Colorado

Salary lanes, contact hours and license renewal

Colorado renews a professional license on a seven-year cycle measured in contact hours, with topic requirements inside the total. Salary lanes are set by each district, on their own dates.

Renewing a professional license: 90 contact hours

The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) renews professional teacher licenses every seven years. The renewal checklist asks for 90 contact hours or 6 semester hours of professional development completed within the license term.

  • Conversions. CDE counts 1 semester hour as 15 contact hours, 1 quarter hour as 10, and 1 CEU as 10.
  • Timing. Learning must fall within the term of the license you are renewing.
  • Evidence. Coursework is documented with transcript copies.
  • English learners. English Learner professional development hours can count within the 90.
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Six semester hours may not finish your renewal. Licenses expiring on or after June 30, 2025 are reported to need 10 hours on behavioral health and disability education (at least 1 hour of each), and some endorsements carry a 45-hour English Learner requirement. Confirm with CDE which topic requirements apply to your license before you count a course toward them.

For how the units relate, see clock hours, CEUs and semester credits.

How pay moves: district lanes

Colorado has no statewide teacher salary schedule. Each district publishes its own step-and-lane or salary-setting document, with its own rules on which credits count and when a change takes effect. The general mechanics are covered in lane change, explained; the district blocks below cite the published documents.

District schedules

Items marked "confirm" are being verified for this guide and will be updated with a source and date.

Denver Public Schools

Coursework completed before January 1 or June 1 moves you on the schedule effective January 1 or June 1. The form and transcripts are due by January 30 or June 30.

Source: DCTA 2025-26 Step and Grade Schedule, effective 8-1-2025.

Jeffco Public Schools

Publishes a Salary Setting Guide for 2025-26 covering placement and movement.

Source: Jeffco JCEA Salary Setting Guide 2025-26. Confirm credit rules and deadline.

Douglas County School District

In research.

Source to be added. Confirm schedule and rules.

Before you enroll in anything

  1. Check your license expiration date and confirm with CDE which topic requirements apply to it.
  2. Make sure the course falls inside your current license term.
  3. Convert before you buy: 1 semester hour is 15 contact hours, 1 quarter hour is 10.
  4. For salary, open your district's current schedule or guide and find the credit rules.
  5. Ask HR in writing whether the specific course counts. Keep the reply.
  6. In Denver, plan for the January 1 / June 1 completion dates and the January 30 / June 30 filing dates.
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Renewal and salary are separate questions. A course that counts for CDE renewal does not automatically count for your district's lane, and the reverse is also true.

Teaching near a state line? See the Utah and Arizona guides, or compare course providers.

Sources

Last reviewed 2026-11-03. How we correct errors.