement Application;
- official graduate transcripts, sent by the college directly to HR electronically (HR does not accept copies or PDFs from the teacher); and/or
- LPS staff development transcripts.
HR's page says processing takes two to four weeks, with an e-mail confirmation when it is done, and that summer submissions are processed at the start of the school year for the September paycheck. For a move to the MA lane, do not order the transcript before the degree is conferred; it must show the degree and the completion date. Because pay starts on the day the paperwork is complete, filing as soon as an official transcript is available matters more in Lincoln than in districts with set windows. See transcript deadlines.
Do the same units count toward Nebraska certificate renewal?
Renewal is a state test, separate from the LPS lanes. Nebraska renews a certificate with one school year of contract teaching at 0.5 FTE or more in the last five years, or 6 semester credit hours of education-related coursework (90 hours of equivalent professional development), under the 2026 renewal requirements. Most Lincoln teachers renew through experience. The Nebraska renewal section has the expiration dates and certificate levels.
Where can LPS teachers earn graduate-level units?
Every district, LPS 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 LPS's human resources office is the safest record to have before you pay.
| Question | What LPS says | What to look for on the provider's site |
|---|---|---|
| Type of unit | LPS: 18 graduate hours per lane; plus up to 30 LPS staff development hours | 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 | LPS: None; any time in the contract year | Published grading and transcript-posting time, and any rush option |
| Approval | LPS: Only for undergraduate or unaccredited credit; before enrolling | 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
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 LPS has approved a provider or course; only the district can do that. TeacherPayGuide has commercial relationships with some providers it lists; how listings work.
Lincoln salary questions teachers ask
How many hours move a Lincoln teacher to a new lane?
Eighteen graduate hours, or a mix of graduate hours and LPS staff development hours, for each move to BA18, BA36, MA18 or MA36.
Do LPS staff development hours count toward a lane?
Yes, up to 30 hours over a career, if you paid LPS tuition for the course, took it as an LPS teacher, and it is no more than ten years old. Mandated professional learning does not count.
Is there a deadline for Lincoln lane changes?
No set date. The change takes effect on the contract day HR receives the application and official transcripts; summer submissions are paid from September.
Do credits earned before my master's count toward MA+18?
Only graduate hours conferred after the master's count toward MA+18, MA+36 and the doctorate lane. Hours beyond a degree's requirements, conferred with it, apply to the next lane.
Where can LPS teachers take graduate-level courses for salary credit or renewal?
LPS decides which courses count, under the rules on this page, so check with human resources before you enroll. Providers that teachers compare include Teacher Friendly, Credits for Educators, Fresno Pacific University CE, Graduate Credit Courses, Model Teaching and PD Courses (University of La Verne). 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
- Horizontal Salary Advancement for Teachers, Lincoln Public Schools Human Resources. Checked
- Professional Agreement between Lincoln Public Schools and the Lincoln Education Association, 2026-2027 and 2027-2028, Lincoln Public Schools. Checked
- 2026-27 and 2027-28 Certified Employee Salary Schedules, Lincoln Public Schools. Checked
- Handbooks and agreements, Lincoln Public Schools Human Resources. Checked
- Horizontal Advancement Application, Lincoln Public Schools. Checked
- Renewal requirements (2026), Nebraska Department of Education. Checked
Reviewed November 12, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error