Your SCECH Application is important to us! Please adhere to the following process to allow us to better serve your SCECH needs.
Step 1: Please electronically complete the fillable SCECH application -- NEW SCECH APPLICATION
Step 2: Please "Save As" your completed application under a unique name you will be able to reference later.
Step 3: Please complete an agenda if the application is for an event. If the application is for DPPD, please complete a list of dates/times for these meetings you have scheduled.
Step 4: Submit both the complete application and your agenda or DPPD dates to: [email protected] 45 days in advance of the start date of the event/DPPD.
You will receive a ticket number in your email. This ticket number will be updated as the application is accepted by MDE.
Upon completion of your event or annual DPPD, please upload all participant information (sign in sheets) to this specific ticket number. Once all participant information is loaded into MOECS, the ticket will be marked closed and you will get notification.
General changes to the SCECH program rules that begin September 7, 2018:
- Minimum program hours change to 1 hour. Traditionally all SCECH programs were required to be offered for a minimum of 3 hours. Starting September 7, 2018 there will no longer a 3-hour minimum for SCECH programs and programs will be accepted with a minimum of 1 hour.
- MDE will no longer mandate specific requirements for breaks or lunch times during meetings. The rule stated there must be a break every 2.5 hours and a lunch/meal break of 30 minutes that could not be counted in the SCECH total. MDE still believes taking breaks during a long meeting is beneficial, but we no longer mandate specific times or time limits. With this change, we remind educators and Sponsors only time spent on learning activities can be counted in the SCECH total.
- New Assurance document to be attached to programs. Coordinators no longer attach an agenda or any other designated documents to the online SCECH application as the Required Documentation. Coordinators now only attach a completed Assurance document to every application. Attached you will find the Assurance document to complete and attach to a program application. The Assurance document must be signed by the Facilitator/creator of the program and the Coordinator submitting it.
- MDE is opening up SCECH Sponsorship. Any agency, company, or association with the ability to offer quality PD may now apply to become a SCECH Sponsor. I have attached the SCECH: Sponsor Application for your reference and it will be online on our Teacher Certification website under SCECH & DPPD page.
- Schools/Colleges/ISDs/Universities in Michigan are accepted as Sponsors through the same process as before. We have a separate application SCECH: Sponsor Application for Michigan School Districts and Higher Education Institutions that will be available on the website also.
School Counselor Changes
School counselors are required to complete fifty (50) hours of specific professional development (PD) in accordance with the 2020 School Counselor Professional Development Law, Michigan Compiled Law (MCL) 380.1233 (6-8). The 50 hours are part of the total 150 hours required by law for the renewal of educator credentials issued by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE). MCL 380.1233 (6-8) mandates school counselors fulfill the following PD:
➢ Twenty-five (25) hours of professional learning, enhancing current skills and knowledge, applicable to college
planning and selection, and
➢ Twenty-five (25) hours of professional learning, enhancing current skills and knowledge, applicable to career
counseling, career opportunities specific to industry and business, which includes five (5) hours of military
options.
The following school counselor credentials are renewable,
1) a teaching certificate with the School Counselor (NT) endorsement, and
2) a School Counselor License (SCL).
When renewing a teaching certificate with the NT-School Counselor endorsement, know that the endorsement is not
separate from the teaching certificate, it is one credential. Visit our website for essential guidance on renewing a school counselor credential.
The Michigan Online Educator Certification System (MOECS) will not allow educators to apply for a renewal until the requirement of law is complete. Please be mindful that our office/department does not have the authority to waive state law. MDE is unable to renew a school counselor credential if the requirements of the law have not been fulfilled. Completion of State Continuing Education Clock Hours (SCECHs) is required to fulfill the 50 hours of professional
development hours designated in law. Some of the SCECH courses have no fee or are reduced in price to register for and the majority continue to be offered virtually or in hybrid format.
How to Search for PD:
To access approved SCECHs view the program listings in the (MDE) SCECH catalog. The best way to search for programs that meet the criteria of the school counselor PD law is as follows:
➢ In the SCECH catalog do not enter anything in the search fields until the words “Select Category” are visible.
➢ From the Select Category option, scroll down to and select to “School Counseling.” Please take note of the 4
boxes to the left side of the page.
➢ Check the 3 boxes for: School Counselor- College Preparation and Selection, School Counselor - Career
Exploration, and School Counselor-Military Options.
➢ Click Search.
Note: The General SCECH button may be used to select SCECHs not required as part of the PD law. If you are unable to complete the required 50 hours of SCECHs in time to renew by June 30 of the expiration year, proactively work with your Michigan school district to consider their application for a Permit (e.g., Daily, Full-Year Basic
Permit) on your behalf. A permit (once valid), can allow an educator to remain employed in a district on an temporary basis, until completing requirements to renew certification.