Teacher Certification

Michigan law requires that individuals teaching vocational education programs be certified, authorized and, if required, hold a valid state or federal license for the fields in which they will teach.  All entry credentials for teaching in career and technical education require the individual seeking the credential to have two years (4000 hours) of recent and relevant work experience in the occupational area.  There are three entry-level credentials for career and technical education teachers.  They are as follows:

State Secondary Provisional Certification with Vocational Endorsement  

The person holding this certification will have completed a program in vocational teacher education at an institution approved by the State Board of Education for the preparation of career and technical education (vocational) teachers in the occupational area of the endorsement.  The provisional certificate the individual received will show an endorsement in one or more of the following areas,  indicating a major or minor in the occupational area(s) of the endorsement:

• VA    Vocational Agriculture and Natural Resources

• VB    Vocational Business Services

• VD    Vocational Distributive Education

• VH    Vocational Home Economics/Family & Consumer Sciences

• VT    Vocational Technical

The person holding a vocationally endorsed secondary provisional certificate who meets all other requirements of a career and technical education teaching position can teach in the occupational area of the endorsement.

Temporary Vocational Authorization (TVA)

A person holding a Temporary Vocational Authorization possesses a Baccalaureate degree and has a major or minor or equivalent graduate level credit in the field of specialization in which vocational authorization was given.  The Occupational area for which a TVA is valid is specified on the TVA credential.  The area of authorization, including the CIP code, is printed on the TVA document.

To acquire these credentials, a person must have completed requirements at an approved Michigan teacher preparation institution and must be recommended for certification and/or authorization by the institution.  The credentials are held by the individual teacher and are portable.

It is the responsibility of the school district and the employing agency to monitor the validity of teachers' credentials to be sure individual teachers do not teach with expired credentials.  Failure to fulfill this requirement can result in fines and loss of state aid.  The Secondary Provisional Certificate with Vocational Endorsement and the Temporary Vocational Endorsement are valid for a period of six years.

Prior to the expiration of these credentials, individuals holding them should fulfill the requirements for the next certification/authorization level.  At the next credentialing level an individual would acquire a State Secondary Continuing or Professional Education Certification with a vocational endorsement or a Full Vocational Authorization.  To acquire these credentials requires completion of a combination of successful teaching experience and additional semester hours of credit from an approved career and technical education teacher training institution.

Annual Vocational Authorization

This authorization can be issued to a school district if a vocationally certificated teacher is unavailable for employment.  The purpose of this authorization is to provide school districts with experienced individuals to instruct in an occupational area where fully certified career and technical education (vocational) teachers are unavailable.  The Annual Vocational Authorization is valid for persons who will be teaching state approved vocational courses in grades 9-12.

Applications for this authorization can only be completed and submitted to the Office of Professional Preparation Services by an employing local or intermediate school district for a person to teach in an approved and reimbursed vocational education program.  Each individual for whom an Annual Vocational Authorization is sought must be a high school graduate and have a minimum of two full years (4000 hours) of recent and relevant occupational experience in the area in which the authorization is sought.

No documentation for the Annual Vocational Authorization is issued to the individual; therefore, this authorization is not a portable teaching credential.  It is good only within the school district authorized for its use.  Approval for employing an individual with an Annual Authorization is sent to the employing school district and is good for one year.  All Annual Authorizations expire on June 30 of the school year.  An Annual Vocational Authorization can be renewed for up to eight years if a school district is able to:

• Document that no certificated teacher is available;

• The person for whom the Annual Authorization was initially issued continuously completed credit each year towards vocational certification at an approved teacher education institution.

More detailed information and information about other credentialing options is available in publications available from the Michigan Department of Education, Office of Professional Preparation Services.

Licensure and Teacher Certification

Under teacher certification rules, individuals who have instructional responsibility in fields for which a state or federal license is required shall hold the appropriate license before requesting vocational endorsement or authorization.  Career and technical education, allied health, cosmetology, and several T&I programs require instructors to be licensed.

Teachers in programs that require a license should be monitored to be sure the license is kept current and is appropriate for the course or program being taught.