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Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE)

Connecticut PD Hour Requirements

Connecticut has not required CEUs since 2012. Renewal asks for no professional development documentation, and the tracking duty sits with districts instead.

No CEUs
Repealed in 2012
18 Hours
Districts must offer, a year
No Cost
To renew
Governing body: Connecticut State Department of Education Official CSDE site Portal: CECS (Connecticut Educator Certification System)

Connecticut PD Hour Requirements Overview

Connecticut has not required continuing education units since 2012. CSDE: "The Connecticut General Assembly passed legislation, PA 12-116, Sec. 36(i), which repeals all language regarding continuing education units (CEUs). As of July 1, 2012, CEUs are no longer required to maintain professional educator certificates in Connecticut."

Renewal reflects that. CSDE states plainly that for a Professional Certificate, documentation of professional development is not required, supplemental documentation is not required, and there is no cost to renew. The application goes through the CECS portal or the paper ED 179.

The obligation did not disappear. It moved. From July 1, 2013, Connecticut school districts are responsible for offering at least 18 hours of professional development per year to the educators they employ, tailored to individual needs - and CSDE is explicit about who tracks it: "It is the responsibility of school districts to offer and track this professional development."

Approved Activities

The district offers and tracks it

CSDE's wording is direct: it is the responsibility of school districts to offer and track this professional development. There is no state ledger collecting it, and no CEU submission to make.

The educator still keeps records

CSDE also tells educators to be sure they receive appropriate professional development and to keep careful records of completed activities. Both halves of that sentence matter: receive it, and record it.

Tailored, not generic

The 18 hours are to be tailored to the needs of individual educators rather than delivered as a uniform block, which is a different design problem for a district than filling a calendar.

Renewing itself

Online through the Connecticut Educator Certification System, or on the paper ED 179 application. No fee. Applications are processed in the order received, typically within four to six weeks, and longer in the April to October peak.

Required Topic Areas

The 90-CEU figure is thirteen years out of date

Guidance quoting 90 CEUs per five-year period is still widely published. PA 12-116, Sec. 36(i) repealed all language regarding continuing education units, effective July 1, 2012.

  • There is nothing to submit to the state, and no CEU balance to reach.
  • A teacher acting on the old figure is solving a problem Connecticut removed, while the real obligation - that their district offers and tracks 18 hours a year - is one they cannot satisfy alone.
  • If a provider is selling CEUs for Connecticut certificate maintenance, that is the reason to check what you are actually buying.

This is a district compliance duty, not a teacher one

The 18 hours are an obligation on the employer. That changes who has the exposure if nobody is counting.

  • The duty is to offer at least 18 hours a year and to track them.
  • It applies to the educators a district employs, and the content is to be tailored to individual needs.
  • Because there is no state submission, an untracked year leaves no external record to reconstruct from later.

Getting to the Professional certificate in the first place

CSDE describes the step up from the provisional level as requiring a master's degree and service of at least 30 months under the provisional certificate. That is a separate matter from maintaining the Professional certificate once held.

Every teacher, from hired to thriving

In EX in Education, the PD hours you track in Connecticut sit beside new-hire onboarding, walkthroughs, coaching cycles, goals, evaluations, staff surveys and recognition. Leaders see how every educator is doing from their first week onward, not only whether they are current, and the renewal record builds out of the growth work already happening.

Start a conversation about Connecticut

Renewal Process

1

Do not go looking for a CEU total

There is not one. CEUs were repealed effective July 1, 2012, and CSDE states that documentation of professional development is not required for renewal.

2

Apply through CECS or on the ED 179

Online via the Connecticut Educator Certification System, or the paper application. There is no cost to renew a professional certificate.

3

Allow for processing time

Applications are processed in the order received, typically within four to six weeks, with longer waits in the April to October peak.

4

Districts: count the 18 hours

The state obligation that remains is the district's. Offer at least 18 hours a year, tailored to individual educators, and track them, because nothing outside the district is recording it.

Connecticut Quick Summary

CEUs required None since 2012
PD documentation Not required
District duty 18 hours a year
Who tracks it The district
Renewal cost None
Apply via CECS or ED 179
Processing 4-6 weeks typically
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Connecticut PD Hour FAQs

How many CEUs does Connecticut require to renew a certificate?

None. CSDE states that PA 12-116, Sec. 36(i) repealed all language regarding continuing education units, and that as of July 1, 2012 CEUs are no longer required to maintain professional educator certificates in Connecticut. Documentation of professional development is not required at renewal, and supplemental documentation is not required.

So is there no professional development requirement in Connecticut?

There is, but it sits with the employer rather than the certificate. As of July 1, 2013, Connecticut school districts are responsible for offering at least 18 hours of professional development per year to the educators they employ, tailored to the needs of individual educators, and CSDE states that it is the responsibility of school districts to offer and track it.

Should I still keep records of my professional development?

Yes. CSDE tells educators to be sure they receive appropriate professional development and to keep careful records of completed activities, even though those records are not submitted to the state at renewal.

How do I renew, and what does it cost?

Applications for professional certificate renewal can be completed online using the CECS portal or with the paper ED 179 application. There is no cost to renew a professional certificate. Applications are processed in the order received, typically within four to six weeks, and processing may take longer during the April to October peak.

Why do I keep seeing a 90-CEU requirement for Connecticut?

Because guidance published before 2012 is still in circulation. The 90 CEUs per five-year period requirement ended when PA 12-116 repealed the CEU language, effective July 1, 2012.

Does EX in Education help Connecticut districts?

Yes, and here the fit is unusually direct, because Connecticut assigns the tracking duty to the district rather than the state. EX in Education records the 18 hours per educator per year alongside coaching, evaluations and goals, so a district can show what it offered and to whom. With no state submission to fall back on, an untracked year cannot be reconstructed afterwards.

PD Requirements for Other States

Not in Connecticut? Find requirements for your state.

Evaluated in Connecticut? See how Connecticut teacher evaluation works, and how the evidence connects to the record you keep for renewal.

Part of EX in Education

One piece of the educator experience.

PD Hour tracking is one part of how districts support educators. In EX in Education, it connects to the bigger picture: walkthroughs, coaching, evaluations, goals, PD, recognition, surveys, and retention. Bring your own process, or start from a template, then run it across every school so every educator moves from hired to thriving.