School Counselor Reissue and Renewal

This page contains reissue and renewal information for Educational Staff Associates (ESAs) who hold or Held Residency, Professional, and Continuing Certificates.

If you have an expired Initial ESA School Counselor certificate, please visit the Converting Initial to Residency ESA webpage.

If you are looking for information on how to upgrade to a second-tier certificate, please visit the Upgrade from Residency to Professional ESA webpage.

Reissue

This application is for individuals with an undated Residency ESA (First Issue) certificate who have completed two years of service in the role, or whose first Residency ESA certificate was issued with an expiration date, but they have not yet served two years in the role. 

• Must complete two years IN THE ROLE in Washington since issuance of the Residency ESA (First Issue) certificate

OR

• Hold a Residency ESA Certificate originally issued with a five-year expiration date, but did not complete two years of service IN THE ROLE in Washington. The certificate may be reissued with no defined expiration date. Contact our office for further information regarding this process.
• Submission of fingerprints for a background check is required if a valid certificate is not already on record

The reissued certificate is valid for five years from the time the two years of service in the role in Washington have been completed, regardless of when the application is submitted. 

NOTE: Serving in the role for any amount of time within a single school year counts as a full year of service to meet reissuance requirements.

ESA Renewal

This renewal application is for those who have already had their Residency ESA School Counselor certificate reissued with a defined expiration date and/or need to renew their Residency, Professional, or Continuing ESA certificate

• Submission of fingerprints for a background check is required if a valid certificate is not already on record
• For the first renewal, must attest to completion of a course or coursework on issues of abuse and emotional or behavioral distress in students; For more information, see WAC 181-79A-200
• Must attest to completion of a suicide prevention training approved by the Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) or Washington State Department of Health within the previous five years (Form 4020S) 

• Must complete 100 clock hours or equivalent college credits or Professional Growth Plans (PGP), or a combination of any of the three options; 

  • For certificates with a validity period of five years or more, all continuing education credit hours for renewal must be completed after the issue date of the most recent certificate due for renewal. 

  • For certificates with a validity period of less than five years or those that have expired, continuing education credit hours for renewal must be completed within the five years preceding the renewal application submission date.​​​​

OR

• Educators may use hours earned to renew their Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) certificate from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) towards meeting the 100 clock hours for renewing their ESA certificate;

OR

• Educators may use one of the following valid national licenses in place of approved clock hours for renewal: 
  • American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology (CCC-A) or Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP) 
  • Nationally Certified School Psychologist license (NCSP)
  • National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certificate 

NOTE: ESAs applying to renew an expired certificate must submit documentation of completed clock hours or equivalents to the OSPI Professional Certification Department for review with their application. 

NOTE: Applications for certificate renewal may not be submitted more than five years prior to the current certificate expiration date. 

Clock Hour Equivalents: 

1 quarter credit = 10 clock hours 

1 semester credit = 15 clock hours 

1 PGP (as of 7/1/2018) = 25 clock hours 

For PGP information and resources, please visit the Professional Educator Standards Board. 

Educator Clock Hour Information 

LICENSE HOURS NOTE: Educators may count continuing education units (CEUs) they completed to satisfy the renewal requirements for their applicable state professional health license towards fulfilling the continuing education credit hour requirement (clock hour equivalents) for their certificate renewal. Please see ESA Clock Hour Information for details.

NOTE: If an educator has not yet met the requirements to renew their expired Residency, Professional, or Continuing ESA certificate, they may be eligible for a Transitional ESA Certificate. 

Apply

If you have all the necessary documentation to apply for this certificate, log in to: E-Certification