How to Find Accredited CPD Courses for Educator Recertification Requirements

Accredited CPD for educator recertification means a course from a provider your state licensing board or district actually recognizes, and that recognition varies by state. EmpowerED Professional Learning offers instructor-guided courses, including Growth Mindset for Educators & Learners (5 PD hours) and AI Skills (for Non-Techies) (2 PD hours), each with a PD certificate you can submit to your school or district for review.

Key Takeaways

• Washington requires most educators to earn 100 clock hours every five years, according to its Professional Educator Standards Board.
• Texas classroom teachers need 150 CPE hours per five-year cycle, and several certificate types require 200 hours, per the Texas Education Agency.
• New York allows up to 30 hours of eligible mentoring toward the CTLE requirement, per the New York State Education Department.
• EmpowerED course PD hours range from 1 hour for Engagement Boosters That Work to 8 hours for Introduction to Effective Online Teaching.
• Texas and Washington only recognize CPD hours from providers each state has approved, so confirm status before enrolling.

What "Accredited" Really Means for Recertification CPD

There is no single national accreditation stamp that covers every state's continuing education system. Each licensing board runs its own approval process, sets its own hour requirements, and decides which providers count. That means the question is not really "is this course accredited" in the abstract. It is "does my state or district recognize this provider."

That distinction matters more than most educators expect. A course can be well designed, instructor led, and genuinely useful for classroom practice, and still fall outside what a particular board approves for renewal credit. The two things, quality and approval status, are separate questions, and you need to check both before you spend money on a course tied to a deadline.

How many CPD hours do educators need to renew their certificate?

The hours required depend entirely on your state and certificate type, so there is no single number that applies everywhere. Washington sets 100 clock hours over a five-year cycle for most educators. Texas requires 150 hours for classroom teachers and 200 for several administrator and student-services certificates. New York ties its requirement to CTLE hours over a five-year registration period.

The Washington Professional Educator Standards Board states plainly that only PESB-approved organizations may offer clock hours to Washington educators, and that most educators need 100 clock hours every five years. The Texas Education Agency recognizes only CPE activities from approved providers, and requires educators to keep their completion documentation for five years in case of an audit. In New York, the New York State Education Department requires CTLE from a Department-approved sponsor, though eligible mentoring can count for up to 30 hours toward the requirement, at a district's or BOCES's discretion.

How do I verify a CPD provider is approved for my state?

Check your state licensing board's published provider list before enrolling in any CPD course. Washington publishes an approved clock-hour provider list, Texas recognizes only TEA-approved CPE providers, and New York requires a Department-approved CTLE sponsor. Your district's human resources or professional learning office can also confirm whether a specific course counts toward your renewal.

If your board publishes a searchable directory, that is the fastest way to confirm status before you pay for a course. If it does not, a short email to your certification office, naming the provider and course title, usually gets you a direct answer. Texas educators in particular should keep whatever confirmation they receive, since the state's own retention rule already requires five years of completion records on file in case of an audit.

EmpowerED Courses That Build Real PD Hours

EmpowerED Professional Learning runs instructor-guided courses, not passive video playlists. Every course is designed and reviewed by Dr. Brian Koster, an educator and professional learning designer, and each one includes a PD certificate awarded upon successful completion.

Two more courses round out the catalog without a fixed hour figure attached: Designing Lessons for Neurodiverse Learners and Effective Assessment & Feedback in Online & Hybrid Learning, both built around the same instructor-guided model as the courses above.

Each course pairs self-paced content with instructor-reviewed activities and personalized feedback, so you get more than a certificate at the end. Growth Mindset for Educators & Learners, for example, walks through reframing fixed-m