For teachers eyeing the next column, and the next renewal
Climb your salary schedule. Renew without the scramble.
Lane changes, salary credit and license renewal, decoded for your state and your district. Every rule links to the document it came from, so you can show HR exactly where you read it.
Pick your mission
What are you working on this year?
Most teachers come here with one of two goals. Some want both from the same course, and sometimes that works.
Move up a column
Find the lane you are aiming for, which units your district counts, the approval to get first and the date your transcript is due.
How a lane change works RecertificationRenew my license
How long your license lasts, how many hours or units your state asks for, and whether college coursework counts toward them.
License renewal by state Two birds, one courseDo both at once
When one course can renew your license and count toward a column, and when it cannot.
Renewal credit vs salary creditHow a salary lane change works
Three steps to the next column
Many districts pay more for graduate-level units. The columns, the approval rules and the deadlines are set district by district, so that is how we document them.
Find your next column
Read your salary schedule: the columns (often BA+15, BA+30, MA, MA+30) and which units your district counts toward each one.
Get the green light
Many districts want pre-approval of non-degree units and set a transcript date for the next pay year.
Earn it, file it
Finish the coursework, order the official transcript and get it to HR before the filing date.
State guides
Your state, your district, your rules
50 state guides and 138 district guides are published. Every state guide is built from the licensing agency's own documents; district guides cover large districts whose rules are published. Looking for your district? Browse every district guide.
Speak fluent HR
The salary-schedule words, decoded
- Step
- Your row on the schedule, usually one per year of service.
- Lane or column
- Your education level on the schedule. Moving right is the lane change.
- BA+30
- A bachelor's degree plus 30 units past it. MA+15 works the same way.
- Pre-approval
- Your district's OK on a course before you enroll. Many require it.
- Quarter unit
- Two-thirds of a semester unit. How districts convert
- Clock hour, PDU, CEU
- Renewal currencies. Each state names and converts them its own way.
Why TeacherPayGuide
Written from the documents, not from rumors in the staff room
Most "teacher salary" articles are rewrites of each other. We start from the salary schedule PDF, the state code and the district's own HR page, and we cite each one.
- Primary sources only. State regulations, commission leaflets and district schedules, each linked and dated.
- District detail. Column names, pre-approval rules and transcript deadlines for the largest districts first.
- Honest about what counts. We say when units do not move your pay, and when your district decides.
- Dated and reviewed. Every guide shows when it was last checked against the source, and corrections are posted on the page.
The path for a California teacher
- No coursework for Clear credential renewalCTC renews Clear credentials without course or service requirements. CTC Leaflet CL-494
- Pay moves by district columnDistricts bargain their own schedules; units and "salary points" vary. District salary schedules
- Pre-approval is commonMany districts approve non-degree units before they count. District HR pages
- Transcript deadlines are district-setNo single statewide date. Collective bargaining agreements
Latest
Articles
How to get a salary lane change as a teacher
Columns and steps, which units your contract counts, the approval to get first and the filing date that decides when the raise starts.
CreditRenewal credit vs. salary credit
Why one course can renew your license and still not move your column, and how to pick coursework that does both.
DeadlinesTranscript deadlines for a salary lane change
Each district sets its own cutoff, and some, like Fairfax County, will not back-date a raise filed after it.
Earn the units
Where teachers earn graduate-level credit
Online courses, credit for your own projects, specialty subjects and summer institutes, from providers using 11+ universities. Every provider is listed the same way, with its transcript university and list price.
| Provider | Transcript from | Format | 3 credits, list | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teacher Friendly | University of the Pacific | Self-paced; curriculum, workshop and travel-study credit | $297 $336 with first-course fee | Profile |
| Credits for Educators | University of the Pacific | Self-paced, 1 to 5 credits a course; 15-credit bundle $975 | $297 | Profile |
| Fourteen other online providers | 11 universities in all | Mostly self-paced; some live or instructor-led | $285–$570 list one on sale for $240 | Full table |
Browse all 28 providers and programs by need
One 3-credit course at list price, read November 11, 2026 (Teacher Friendly, Credits for Educators) and November 3, 2026 (others); university fees included where stated. TeacherPayGuide has commercial relationships with some providers it lists. How listings work.