On August 9, 2022, the State Board of Education approved the Provisional Initial certificate as a three-year pilot as part of the Initial Certificate Guidelines for Classroom Teaching Fields. This option creates a pathway to certification for an individual who has completed all requirements of an approved, traditional college- or university-based teacher preparation program but has not earned a passing score on one or more required certification exams.

The Provisional Initial certificate may be issued to an eligible candidate at the request of an employing South Carolina public school district. Limitations and restrictions do apply and are outlined below.

Eligibility Requirements

Teacher Preparation Program

• The candidate must have successfully completed all requirements of an approved, traditional teacher preparation program with student teaching at a regionally accredited college or university. Required documentation must include
  • the official transcript with degree conferred and
  • the completed program verification/certification recommendation signed by the dean or that official’s designee.

Certification Eligibility

• The candidate must have met all other eligibility requirements for issuance of a South Carolina educator certificate. Required documentation includes
  • a current standard application for certification submitted within the last 12 months,
  • valid non-refundable application fee,
  • official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended, and
  • successful completion of the character and fitness review process including current fingerprint-based background reports submitted within the last 18 months.

Certification Assessment Scores

• The candidate must have earned scores on the subject area and pedagogy exams for the certification field that meet requirements of the South Carolina Certification Assessment Program–Alternate Plan. For issuance of the Provisional Initial certificate, the candidate must have earned scores within -2 standard errors of measurement (SEMs) of the standard passing score for the specific certification field and grade span.

South Carolina Certification Assessment Program Options
Archive of Certification Assessment Program Options for Prior School Years
Checklist for Provisional Initial Certificate Eligibility
 

Certificate Information

At the request of the employing South Carolina public school district, the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) will issue a one-year Provisional Initial certificate to an eligible candidate. The Provisional Initial certificate may be renewed up to two times at the request of the employing school district with documentation of the individual’s successful progress and continued employment. As part of the annual request for certificate issuance, the hiring district must submit assurances that it will provide additional mentored support, coaching, and assistance to the educator and will carefully monitor the educator’s progress toward successful completion of all requirements to advance to a renewable Professional certificate. The certificate request form is available to authorized district personnel through the District Portal of the SC Educator Certification System.
 

Advancement to the Professional Certificate

In order to advance to a Professional certificate, the educator issued a Provisional Initial certificate must demonstrate
 

• three years of effective teaching in the specific certification field and related grade span through successful performance evaluations as part of the state’s ADEPT system, including induction requirements and successful summative evaluation at the annual contract level; AND
• content competency in the subject area and knowledge of pedagogy as defined below.

Content Competency in the Subject Area

The educator seeking to advance from the Provisional Initial to a Professional certificate must demonstrate content competency in the subject area through one of the following means:

1. a qualifying score on the required subject area assessment for the certification field as part of the South Carolina Certification Assessment Program–Standard Plan; OR
2. a qualifying score on an approved teaching performance assessment (e.g., PPAT or edTPA) as adopted by the State Board; OR
3. successful completion of SCDE-approved micro-credential(s) in the subject area of the certification field; OR
4. a composite score of at least 2.76 during the Annual Summative evaluation process on the South Carolina Teaching Standards (SCTS) 4.0 rubric.

Knowledge of Pedagogy

The educator seeking to advance from a Provisional Initial to a Professional certificate must demonstrate knowledge of pedagogy through one of the following means:

1. a qualifying score on a pedagogy assessment for the grade span of the certification field as part of the South Carolina Certification Assessment Program–Standard Plan; OR
2. a composite score of at least 2.76 during the Annual Summative evaluation process on the SCTS 4.0 rubric.

Note: A composite score of 2.26 on the SCTS 4.0 rubric is required for an educator to receive an overall result of “met” during the summative evaluation process at the annual contract level. In order to use the SCTS 4.0 rubric to demonstrate content competency or knowledge of pedagogy, an educator must earn a composite score of at least 2.76.
 

Limitations and Restrictions

The following requirements and limitations apply to eligibility for issuance of a Provisional Initial certificate.

• The Provisional Initial certificate is not an option for Service and Leadership fields.
• Consistent with requirements of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Provisional Initial certificate option is not available to a candidate seeking certification in any field of Special Education.
• The Provisional Initial option is available only for three consecutive school years. The candidate must complete all requirements for advancement to the Professional certificate within the three-year period.
  • To continue certification, an educator who does not meet all requirements to advance to a renewable Professional certificate during the three-year period of the Provisional Initial certificate must re-apply and meet requirements for issuance of a standard Initial certificate.
• An educator previously issued a South Carolina educator certificate that has expired is not eligible for the Provisional Initial certificate option.
  • Exception: An educator who held a Provisional certificate for 2020-21 and 2021-22 issued under emergency flexibility extended to educators due to the COVID-19 public health emergency is eligible for one additional Provisional Initial certificate under the allowances of this option. The candidate must meet all other eligibility requirements and earn assessment scores meeting the requirements of the South Carolina Certification Assessment Program– Alternate Plan.

The South Carolina Certification Assessment Program–Alternate Plan does not apply to

• educators seeking certification in Service and Leadership fields,
• certified teachers seeking to add additional classroom teaching fields to their educator certificate, or
• educators seeking a letter of eligibility for Initial certification for any purpose.