New in 2021: Professional Development Plans Can Be Used for License Renewal Credit

The Iowa Board of Educational Examiners recently shared an exciting option for license renewal credits connected to individual Professional Development Plans (PDPs). Full details can be found in the BOEE newsletter and are summarized below. 

Starting with applications received after July 1, 2021, holders of a standard, master, professional administrator or professional service license may use one Iowa Individual Professional Development Plan (annual goal setting) for up to 1/2 of the required renewal credits for their license type. 

• Standard license - 1 IPDP plan is 3 credits (6 needed) 
• Master educator license - 1 IPDP plan is 2 credits (4 needed) 
• Professional administrator license - 1 IPDP plan is 2 credits (4 needed) 
• Professional service license - 1 IPDP plan is 2 renewal credits (4 needed) 

In your online renewal application, upload a completed (spring) IPDP signed by you and your evaluator. The plan should minimally include specific goal(s), planned activities, alignment to building/district goals, alignment to the Iowa teaching standards, data collected, and how the goal impacted student learning. The plan needs to have been completed after the issue date of the current license or be no more than five years old if the license is expired. The plan must be completed in an Iowa school setting, as the plans are based on the Iowa teaching or administrator standards. 

Does this sound awesome to you? If so, read on to learn how to do this at Heartland AEA! 

Staff may use a completed PDP from a previous year or wait until their 2021-22 PDP is completed this spring. 

Within the Learning Management and Registration System: Technology Platform, navigate to the Professional Development Plan. To use your PDP from a previous year, you will need to access your archived plans. On the 2021-22 Professional Growth and Evaluation Tools page, you will see a navigation bar (three vertical lines) as marked with an arrow below. 

Select the archived plan you would like to use. 

Within the PDP year you would like to use, from the “My Professional Growth Process” tab, navigate to Step 4.

In order to sign and obtain your supervisor’s signature on the PDP, download the completed PDP to your computer. Digital signatures using Adobe or pen/paper signatures by printing the document, can then be added. Follow the BOEE guidelines above to submit your completed PDP for license renewal credits. 

For questions regarding Heartland AEA processes, contact Martha Condon, Director of Internal Professional Learning. For questions related to licensure, contact the Iowa BOEE.