Maine Department of Education (DOE) Commissioner Robert Hasson has approved a one year extension for all certificates with an expiration date of July 1, 2017. All teachers, educational specialists and administrators with certificates expiring on July 1, 2017 will be issued a one year certificate that will be mailed to your home address on file with the Maine DOE.
As many of you are aware, the Maine DOE is in the midst of transitioning to a new online certification system. This one year extension is being granted to ensure that folks who are up for renewal on July 1, 2017 will not be affected by the launch of the new online system.
This is the first time the Department has issued a one year extension and there is much work going on behind the scenes to get the renewals mailed to you in a timely manner. We appreciate your patience as we work through the steps necessary to make it happen.
As soon as all of the pieces are in place to bring the new online system up, applicants will be able to access it and renew their certificates with the assurance that their current certificates will remain valid until that is possible. Any renewal credits or professional development training hours that have been accrued for this year’s renewal will still be valid for the renewal of certificates with an expiration date of July 1, 2018.
The new system is expected to be fully functional by the fall of 2017. This is a first time endeavor for the Department. We are diligently working through the development of many new processes necessary to make it happen, as well as the unexpected delays that are often times inevitable when taking on such an extensive system change.
If you have questions please look over our Frequently Asked Questions sheet. For further questions, contact the Maine Department of Education’s Certification office at 207-624-6603 or cert.doe@maine.gov.
This message was sent directly to all Maine administrators, in addition to teachers, educational specialists and administrators with certificates expiring on July 1, 2017.