Guidance for Preliminary Credential Holders with Teacher Performance Assessment Renewal Requirement

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to prevent any further exacerbation of California’s significant teacher shortage as well as to alleviate the impact of the pandemic on prospective teacher candidates, Governor Newsom issued numerous Executive Orders which were followed by passage of Assembly Bill 130 (Chap. 44, Stats. 2021) to allow flexibility in some credential requirements. One such flexibility was to allow educator preparation programs to recommend candidates for Preliminary Multiple or Single Subject credentials who were enrolled in school years 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22 and were unable to complete the teacher performance assessment (TPA) due to school closures. Likewise, candidates who were unable to complete the reading instruction competence assessment (RICA) due to testing center closures between March 19, 2020 and December 31, 2021 could be similarly recommended by their program sponsor for a Preliminary Multiple Subject or Education Specialist credential. These candidates who were recommended by their programs without completing one or both of these requirements were issued Preliminary credentials that included passage of TPA and/or RICA as requirements for obtaining the Clear credential. The new renewal codes TPA and RICA appeared on the credentials alongside the usual renewal code for induction (R14I). The flexibility to recommend candidates for the Preliminary credential without completing TPA ended on August 31, 2022, and for RICA, the flexibility ended on June 30, 2022.

On July 10, 2023, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 114 (Chap. 48, Stats 2023). This bill included a provision that exempted such candidates that were issued the Preliminary credential without having passed an assessment from having to complete a Teaching Performance Assessment (TPA) in order to receive the Clear credentials. Therefore, candidates who received Preliminary teaching credentials with TPA renewal codes are no longer required to pass TPA in order to clear their credentials if they meet other criteria. PSA 23-05 has information on the TPA Exemption for candidates with Covid-19 Pandemic deferrals. Please see below for an excerpt. The induction (and RICA requirement, if it is listed) must still be met in order to upgrade to a Clear credential.

Any candidate who received a preliminary credential with a renewal code requiring completion of the TPA will no longer need to complete the TPA as long as they have met one of the following requirements: 

a)    Completed a Commission-approved teacher induction program on or before 6/30/2025, and/or 
b)    Demonstrated two years of service with satisfactory teacher evaluations by 6/30/2025

Option (a) is intended for Preliminary credential holders who are currently enrolled in induction and will complete it on or before June 30, 2025. The induction program may recommend these educators for their Clear credentials without passing TPA once induction is completed. If a candidate completed induction but could not be recommended for the Clear credential at that time because they had the TPA requirement on their credential, they may contact their induction program now and ask to be recommended for their Clear credential. 

Option (b) is intended for Preliminary credential holders that have not completed induction but have been working for at least two years as a teacher of record with satisfactory performance evaluations. Any candidate with a TPA renewal code that has met the requirements in option (b) must provide one of the following to their induction program sponsor if they wish to use this option:

  • A letter on letterhead from their employer verifying two years of full-time teaching experience with satisfactory performance evaluations signed by the site administrator. Copies of the performance evaluations themselves do not have to be provided. The two years of experience must be completed by June 30, 2025. 
  • Two summative annual performance evaluations with a rating of satisfactory or better. Photocopies of the evaluations are acceptable, and they do not need signatures. Informal classroom observations are not acceptable to meet this requirement because they are not considered to be summative year-end evaluations. Observations taking place on one day for a short amount of time are not acceptable; what is needed are evaluations that encompass the year’s performance, which are typically completed toward the end of the academic year. Please see below for more information on satisfying this requirement.

Note that to be recommended for a Clear credential under option (b), all additional requirements must be met, including completion of RICA and induction, as applicable.


Frequently Asked Questions Regarding TPA Requirement

Can I get the TPA requirement removed from my Preliminary credential?

Yes. However, please note that even if you remove the TPA requirement, you still have the induction requirement (if you have the RICA requirement, you will still need to complete this also). You have the option to wait until you have completed induction and then your induction program can recommend you for your Clear credential. Please keep in mind that there is a fee to remove the requirement which is the same amount that you would pay to clear your credential, so you might prefer to wait until you can clear your credential rather than paying just to remove the TPA requirement.

How do I submit my letter or evaluations to demonstrate two years of satisfactory service?

If you are removing the TPA requirement, you can submit a 41-4 application form (in section 2 under Application Type, select Other and in Specify Other Application Type Below, write in "Remove TPA requirement"), application processing fee, and the letter or evaluations to request that the TPA requirement be removed. If you are waiting until you have completed induction (and RICA if it is listed on your credential), you may provide the letter or evaluations to your induction program to be included when your induction program recommends you for your Clear credential.

Does experience teaching under an intern credential count?

Yes, if you were evaluated as the teacher of record.

What if I am in an induction program currently but it will not be completed until after June 30, 2025?

You need to complete TPA, unless you can demonstrate two years of service with satisfactory evaluations earned by June 30, 2025.

I was issued a Preliminary with the TPA and induction requirements and left California to teach in another state. If I wanted to return to teach in California, would I need to complete TPA in order to clear my credential?

If you taught for at least two years out-of-state by June 30, 2025, you may clear your TPA and induction requirements by providing two summative annual performance evaluations and a verification letter of two or more years of teaching experience.

  • For the performance evaluations:
    The two evaluations must be satisfactory or better and coincide with two years of verified service on your experience verification letter. Photocopies of the evaluations are acceptable, and they do not need signatures. Informal classroom observations are not accepted to meet this requirement because they are not considered to be summative year-end evaluations. Observations taking place on one day for a short amount of time are not acceptable; what is needed are evaluations that encompass the year’s performance, which are typically completed toward the end of the academic year.

    If summative evaluations are not available, you may submit a supplemental evaluation letter instead. This letter must be on the school or district letterhead, completed by an administrator, and signed with an original signature which must be either ‘wet ink’ or an acceptable electronic signature. The letter must verify that you have satisfactorily met these four professional teaching standards:

    1. The use of teaching strategies that motivate all students to engage in the learning process.
    2. The ability to establish and maintain high standards for student behavior.
    3. A demonstration of deep knowledge of the subject being taught and the use of appropriate instructional strategies that promote student understanding.
    4. An ability to plan and implement a sequence of appropriate instructional activities.

  • For the verification letter:
    This must be an original letter (photocopies not accepted), written by your out-of-state employer that verifies your years of service. To qualify, we only need to verify a minimum of two years of full-time teaching experience. The letter must be on official letterhead from the school or school district, and it must state that the experience was full-time or show that full time hours were completed. Additionally, it must show the beginning and ending dates of hire and be signed by the Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, or HR personnel. The signature must be either be ‘wet ink’ or an acceptable electronic signature. HR forms with original signatures may also be accepted in lieu of a letter as long as they meet all the requirements mentioned above.

What if I taught for one year in California and one year out-of-state?

You will only be able to clear the TPA requirement, not the induction requirement. To verify the California teaching experience, you will need to provide either the letter or evaluation. To verify the out-of-state teaching experience, you will need to provide BOTH the verification letter of the year of out-of-state teaching experience and the out-of-state summative annual performance evaluation.

What if I complete induction or earn the two years of teaching experience by June 30, 2025, but do not apply to remove the TPA requirement or clear my credential until after that date?

Your induction program can still apply to remove the TPA requirement after June 30, 2025 with confirmation that the induction program or two years of experience was completed by that date.

Can I use private school experience for the two years of teaching experience?

Yes, experience teaching at a regionally accredited private school will be accepted. To verify this, you may provide ONE of the following: 

  • A letter on letterhead from your employer verifying two years of full-time teaching experience with satisfactory performance signed by the site administrator, with the two years of experience completed by June 30, 2025.

  • Two summative annual performance evaluations with a rating of satisfactory or better. Photocopies of the evaluations are acceptable, and they do not need signatures. Informal classroom observations are not accepted to meet this requirement because they are not considered to be summative year-end evaluations. Observations taking place on one day for a short amount of time are not acceptable; what is needed are evaluations that encompass the year’s performance, which are typically completed toward the end of the academic year.
Updated March 26, 2024