This tier is intended for teachers with fewer than 3 years of experience within the last 5 years. It is also issued in some service certificate fields.
The Induction certificate period, which generally lasts 3 years, is designed to ensure that early career teachers are fully prepared for the profession
while providing opportunities for professional growth. Induction teachers must meet additional qualifications in order to qualify for a Professional certificate.
There are multiple pathways to Induction certification, and each has specific qualifications. You must be employed by a Georgia local unit of administration
(
LUA) at the time that you apply for your first Georgia certificate in order to
be eligible for full certification. However, if you meet all requirements for Induction Pathway 1, 2, or 3 except for employment, you will be issued a
Certificate of Eligibility which may be converted to an educator certificate upon employment.
Pathway 1
This pathway is for those who have completed an educator preparation program in the state of Georgia. Qualifications include:
- Completion of a GaPSC-approved educator preparation program. Documentation of approved program completion should be submitted electronically
to the GaPSC by the educator preparation provider;
- Passing score on the GACE Program Admission Assessment, or exemption. GACE scores are transmitted electronically to the GaPSC, but an
exemption must be documented by an an official score report for an eligible exam;
- Induction level or higher passing score on the appropriate GACE content assessment. These scores are transmitted electronically to the
GaPSC;
- As of January 1, 2015, a passing score on the Georgia Educator Ethics Assessment - Program Exit (Test Code 360). This score is also transmitted electronically to the GaPSC;
- For those who complete student teaching or clinical practice on or after September 1, 2015, a passing score on edTPA, the GaPSC-approved content pedagogy assessment. Please submit a copy of your official score report with your application package;
- Completion of a course in identifying and educating exceptional
children. This course should be documented on an official transcript submitted with your application package.
Pathway 2
This pathway is for those who have completed an educator preparation program in another U.S. state but completed student teaching in Georgia. Qualifications
include:
- Completion of a GaPSC-approved educator preparation program. Documentation of approved program completion should be submitted electronically to the GaPSC by the educator preparation provider;
- Induction level or higher passing score on the appropriate
GACE content assessment. These scores are transmitted electronically to the
GaPSC;
- As of January 1, 2015, a passing score on the Georgia Educator Ethics Assessment - Program Exit (Test Code 360). This score is also transmitted electronically to the GaPSC;
- For those who complete student teaching or clinical practice on or after September 1, 2015, a passing score on edTPA, the GaPSC-approved content pedagogy assessment. Please submit a copy of your official score report with your application package;
- Completion of a course in identifying and educating exceptional
children. This course should be documented on an official transcript submitted with your application package.
Pathway 3
This pathway is for those who have completed all parts of an educator preparation program in another U.S. state, professionally certified out-of-state
educators with less than 3 years of experience within 5 years of the date of application, and professionally certified out-of-state educators who have
met the Induction, but not Professional, passing score on the GACE content assessment. Qualifications include:
- Completion of a state-approved educator preparation program or possession of a professional out-of-state educator certificate (valid or
expired). If you are certified out-of-state, please include a copy of your out-of-state certificate with the application package. If not, please submit
an Approved Program Completion
Form (.pdf) (requires Adobe Reader) completed by your college or university;
- Induction level or higher passing score on the appropriate GACE content assessment, or exemption. If you are exempting the GACE assessment
with an out-of-state certification exam, please submit a copy of your official score report with your application package;
- Completion of a course in identifying and educating
exceptional children is not required for initial issuance of an Induction Pathway 3 certificate, but it is required for conversion to a Professional
certificate or reissuance of the Induction certificate;
- A passing score on the Georgia Educator Ethics Assessment - Program Exit (Test Code 360) will be required for conversion to a Professional certificate or reissuance of the Induction certificate;
- If you have less than one year of acceptable out-of-state experience within five years of receiving your Induction certificate and you completed the student teaching or clinical practice component of your educator preparation program on or after September 1, 2015, a passing score on a GaPSC-accepted content pedagogy assessment or an acceptable substitute will be required for conversion
to a Professional certificate or reissuance of the Induction certificate.
Pathway 4
This pathway is for those individuals who are hired to begin teaching in a Georgia school before completing an educator preparation program. Qualifications include:
- A bachelor's degree or higher. If your highest degree is a bachelor's degree and it was earned less than 10 years prior to the date of application, you must have a minimum overall GPA of 2.5. If you do not, you may still qualify by submitting proof of acceptance into a GaPSC-accepted educator preparation program;
- Passing score on the GACE Program Admission Assessment, or exemption. GACE scores are transmitted electronically to the GaPSC, but an exemption must be documented by an official score report for an eligible exam;
- Induction level or higher passing score on the appropriate GACE content assessment . These scores are transmitted electronically to the GaPSC;
- As of January 1, 2015, a passing score on the Georgia Educator Ethics Assessment - Program Entry (Test Code 350). This score is also transmitted electronically to the GaPSC;
- In order to convert to any other Induction Pathway or a Professional certificate, you must complete all the requirements of a state-approved educator preparation program and all applicable Special Georgia Requirements. If you complete the student teaching or clinical practice component of your educator preparation program on or after September 1, 2015, a passing score on edTPA, the GaPSC-approved content pedagogy assessment will be required for conversion to any other Induction Pathway or a Professional certificate.
Service Fields
Induction certificates are issued in the following service fields:
The requirements for an Induction certificate in each of these fields are described in the rules linked above.
Validity
In most cases, the Induction certificate is valid for 3 years. An Induction Pathway 4 certificate may be converted to another Induction pathway at any
time if the requirements for that pathway are met. Similarly, an Induction educator with out-of-state experience who meets is able to meet the requirements
for a Professional certificate in fewer than 3 years may apply to convert. The Induction certificate may be renewed, at the request of an employing Georgia
LUA, in the following situations:
- An Induction educator who receives more than one unsatisfactory annual evaluation will not be eligible for a Professional certificate
until further experience is earned. An educator in this situation must work with his/her educator preparation provider to address the deficiencies in
his/her performance. Once the educator preparation provider documents these steps on an updated Approved Program Completion Form, the educator may apply
for a second Induction certificate;
- An educator holding an Induction certificate in a Career & Technical Specializations may be eligible for a second Induction certificate
if he/she holds less than an associate’s degree. This second Induction period allows the educator time to complete a higher degree;
- An educator who does not work for all of the 3 years of the Induction certificate, or one who does not convert to a Professional certificate
as soon as the Induction certificate expires, may not meet the experience requirements for a Professional certificate. In this case, the educator may
apply for a second Induction certificate in order to earn the required experience to move to the next tier.
How to Apply
Once you meet the qualifications for an Induction certificate, please submit the following documents in addition to any documentation of specific requirements
indicated above for your Induction Pathway.
- Initial Certification Application (.pdf) (requires Adobe Reader) – may also be completed through your MyPSC account;
- Verification of Lawful Presence Documentation (.pdf) (requires Adobe Reader)
- This affidavit must be completed and notarized. Please choose only one option on the affidavit;
- You must attach a copy of an acceptable identification document to this form. Please see the instructions provided with the form for a
list of acceptable documents;
- If you are a U.S. citizen and you have previously submitted this documentation to the GaPSC, you do not need to submit it again. If you
are not a U.S. citizen and you have submitted this documentation to the GaPSC within 180 days, you do not need to submit it again at this time.
- Official transcripts from all colleges/universities you have attended
- These may not be faxed or uploaded. You may mail original official transcripts or have your college or university send them to mail@gapsc.com in a secure electronic format;
- Employer Assurance Form (.pdf) (requires Adobe Reader)
- This may be submitted electronically by your employer.
For more information about submitting your application and supporting documentation, please visit the
Application Forms and Procedures page.