Office of Educator Licensure

Emergency Extension Application Update

On December 16, 2022 the Department announced that Commissioner Riley was extending the validity of some "old" Emergency licenses through June 30, 2024. This change requires modifications to ELAR and we are pleased to announce that the applications to extend "old" Emergency licenses will be available no later than Friday, March 31st.

Please note that an "old" Emergency license is one that was issued between June, 2020 and December 12, 2021 and was originally valid until June 30, 2021 and subsequently extended two additional years to June 30, 2023.

There will not be a deadline to be able to apply for or qualify for an extension, however, "old" Emergency licenses that are not extended will expire on June 30, 2023.

In order to qualify for an extension, an educator will need to apply for the extension in ELAR and demonstrate progress towards obtaining a license since earning the emergency license. An example of an academic teacher demonstrating progress for their first extension would be:

Since obtaining the Emergency license, the educator has participated in an induction program provided by their school district and completed one of the following:

  • Attempted or Passed the C&L test
  • Attempted or Passed a required content test
  • Enrolling in an approved preparation program
  • Having completed coursework within an approved preparation program

For clarity on the meaning of "since obtaining the emergency license", please see the following examples:

  1. Akeno obtained an Emergency license on July 25, 2020, in Early Childhood. He passed the Communication & Literacy Skills test on June 30, 2020. Although Akeno has passed a test that is required to obtain an Early Childhood license, since the Communication & Literacy Skills test was passed prior to when he obtained the Emergency license, that test will not be accepted as progress towards obtaining an extension.
  2. Martina obtained an Emergency license on August 1, 2020, in Chemistry. She passes the Chemistry MTEL test on September 23, 2022. Since Martina passed the Chemistry MTEL test after she obtained the Emergency license, that can be counted towards making progress towards an Emergency Extension.

If an educator with an "old" Emergency license is unable to meet the requirements to obtain an Emergency license extension, the district can pursue a Hardship Waiver in order to employ that educator in the 2023-24 school year. School districts can begin applying for a Hardship Waiver for 2023-24 through ELAR as early as April 1, 2023. In addition to applying for the waiver, the district must submit evidence of having advertised the position, submit a list of all appropriately licensed candidates that applied for the job, and state the reasons they are not qualified and reasons the candidate is qualified.

Additional Questions. If you have any additional questions about the extension of Emergency licenses, please contact the Licensure Call Center at 781-338-6600. The Call Center is open each business day from 9am–1pm and 2pm–5pm.





Last Updated: March 2, 2023



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