Short answer
How do PPS teachers move to a higher column on the salary schedule?
PPS pays seven lanes, from BA+15 to BA+105/MA+45, across 13 steps lettered A to M. Plus hours must come from accredited colleges and be earned after licensure. A new lane starts the first pay period after HR verifies the credits; anything verified by October 31 is paid back to the first day of school.
Source: PPS–PAT Agreement 2023–2026, sections 12.2 and 12.3. Checked .
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How is the PPS teacher salary schedule organized?
The district's salary schedules page posts the current grid as "Professional Educators (2025-2026 - 193 day work year)," which is Appendix A-3 of the PAT agreement. It has seven columns. The first three are bachelor's lanes: BA+15, BA+30 and BA+45. From the fourth column on, each lane carries two labels, a bachelor's count and its master's equivalent: BA+60/MA, BA+75/MA+15, BA+90/MA+30 and BA+105/MA+45.
That pairing is the detail Portland teachers most often miss. A teacher without a master's degree can still reach the top lane by stacking hours, and a teacher who finishes a master's lands in the fourth column even with fewer total hours on file. There is no plain "BA" column at all; the lowest lane already assumes 15 hours past the degree.
Rows are steps A through M. Section 12.3.4 gives every teacher not already on a column's top step a step increase each July 1, and section 12.3.5 extends that to anyone who works at least half the work year at an FTE of 0.5 or above. Separate add-ons appear on the schedule for a related doctorate and for National Board certification. The grid itself, with pay figures, is on the 2025–26 schedule PDF; our guide to reading a salary schedule explains how steps and lanes interact.
The printed agreement runs July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2026. The PAT page on the district site now says it remains in effect through June 30, 2027, with a 2% salary increase effective January 1, 2027.
Which units count toward a PPS column change?
Section 12.3.2 sets the floor: plus hours beyond initial placement "must be based on coursework at accredited colleges or universities." Section 12.2.1.4 then settles several questions that come up with mid-career teachers:
- Whole graduate degrees always count. Any completed graduate degree (MA, MFA, JD, PhD and so on) earns lane credit regardless of when the teacher was licensed.
- A second degree keeps counting. Lane credit is not limited to one graduate degree. The first moves a teacher to the MA lane; the second counts as hours beyond MA+0.
- Loose hours need a license first. Graduate-level hours taken outside a degree program count only if earned after licensure and consistent with the district's In-Service Guidelines. Hours taken before licensure count only if they later become part of a finished graduate degree.
- CTE teachers have an extra route. Under 12.2.1.2, technical coursework at a community college can count when it is relevant to the teacher's field and district assignment.
The agreement measures in quarter hours: section 12.2.1.1 credits a "5th year" licensure program at up to 45 quarter hours. A teacher holding semester-hour transcripts should read our note on quarter and semester units before counting toward a lane.
Human Resources links a placement guide from its salary page under the heading "Placement Guidelines Effective 2025-2026," though the document itself is dated for 2015–16. It describes the working test: graduate-level credit at the 500 level and above, earned after student teaching or an unrestricted license, with a grade of C or better. It also says official transcripts must reach HR in a sealed envelope from the college, and that only credits earned after degree completion are counted toward the plus columns. Teachers planning 400-level coursework should read that guide before enrolling.
Does PPS require approval before you take a course?
The agreement's salary sections contain no prior-approval form for lane credit. What it does is point outward: section 12.3.1 says lane advancement follows the Professional Growth article and the Guidelines for Professional Growth/In-service, which section 22.2 says the district and PAT revise and distribute to educators. We did not find that guidelines document posted on the public site, so the agreement and the placement guide are what this page relies on.
Tuition reimbursement is a separate benefit with its own conditions. Section 22.2.2.2 reimburses up to six non-cumulative hours in a 12-month period for coursework that carries graduate-level credit, at actual tuition or the Portland State University graduate rate, whichever is less. The course has to be toward an advanced degree, TSPC licensure, professional education, or related to the teacher's assignment, and a passing grade is required. Payment comes within 60 days of proof, and the teacher must stay at least one semester afterward. Books, fees and travel are excluded. Our article on pre-approval forms covers what to keep on file when a district does not require one.
When are transcripts due, and when does the new column take effect?
October 31 is the one date that matters. Section 12.3.3 pays the new lane from the first day of the next pay period after the teacher supplies verification, and says those adjustments are not retroactive, with one exception: credits verified by October 31 are paid back to the beginning of the school year. Section 12.2.1.3 repeats the rule from the placement side, asking for proof of completed coursework in the Human Resources Department by that date.
A worked example: a teacher on BA+45 who finishes summer coursework and gets a sealed transcript to HR on October 20 is paid on BA+60/MA for the whole year, including the September and October checks. The same transcript arriving November 5 moves the teacher only from the next pay period forward. Grades that post late in fall are the usual reason teachers miss the window; see transcript deadlines for ways to plan around posting times.
Do the same units count toward Oregon license renewal?
For many PPS teachers, renewal paperwork is on hold. The Teacher Standards and Practices Commission does not collect professional development units from anyone whose license expires before July 1, 2029. Later expirations go back to the old counts: 75 PDUs for a Preliminary Teaching License and 125 for a Professional Teaching License, with a quarter credit worth 20 PDUs and a semester credit worth 30.
The same graduate-level course can therefore serve both purposes once reporting resumes, but the tests differ. TSPC accepts activity that PPS will not pay for, such as logged workshop hours, and PPS lane credit has timing rules that TSPC does not. The Oregon renewal section and our article on renewal versus salary credit explain where the two split. For other Oregon districts' column rules, start with the Oregon state guide.
Where can PPS teachers earn graduate-level units?
Every district, PPS 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 PPS's human resources office is the safest record to have before you pay.
Before you enroll: Portland counts graduate coursework numbered 500 and above from an accredited college, earned after licensure. Check a course's number and level against that rule, and keep the transcript, before you file.
| Question | What PPS says | What to look for on the provider's site |
|---|---|---|
| Type of unit | PPS: Hours from accredited colleges, after licensure; agreement counts quarter 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 | PPS: October 31 for full-year credit | Published grading and transcript-posting time, and any rush option |
| Approval | PPS: No form in the agreement's salary sections | 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)
- 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)
- Teaching Channel: self-paced, units through a choice of eight universities; $489 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 PPS has approved a provider or course; only the district can do that. TeacherPayGuide has commercial relationships with some providers it lists; how listings work.
PPS salary questions teachers ask
Is a PPS lane change retroactive?
Only if Human Resources verifies the credits by October 31. Then the new lane is paid from the beginning of the school year. After that date the change starts with the next pay period and is not back-dated (agreement section 12.3.3).
Do I need a master's degree to reach the top PPS lane?
No. The top column is labeled BA+105/MA+45, so a teacher can reach it with 105 hours past the bachelor's or 45 past a master's.
Do credits I took before I was licensed count in Portland?
Not on their own. Section 12.2.1.4 bars pre-licensure hours from lane credit unless they become part of a completed graduate degree. A finished graduate degree counts whenever it was earned.
Will PPS pay for my class?
The agreement reimburses tuition for up to six hours of graduate-level credit per 12 months, capped at Portland State's graduate rate, for coursework tied to a degree, licensure, professional education or your assignment. You need a passing grade and must stay one semester after payment.
Where can PPS teachers take graduate-level courses for salary credit or renewal?
PPS 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, Graduate Credit Courses, Model Teaching, PD Courses (University of La Verne) and Teaching Channel. 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
- Agreement between Portland Public Schools and the Portland Association of Teachers, 2023–2026, Portland Public Schools. Checked
- Portland Association of Teachers (PAT) page, Human Resources, Portland Public Schools. Checked
- Salary Schedules, Human Resources, Portland Public Schools. Checked
- Professional Educators salary schedule, 2025–2026, 193-day work year (Appendix A-3), Portland Public Schools. Checked
- Professional educator salary placement guidelines (linked by HR as effective 2025–2026; document dated 2015–2016), Portland Public Schools. Checked
- Renewal information, Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission. Checked
Reviewed November 11, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error