Renewing a certificate: 100 clock hours
The Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) renews most Washington certificates on a five-year cycle. The currency is the clock hour: 100 per cycle, including 15 equity-based school-practices hours and any STEM-integration requirement that applies to your certificate. PESB accepts college credit from accredited institutions toward the total.
"Most educators need to earn 100 clock hours every five years."Washington Professional Educator Standards Board, Clock hours
The conversion is set in rule, not on the PESB page. WAC 181-85-030 counts 1 college semester credit as 15 clock hours and 1 quarter credit as 10. For more on how the units relate, see clock hours, CEUs and semester credits.
The equity and STEM hours have their own rules. A course's clock-hour total does not by itself show that it meets the equity-based or STEM components. Confirm with PESB which providers and activities qualify for those parts before you count a course toward them.
How pay moves: lanes, often in quarter credits
PESB is explicit that salary is not its question: it says salary advancement through clock hours is not overseen by PESB. Each district bargains its own certificated schedule, and many Washington schedules count quarter credits rather than semester credits. That changes the arithmetic of a lane change.
Seattle Public Schools is a published example. Its 2025-26 certificated non-supervisory schedule states that it is measured in quarter credits, with these lanes:
| Lane | Education |
|---|---|
| 100 | BA |
| 200 | BA+22.5 |
| 300 | BA+45 |
| 400 | BA+45+MA |
| 500 | BA+90 |
| 600 | BA+90+MA |
| 700 | BA+135 (grandfathered only) |
| 800 | BA+135+MA |
| 900 | BA+155+MA |
| 906 | PhD |
Using the WAC ratio (15 clock hours per semester credit, 10 per quarter credit), 22.5 quarter credits correspond to 15 semester credits. Confirm how your own district converts semester credits before relying on that figure. Seattle's grid is one district's schedule, shown as an illustration, not a statewide rule.
District schedules
Each block cites the district's own published document where one has been checked. Items marked "confirm" are being verified for this guide and will be updated with a source and date.
Seattle Public Schools
Lanes 100 to 906 in quarter credits; Lane 700 is a grandfathered-only lane.
Source: SPS 2025-26 Certificated Non-Supervisory Salary Schedule. Confirm documentation deadline.Northshore School District
Publishes a "Credits & Clock Hours" salary-placement page.
Source: Northshore HR. Confirm credit rules, clock-hour ratio and deadline.Clover Park School District
Publishes a "Credits & Clock Hours" salary-placement page.
Source: Clover Park HR. Confirm credit rules, clock-hour ratio and deadline.Lake Washington School District
In research.
Source to be added.Spokane Public Schools
In research.
Source to be added.Before you enroll in anything
- Open your district's current certificated schedule and check whether its lanes count quarter or semester credits.
- Convert before you buy: under WAC 181-85-030, 1 semester credit is 15 clock hours and 1 quarter credit is 10.
- For renewal, track the 15 equity-based hours and any STEM requirement separately from the general total.
- Ask HR in writing whether the specific course counts for salary placement, and by what date documents must be verified. Keep the reply.
- Plan backward from that date, allowing time for an official transcript to be issued.
Salary deadlines are local. PESB does not set them. Check your district's agreement for its verification date; missing it usually moves the change to the following year.
Teaching near a state line? See the Oregon and Idaho guides, or compare course providers.
Sources
- Washington Professional Educator Standards Board, Clock hours.
- WAC 181-85-030 (credit to clock-hour conversion).
- Seattle Public Schools, 2025-26 Certificated Non-Supervisory Salary Schedule (PDF).
- National Education Association, Rankings of the States 2025 and Estimates of School Statistics 2026, Table E-4 (teacher counts).
Last reviewed 2026-11-03. How we correct errors.