On April 6, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) may begin issuing two-year reinstatement licenses in accordance with HB 554, which was signed by Gov. Mike DeWine in January 2023. These licenses may be issued to educators whose associate or professional licenses or certificates have expired. According to the bill’s sponsors, the new licenses were introduced to simplify the process for formerly licensed educators, who may have left teaching to pursue other career choices, to return to the classroom during an “anticipated time of critical need.” For example, an English teacher who left the profession for a journalism career could apply for and receive a reinstatement license, which would allow the individual to quickly return to the classroom while concurrently completing requirements to renew their expired license.
In order to meet the statutory requirements and qualify for the reinstatement license, the educator must meet all of the following requirements:
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hold an expired associate or professional license or certificate issued by ODE;
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have no previous disciplinary sanctions on their expired license or certificate; and
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have a current background check on file with ODE.
Educators may only request a reinstatement license for the same subject(s) and grade level(s) as their expired associate or professional license or certificate.
Due to federal requirements for intervention specialists, the reinstatement license may not be issued for any Intervention Specialist or Education of the Handicapped licensure areas or endorsements. Educators whose Intervention Specialist licenses or endorsements or Education of the Handicapped licenses or certificates have lapsed at least one year may apply for One-Year Reinstatement licenses. District or school approval is required for a One-Year Reinstatement license.
Reinstatement licenses are nonrenewable. Educators will need to meet renewal requirements and renew their expired associate or professional licenses or certificates to be properly certified once the reinstatement license expires. These requirements include the completion of six semester hours of coursework relating to classroom teaching or the area of licensure OR 18 CEUs or 180 contact hours (or other equivalent activities) related to classroom teaching or area of licensure. All renewal CEUs or contact hours must be approved by the educator’s local professional development committee (LPDC) in accordance with their individual professional development plan (IPDP).
ODE has created a Two-Year Reinstatement License Application Checklist as a resource to guide candidates and districts through the licensure process. Additional information is also available on ODE’s Reinstatement License website. If you have questions about the new license option, please reach out to OSBA’s division of legal services at (614) OSBA-LAW or the ODE Office of Educator Licensure.