April 2023 Educator Licensure Compass

Montana Office of Public Instruction sent this bulletin at 03/24/2023 05:03 PM MDT

Emergency Authorization of Employment applications 23/24 school year

Emergency Authorizations of Employment (EAE) for the 2023-24 school year should not be submitted at this time.

Please review ARM 10.57.107 which states the position must have been advertised at least statewide far enough in advance to reasonably enable qualified applicants to submit applications and be interviewed.

The Office of Public Instruction will not begin reviewing EAE's for the 2023-24 school year until this summer. This means any applications that are submitted before this time will be closed with no action.

Questions? Please contact cert@mt.gov, or call 444-3150 Monday - Thursday between 12 pm - 4:30 pm.

Are Professional Development Units and Renewal Units the Same Thing?

Yes. Some definitions were revised in the Administrative Rules of Montana (ARM) Chapter 57 in May 2022, and Renewal Units was one of them.

You will see Renewal Units (RUs) and Professional Development Units (PDUs) used interchangeably for a while longer - they are the same thing.

Licensure and the Professional Learning Team continue to transition our language and documents to the new term of Professional Development Units and PDUs, to align with the new ARM revision. Here is an update from the Professional Learning Team regarding some of their work for this transition:

"The former Renewal Unit Provider System (RUPS) has successfully transitioned to the Professional Development Provider System (PDUPS) and we are in process of updating documents, webpages, and systems to reflect the change.

Notably, Renewal Unit Certificates, or RUs, have been transitioned to Professional Development Unit Certificates (PDUs). The certificates remain largely the same and certificates that bear the term "Renewal Units" will still be valid during for the 5 years preceding an educator's license renewal.

Please contact the Professional Learning Team at OPIRUPS@mt.gov (soon to be OPIDUPS@mt.gov) with any questions."

As stated, you may continue to use any certificates that bear the term "Renewal Units" to renew your license. The certificate information should be entered into the Professional Development section of your educator record/application.

OPI Compass Webpage

The OPI is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation, require an alternate format, or have questions concerning accessibility, contact the OPI ADA Coordinator, 406-444-3161, opiada@mt.gov, Relay Service: 711.