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Senior Status Qualification Information
Do You Have Senior Status?
If you will complete or have completed at least 25 years of public or non-public professional school service, in Maryland or any other state, or you are or will be at least 55 years of age any time within the validity dates of your current certificate, you qualify for senior status for MCPS. Acceptance of the senior status allowance is determined by each local school system in Maryland and enables you to renew your certificate without further renewal requirements.
For certificate renewal only, senior status will remain in effect as long as you are employed as a professionally contracted educator by a local Maryland school system that recognizes and accepts this allowance.
After you resign or retire from MCPS, the senior status allowance no longer applies and you MUST contact MSDE for certificate renewal and information about specific requirements.
What Senior Status Does NOT Mean
PLEASE NOTE: Senior status does NOT exempt an educator from:
- Meeting the requirements to be designated highly qualified (HQ) if the educator is the teacher of record for any core academic subjects.
- Meeting the local MCPS requirements for math and science content coursework if the early childhood, elementary, or special educator is a classroom teacher, teaching math and/or science, for grades PK-8
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