There has been some concern expressed regarding the ability of local education agencies (LEA) to determine the current service time validity of a Level I certificate by referencing the TIMS system. Employers should not solely rely on TIMS to determine whether a Level I certificate marked as “valid” has not lapsed.  

Level I certificates are “valid” for a specified number of years of service. In recognition of this fact, Certification and Staffing Policy Guideline #3, Validity of a Pennsylvania Certificate ( http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/certification_staffing_policies_%28cspgs%29/8626/general_certification_information_%28numbers_1_-_24%29) clearly states “The years valid and effective date fields printed on a Pennsylvania certificate are not to be used as the singular factor for determining certificate validity.” Like the validity period printed on the certificate, the “valid” status in TIMS indicates that the certificate is legitimate for a set number of service years, not calendar years. It is important to note that the “valid” status displayed for Level I certificates does not and cannot confirm the number of service years used or remaining on the certificate. The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) can only determine the service year validity of a Level I certificate by reviewing a complete work record for the individual holding the certificate. TIMS does not automatically calculate service time on a Level I certificate. Therefore, the certificate holder and employing LEA continue to be responsible for tracking Level I certificate service time for the certificate holder.  

PDE will do a “validity check” for LEAs who are uncertain of the number of service years an employee has worked. LEAs will be asked to complete a Documentation Worksheet for this purpose. It is important to remember that partial years of service do count based on the formula described in CSPG #7, Level II Certification (http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/certification_staffing_policies_%28cspgs%29/8626/general_certification_information_%28numbers_1_-_24%29).   

The TIMS system currently assumes all Level I certificates have a “valid” status. Any change in the validity status of a Level I certificate to “lapsed” will only be made when PDE has done a review of an educator’ss service time and determined that the educator has completed six service years and failed to convert to a Level II. A validity determination letter from PDE in response to an LEA’ss or educator’ss request via a Documentation Worksheet will establish the current and accurate validity status of a Level I certificate. LEA’ss who are concerned about the validity of an educator’ss certification may contact Karen Turner in PDE’ss Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality at 717-783-6730, or at kturner@pa.gov for the purpose of verifying certificate validity status.