Certification

Educator Resources

Paraprofessional Certification Information

All Georgia Paraprofessionals must hold a valid state license issued by the Professional Standards Commission.

Applicants for paraprofessional must:

1. Hold an associate degree or higher; OR
2. Have at least 54 semester hours or 90 quarter hours of acceptable college credit; OR
3. Have passed GACE Paraprofessional Assessment 

Frequently Asked Certification Questions

1. Is a PSC certificate required in Georgia? 
   Yes. Any professional serving in the public schools must hold a current valid certificate appropriate to the field of employment. All certificate fields are classified as either Teacher, Service, or Leadership.
2. How do I qualify for a professional certificate in Georgia? 
   Professional certification is based upon completion of a college’s state-approved certification program in a field for which Georgia certifies or upon professional certification from another state, U. S. territory, District of Columbia, 
3. What tests do I need to obtain a Georgia certificate? 
   Applicants must take and pass GACE tests appropriate to the certification field(s). You may contact http://www.gace.ets.org for information and registration procedures for GACE.
4. Do I have to take Georgia’s required test or can I substitute a test taken for an out-of-state certificate? Does Georgia accept the NTE?
   If you are currently or have been certified in another state and passed a content-knowledge assessment(s) required for certification in the state of certification, this test may be accepted in lieu of the GACE. For consideration, you must submit a copy (front and back) of any certificates/licenses you hold or held, and a copy of score reports for any assessment(s) you have passed. If score reports are unavailable, attach documentation from the state’s certifying authority to verify that you have passed the required content assessment(s) for professional certification in that state.  The appropriate Specialty Test(s) of the NTE can be accepted only if it was taken to qualify for out-of-state certification. The NTE Core Battery is not acceptable toward the content knowledge assessment.
5. After I satisfy all requirements for a professional Georgia certificate, for how long will it be valid, and how do I keep it current? 
   A Standard Professional certificate is valid for five (5) years.
6. How long will it take for my certificate application to be processed? 
   Your completed application package will be processed within three-four (2-3) weeks from the time it is received by the PSC. You will receive an educator certificate, a letter of eligibility, or an evaluation for certification requirements to be met.
7. In completing requirements for Clear Renewable professional certification, can I use teaching experience in lieu of student teaching?
   Any determination of what can or cannot be accepted toward requirements of the initial professional certificate must be made by the college where the applicant is completing the college’s state-approved teacher education program. The PSC does not provide a course-by-course evaluation outlining these requirements.
8. How can I add a field to my clear renewable certificate? 
   Professionals who already possess a clear renewable teaching certificate in one field may add other fields by taking and passing the appropriate GACE tests. The only exception to this is Early Childhood Education.  It cannot be added via GACE scores. After the test results are received, the PSC will add the additional field automatically if they were the recipient of the passing test scores.  If they did not receive the test scores, then application as to be made to the PSC to get the fields added. 
9. I have just finished a higher degree. What do I do now? 
   You should have the college or university you attended send an official transcript that has the date that your degree was conferred on it. After your transcript is received, an Application for Certification should be completed and sent to the Human Resources Department for processing. This application can be downloaded at www.gapsc.com.  Do NOT send paperwork to the PSC directly.