South Carolina Teacher PD Requirements (2026)

120 hours every 5 years for teachers

Source

Source: https://ed.sc.gov/educators/certification/professional/
Last verified: May 25, 2026

Primary regulatory source: SC State Board of Education Regulation R 43-55 "Renewal of Credentials". Renewal Credit Matrix (PDF on ed.sc.gov) defines the eleven activity options and their conversions. Headline conversion: 1 hour of direct PD = 1 renewal credit, 1 CEU = 10 renewal credits, 1 semester hour of college coursework = 20 renewal credits. The Matrix caps each activity option (e.g. college courses max 120, publications max 60) but the total requirement is 120 renewal credits across all sources. No annual minimum; pure 5-year cycle. Same 120/5 requirement applies to teachers, school counselors, and administrators under the single Professional Educator Certificate. Read to Succeed (R2S) endorsement is a separate K-12 teacher endorsement; R2S coursework can be applied toward the 120 renewal credits but is not an additional hour total.

Teachers

Annual hours: —
Cycle hours: 120
Cycle years: 5

Professional Educator Certificate requires 120 renewal credits per 5-year cycle. 1 hour of direct PD = 1 renewal credit; 1 CEU = 10 renewal credits; 1 semester hour of college coursework = 20 renewal credits. Read to Succeed (R2S) endorsement is a separate requirement for K-12 teachers in SC and applicable R2S coursework can be applied toward the 120 renewal credits. Other statutory items folded into renewal include Jason Flatt Act suicide-awareness training.

Counselors

Annual hours: —
Cycle hours: 120
Cycle years: 5

School counselors hold the same Professional Educator Certificate and renew under SC State Board Regulation R 43-55: 120 renewal credits per 5-year cycle, identical to teachers. No counselor-specific add-on hour requirement identified.

Administrators

Annual hours: —
Cycle hours: 120
Cycle years: 5

Administrators (principals, superintendents) hold the same Professional Educator Certificate and follow the same 120-credit / 5-year cycle. No separate administrator-specific renewal hour requirement; the same Renewal Credit Matrix applies.

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Information current as of May 25, 2026. Verify with your state Department of Education for official licensure decisions.