New Teacher Certification

The following information is intended to provide helpful information regarding Florida certification and employment with the School District of Lee County. 

If you already have a Bachelors degree, then you can become eligible for Florida teacher certification under one of the following options:

• Pass an appropriate subject area exam; OR
• Earn a degree major in an appropriate subject area; OR
• Complete the appropriate coursework in a subject area with 2.5 GPA; OR
• Complete a Teacher Prep program from an accredited college; OR
• Possess a currently valid out of state teaching license in an equivalent subject area and grade level offered by Florida.

Under current rules, you must meet one of the above “specialization requirement” options for the appropriate subject area before you can be considered eligible for a Florida certificate. In most cases, the district requires an applicant to be eligible for certification before entering into an instructional position. An applicant does not have to hold a certificate, but must be eligible for the certificate.

A teacher may begin teaching under either a temporary certificate or a professional certificate.

Those beginning with a temporary certificate need to be aware that it is a non-renewable certificate. Teachers with a temporary certificate need to meet professional certification requirements prior to the expiration of the temporary certificate in order to retain their certified status.

Web Resources

All instructional hiring is performed by our school principals/site administrators. Remember that you do not need to hold a Florida teaching certificate to gain employment. Rather, you must be eligible for a certificate by one of the above options.