New Legislation Regarding Florida Educator Certificates

6A-4.0292, F.A.C. allows an individual to add the Reading Endorsement with a passing score on the Reading K-12 subject area exam and an application/fee.  Beginning July 1, 2024, instructional personnel may not earn a reading endorsement solely by achieving a passing score on the Reading K-12 subject area exam. Therefore, for an employee to have this option, they must pass the Reading K-12 subject area exam and have an application/fee for the Reading Endorsement on file with the FLDOE prior to July 1, 2024.

NOTE: This legislation does not affect an individual who completes all five Reading Endorsement courses to add the Reading Endorsement to a Florida Educator Certificate.  

6A-4.0051, F.A.C., for renewal or reinstatement of Professional Certificates with a beginning validity date of July 1, 2020, or thereafter, must have earned at least two (2) college credits, forty (40) inservice points, or a combination thereof, in evidence-based instruction and interventions specifically designed for students with characteristics of dyslexia, including the use of explicit, systematic, and sequential approaches to reading instruction, developing phonological and phonemic awareness, decoding, and implementing multisensory intervention strategies.  This credit must be earned no earlier than ten (10) years prior to the expiration date of the current Professional Certificate.  (Ex. For those individuals whose Professional Certificate expires 06/30/2025, this credit can be earned no earlier than 06/30/2015.)  This requirement of two college credits, or the equivalent in-service points (40 in-service points) is required for the following subject area coverages:  

• • Elementary Education (K-6)
  • Prekindergarten/Primary Education (age 3 through grade 3)
  • Elementary Education (grades 1-6)
  • Primary Education (grades K-3)
  • English (grades 1-6)
  • Middle Grades English (grades 5-9)
  • Middle Grades Integrated Curriculum (grades 5-9)
  • English (grades 6-12)
  • Reading (K-12)
  • Reading (Endorsement)
  • English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) (grades K-12)

NOTE: This legislation is in effect for those educators whose validity period begins July 1, 2020 and thereafter. Educators who must renew their certificates between 2020-2024 have a validity period which begins prior to July 1, 2020, so this requirement does not apply.  The first group of educators who will be impacted and required to obtain this credit will be those who have a validity period of July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2025.

House Bill 1: All current Temporary Florida Educator Certificates will be re-issued with a five-year validity period.  This will affect educators who hold a Temporary Florida Educator Certificate, as indicated below:

• • Temporary Florida Educator Certificates valid from 07/01/2020-06/30/2023 will have a new validity period from 07/01/2020-06/30/2025.
  • Temporary Florida Educator Certificates valid from 07/01/2021-06/30/2024 will have a new validity period from 07/01/2021-06/30/2026.
  • Temporary Florida Educator Certificates valid from 07/01/2022-06/30/2025 will have a new validity period from 07/01/2022-06/30/2027.

The Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) has advised educators affected by this legislation will not be required to submit an application/fee for the change in the validity period.  Further, the Temporary Florida Educator Certificates will be issued and emailed to the educator at the email address on file with FLDOE. 

Educators must still complete all requirements listed on the Statement of Eligibility and complete an Upgrade Application with the FLDOE for the Professional Certificate to be issued.  The FLDOE will not be issuing additional copies of the Statement of Eligibility. The educator must refer to the most recently issued Statement of Eligibility for the specific requirements to become eligible for the Professional Certificate.

Educators with the following types of Florida Educator Certificates will not be affected by this legislation.  Specifically, these types of Florida Educator Certificates will not be re-issued with a five-year validity period.

• Athletic Coaching Certificate
• Exchange Teacher Certificate
• Military Veterans Certificate
• Special Educational Leadership Certificate
• Speech-Language Impaired Certificate

Educators who have already received a two-year extension to the Temporary Certificate will not be affected by this legislation.  These certificates will not be re-issued with a five-year validity period.             

**NOTE:  This is the only official information our office has received from the FLDOE.  As additional official information is received from the FLDOE, this website will be updated.**

Accessing the Florida Department of Education Online Licensing Service System

The Florida Department of Education launched its new Educator Certification System on November 20, 2017.  ALL EDUCATORS and applicants MUST establish a new online user account for access to the Online Licensing Service system. 

You will need to sign in or establish your online account with FLDOE.  

**IMPORTANT: If you already have an online account with FLDOE and attempt to establish a new online user account, this will result in the creation of multiple accounts.  This will require you to contact the FLDOE directly at flcertify@fldoe.org to have the duplicate accounts merged.**

If you do not have an online account with FLDOE, you must establish a new online user account.  You will select "Begin Here for Sign-Up" at the following link:   https://flcertify.fldoe.org/datamart/mainMenu.do

1. Click Begin Here for Sign-up to create a new online user account and retrieve your temporary password sent via email.
2. Enter your User ID and password then click Sign In to access this secure site.
3. Once successfully signed in, educators will be prompted to complete an Initial Onboarding process to match your account to existing Florida certification records. Your social security number and date of birth are required to complete the onboarding process.
4. The Quick Start Menu provides you a choice of options available based on your current Florida certification record.
5. For new applicants, you may Start a New Application for the available Florida certifications issued via the Bureau of Educator Certification:
   • Evaluation of eligibility for Educator Certification
   • Evaluation of eligibility for Athletic Coaching Certification
   • Evaluation of eligibility for Speech Language Impaired Certification
   • Evaluation of eligibility for Exchange Teacher Certification

If you already have an online account with FLDOE, sign in to your online account at the following link: https://flcertify.fldoe.org/datamart/mainMenu.do

If you already have an online account with FLDOE, but forgot your password and/or user ID, you will select "Forgot Password and/or Forgot user ID" at the following link: https://flcertify.fldoe.org/datamart/mainMenu.do

1. If you are a certified educator, you may choose an application option to Manage your license information, including:
   • Upgrade from a Temporary to a Professional Educator's Certificate Addition of a subject or endorsement to your valid Florida Educator’s Certificate
   • Reinstatement of your expired Florida Professional Educator’s Certificate
   • When It is Time to Renew!, an application for Renewal of your Florida Professional Educator’s Certificate will automatically be opened for you which must be submitted before your certificate expires

For questions, you must contact FLDOE at 1-800-445-6739