Newly Released Guide Offers Insights Into Teacher Licensure Requirements Nationwide

March 5, 2025

Which approaches to teacher credentialing are gaining the most traction nationwide? Which states have teacher reciprocity agreements? Which states require teachers to have clinical experience?

A recently published guide from WestEd answers these questions, describing national trends in teacher licensure requirements, preparation, reciprocity policies, and other approaches to teacher recruitment and retention in all 50 states and Washington, DC.

As districts across the country grapple with teacher shortages and declines in National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores, the guide outlines various licensure requirements to help state education agencies, local education agencies, and educator preparation programs (EPPs) improve their teacher recruitment and retention strategies to ensure student success.

“This guide is intended to help state and district education leaders analyze and compare their teacher workforce requirements and policies with those in other states,” said Mel Wylen, coauthor of the guide and research associate on WestEd’s Assessment for Learning team. “This kind of analysis can help identify ways to reduce barriers into the profession while maintaining quality standards and improve teacher recruitment and retention.”

The guide examined three primary topics:

1. Common requirements to earn an initial teacher certification or license
2. Specific alternative pathways or special considerations—such as for veterans and spouses of veterans—to enter the workforce
3. Reciprocity (an agreement between states that they will recognize and honor teaching credentials issued by one another)

Key findings from the Guide on Teacher Workforce Credentialing: A Look Into the Initial License Requirements, Diverse Pathways Into the Teaching Profession, and Reciprocity Policies, include the following:

1. Initial Licensure Requirements: Among the seven common requirements for initial licensure—completing an EPP, passing mandatory assessments, maintaining a minimum GPA, fulfilling clinical experience, completing required coursework, attaining a specific degree, and undergoing criminal background checks—many states had similar requirements, with the largest differences found in coursework and degree attainment.
2. Alternative Pathways: As of August 2024, all 50 states and Washington, DC, have implemented “Grow Your Own” programs to recruit local individuals into teaching roles. Additionally, 42 states offer teacher residency programs, and a growing number of states offer registered teacher apprenticeship programs.
3. Reciprocity Policies: As of August 2024, 33 states have reciprocity policies that facilitate the transfer of teaching credentials between states.
4. Barriers to Entry: Despite there being multiple pathways into teaching, prospective educators face significant barriers to entering the profession, including complex state-specific requirements and certification processes.
5. Impact of Teacher Preparation Models: Research indicates that alternative preparation models, such as teacher residencies and Grow Your Own programs, are effective in increasing teacher retention rates and diversifying the educator workforce, although more focused research is needed to fully understand their long-term impacts.

The guide can also serve as a tool for aspiring teachers. States vary in their teacher preparation and assessment requirements for obtaining a teaching license, and not every state accepts teaching licenses from other states. The guide provides information on state-specific license requirements, reciprocity agreements, and pathways to licensure that can help prospective teachers determine the path to licensure best suited for them.

“Breaking into the teaching profession can be both difficult and expensive. A guide like this can help demystify the process for candidates,” said Gabriela Mottesi, guide coauthor and research associate on WestEd’s Assessment for Learning team.

The guide’s authors, Wylen and Mottesi, researched state laws; administrative codes; documents from state boards of education; and other publicly available documents, including legislative reports, teacher certification guides, and official press releases, to compile the information.

To arrange an interview with the authors, contact Marley Arechiga at [email protected].