Superintendent Credentials

The Professional Superintendent Credential is the standard, renewable credential for individuals who have completed all coursework and experience requirements. It is issued to coincide with the period of the applicant's North Dakota teaching license.

To qualify for a Professional Superintendent Credential, an applicant must:

• Hold a valid North Dakota teaching license, maintained throughout the life of the credential.
• Have at least three years of teaching experience, verified in a letter of recommendation from a supervisor or employer with firsthand knowledge of the applicant's work.
• Have at least two years of administrative experience, comprised of at least half time as an elementary or secondary principal, a central office administrator, or an administrator of an approved school with a twelve-year program. This experience must be verified by a supervisor or employer with firsthand knowledge of the applicant's work.
• Have completed the requirements for the Level I elementary or secondary principal credential.
• Have completed eight additional semester hours of coursework specific to the superintendency, drawn from the content areas listed below.

Required superintendency coursework (8 semester hours)

Coursework must be drawn from the following content areas:

• Field-based experience in the superintendency
• Seminar in the superintendency
• Advanced school law
• Advanced revenue, finance, and business management
• Facilities and facilities planning
• Policy, politics, and community relations
• Personnel administration

Because program design varies by institution, we recommend applicants work directly with an advisor from a state-approved educational leadership program to confirm that their coursework aligns with these content areas.

The Provisional Superintendent Credential allows an individual to serve as a superintendent while completing the remaining coursework or experience needed for the Professional credential. It is issued to applicants who hold a Level I principal credential but who still need some of the superintendency coursework, the required administrative experience, or both.

To qualify for a Provisional Superintendent Credential, an applicant must:

• Hold a valid North Dakota teaching license, maintained throughout the life of the credential.
• Have at least three years of teaching experience at the applicable grade levels.
• Have completed the requirements for the Level I elementary or secondary principal credential.

The two years of administrative experience are not required for the Provisional credential.

Term: The Provisional Superintendent Credential is issued as an initial credential and is valid until the end of the second school year following the year in which it is issued. It is not renewable. Applicants are expected to complete the requirements for the Professional credential during this period.

Your school counselor credential is renewed each time your educator's professional license is renewed. If you hold a lifetime North Dakota educator's professional license, you renew the credential every five years.

Renewal requirements are based on the length of your credential term. Shorter terms exist so your credential can stay in sync with your teaching license, and the coursework required scales to the length of the term. Find your term below and complete the matching requirement.

The required counseling coursework may be met with 30 clock-hours of continuing education in counseling, verified in writing by the workshop or conference sponsor, your employer, or a school district business manager.

Note: ND Teach has a transcript upload feature. Once transcripts are uploaded to an application, a to-do item may still appear asking for mailed copies of official transcripts. That item will be overridden by NDDPI staff when your documents are downloaded and viewed during processing.

All superintendent credential applications, provisional and professional, are submitted online through ND Teach.

1. Complete the superintendent credential application on the ND Teach portal. Submit a separate application for each credential you are seeking.
2. Upload a copy of your official transcripts to the application.
3. Include a letter of recommendation from a supervisor or employer with firsthand knowledge of your professional work, verifying your teaching and administrative experience.

4. Aside from the online application, required documentation can be uploaded directly into the application.

   Note: ND Teach has a transcript upload feature. Once transcripts are uploaded to an application, a to-do item may still appear asking for mailed copies of official transcripts. That item will be overridden by NDDPI staff when your documents are downloaded and viewed during processing.

The Basics

What is a school counseling credential?
The school counselor credential (SC03) is issued by the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (NDDPI) after verifying that you have met all the education and licensure requirements in Chapter 67-11-05. You must hold this credential to be employed as a school counselor in North Dakota. An SC03 credential allows you to serve students in prekindergarten through grade twelve.

Do I need a teaching license to be a school counselor?
Yes. Your school counselor credential is valid only while you hold a North Dakota Educator's Professional License. The Education Standards and Practices Board (ESPB), not NDDPI, issues that license. For questions about obtaining a teaching license, contact ESPB at (701) 328-9641.

How long is my credential valid?
Your counselor credential expires at the same time as your teaching license.

Getting Your Credential

How do I qualify for a school counselor credential (SC03)?
You must hold a master's degree in counseling, education, or a related human service field, and you must have completed graduate core counseling coursework from a state-approved program in each of these areas:

• Elementary school counseling
• Secondary school counseling
• Supervised school counseling internship (a minimum of 450 contact hours, with at least 150 contact hours at both the elementary and secondary level)
• Counseling program management
• Counseling theories
• Assessment techniques
• Group counseling
• Career counseling and assessment
• Social and multicultural counseling
• Ethics and law
• Counseling techniques

I don't have a teaching degree. Are there additional ESPB requirements?
Yes. If you do not have a teaching degree, ESPB will require the following before issuing your teaching license:

• Educational Psychology
• Instructional Planning, Methods, and Assessment
• Classroom Management
• Multicultural/Native American Studies
• A passing score on the Praxis II

What is a state-approved program?
North Dakota Century Code 67-11-05-03 requires that ESPB, together with NDDPI, oversee program approval at North Dakota colleges. The three state-approved school counseling programs in North Dakota are North Dakota State University, University of Mary, and University of North Dakota.

If Your School Can't Hire a Credentialed Counselor (Plan of Study)

What if a school is unable to employ a credentialed counselor?
The school may employ a licensed teacher to serve as the counselor under a Plan of Study approved by NDDPI, while that teacher completes the coursework needed for the full credential.

What is a Plan of Study?
A Plan of Study is an outline of the courses you will take to become a credentialed school counselor, and the order you will take them in. You create it with your university or college, then enter it in ND Teach. The outline lists course names, course numbers, credit hours, and the date you expect to complete each course. All courses must come from a state-approved school counseling program.

What coursework do I need before my initial Plan of Study can be approved?
You must have completed a minimum of three graduate classes from the required master's curriculum at a state-approved program, covering these areas:

• Ethics and law
• Counseling theory
• Counseling methods or techniques
• Program management

How often are Plans of Study reviewed?
Every year, until the credential is earned. Each year, you must submit official transcripts showing you have completed at least five semester hours of graduate core counseling coursework.

How do I renew my Plan of Study?
Log in to ND Teach and select "Renew Plan of Study." Provide official transcripts showing at least five semester hours of graduate core counseling coursework completed that year. You do not need to submit a new Plan of Study application each year.

Renewing Your Credential

How do I renew my school counselor credential?
Log in to ND Teach and apply for the credential renewal.

What are the requirements to renew?
Your teaching license and counselor credential renew at the same time, so what you need depends on your situation. Find yours below:

Standard five-year license and credential:
You need six credits to renew your five-year teaching license, with two of the six in counseling. Those two counseling credits also satisfy your credential's counseling requirement.

Lifetime teaching license:
You still renew your counselor credential every five years. Submit transcripts showing four semester hours completed, with two in counseling.

Two-year license and credential:
Renewal credits are calculated at one semester hour per year, so a two-year renewal requires two semester hours, with one in counseling. (ESPB does not require any credits to renew a two-year teaching license.)

Can I use continuing education instead of counseling credits?
Yes. For your NDDPI credential, the required counseling coursework can be met with continuing education in counseling, at a rate of 30 clock-hours for every two counseling semester hours (or 15 clock-hours for one). Attendance must be verified in writing by the workshop or conference sponsor, your employer, or a school district business manager. Please note: these clock-hours count toward your credential only. They do not count toward renewing your teaching license.

Are official transcripts required?
For an initial North Dakota license or an initial school counseling credential, official transcripts are required. For all renewals, unofficial transcripts are acceptable.

After You're Approved

How will I receive my credential?
Credentials are no longer printed and mailed. Once you are approved, you will receive an email with a congratulations letter and a PDF of your certificate. The letter lists your specific credential, its expiration date, and how to renew it. You can also print your credential anytime from your ND Teach account.