Professional Development

The Office of Professional Development collaborates with many stakeholders to provide quality professional learning opportunities to Arkansas’s educators, administrators, and school board members.

All professional development providers and programs must be approved by the Arkansas Department of Education at least thirty (30) days before a program is offered as professional development credit. Professional Development shall adhere to the Rules and standards established by the State Board of Education.

Required Professional Development for License Renewal is based on the Rules Governing Professional Development and Standards for Professional Learning (LearningForward.org) as approved by the State Board of Education (SBE).

Act 44 of 2015 amended the definition of basic contract to mean a teacher employment contract for one hundred ninety (190) days that includes no less than six (6) days of professional development. Beginning in the 2015-16 school year, educators are required to obtain a minimum of thirty six (36) hours of professional development for licensure renewal and contractual agreement. This training is based on the Rules Governing Professional Development which can found on the DESE Current Rules page.
 
Arkansas School Board Members are required to obtain a minimum number of hours of professional development each year depending on term. This required training is based upon the Rules Governing Arkansas School Board Member Training which can be found on the DESE Current Rules page.

 

For more information, please contact:

Arkansas Department of Education
Division of Elementary and Secondary Education
Four Capitol Mall, Mail
Little Rock, AR  72201
Phone:  501-371-1950                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Email: Belinda.Kittrell@ade.arkansas.gov

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