Act 48 Guidelines
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Professional Education Plan Guidelines
I. INTRODUCTION
Ensuring that all Pennsylvania children receive the high-quality education that they
deserve requires an effective teacher in every classroom and school and district leadership that is
focused on raising achievement. The Commonwealth’s educators – from the classroom teacher
to the district superintendent – are the most important components of Pennsylvania’s strategy for
educational success.
As professionals in an ever-changing knowledge-based society, the state’s educators are
required to continuously upgrade their skill-set – just as it is an expectation for lawyers and
doctors. Pennsylvania’s professional development law, known as Act 48 of 1999, describes the
requirements that apply to all certified educational professionals.
The professional education plan of each school entity shall be designed to meet the
education needs of that school entity and its professional employees, so that they may meet the
specific needs of students. Professional development must be based on sound research and
promising practices, and it must be part of an approved plan for building educators’ skills over
the long term.
Each school entity in Pennsylvania – including school districts, intermediate units, area
career and technical centers and charter schools, the Scotland School and the Scranton State
School for the Deaf – is required to submit a Professional Education Plan to the Pennsylvania
Department of Education. The Pennsylvania Department of Education will approve or reject
each plan; a plan that is rejected must be revised and resubmitted. The Professional Education
Plan sets out each school entity’s strategy for training school personnel at all stages of their
careers. School entities are required to examine their student-level data, determine their
professional education goals from the data, design an action plan with activities that meet their
identified needs, and then evaluate the effectiveness of the training.
All certified educators must then complete every five years 180 hours of professional
development that is related to an area of the professional educator’s assignment or certification
and, if the educator is employed by a school entity, complies with their school entity’s plan. The
180-hour requirement can be met with six college credits, six credits of continuing professional
education courses, 180 clock hours of continuing professional education, or any combination of
collegiate studies, continuing professional education courses or other programs, activities or
learning experiences equivalent to 180 hours. For the purposes of calculating hours and credits,
one credit of collegiate study or continuing professional education course is equivalent to 30
hours of continuing professional education.
This document is intended as a guide to help school entities and educators meet the
professional education requirements of Act 48 and – most importantly – continue their
professional growth in order to increase the achievement levels of the Commonwealth’s students.
II. PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION CRITERIA
In evaluating each school entity’s Professional Education Plan, the Department of
Education will determine whether plans meet the following criteria:
A. Professional development decisions are based on student needs and evaluated using
student data.
Approved professional development:
A1. Uses disaggregated student data to determine educators’ learning priorities
A2. Is evaluated to show its impact on teaching practice and student learning
B. Professional development activities have content that will increase student learning.
Approved professional development:
For classroom teachers, school counselors and education specialists:
B1. Enhances the educator’s content knowledge in the area of the educator’s
certification or assignment
B2. Increases the educator’s teaching skills based on research on effective practice,
with attention given to interventions for struggling students
B3. Provides educators with a variety of classroom-based assessment skills and the
skills needed to analyze and use data in instructional decision-making
B4. Empowers educators to work effectively with parents and community partners
For school and district administrators, and other educators seeking leadership roles:
B5. Provides the knowledge and skills to think and plan strategically, ensuring that
assessments, curriculum, instruction, staff professional education, teaching
materials and interventions for struggling students are aligned to each other as
well as to Pennsylvania’s academic standards
B6. Provides leaders with the ability to access and use appropriate data to inform
decision-making
B7. Empowers leaders to create a culture of teaching and learning, with an emphasis
on learning
B8. Instructs the leader in managing resources for effective results
C. Professional development is provided through a process that is most likely to result in
sustained school improvement.
Approved professional development:
C1. Is set out in a plan that is updated annually by the Act 48 Committee after the
committee critically evaluates the prior year’s
• student data,
• professional education activities, and
• the feedback/evaluation of those activities
C2. Is based on knowledge of adult learning styles
C3. Is tailored to each stage of an educator’s career, differentiating between the needs
of novice and experienced professionals
III. ALLOWABLE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION ACTIVITIES
In order to meet the Content criteria outlined in Section II, a school entity’s Professional
Education Plan must comply with the following:
Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Educators (including Special Education)
To receive Department approval, a school entity Professional Education plan must
include strategies for all classroom teachers to enhance their content area knowledge and
pedagogical skills, with particular attention to the needs of diverse learners who are below
proficient or below grade-level.
Content Area
All early childhood, elementary and secondary educators will be expected to
participate in content-specific professional development within their area of certification or
assigned work over the course of the Professional Education Plan. All teachers certified in
Special Education are encouraged to obtain at least half of their required hours for Act 48
in one or more academic content areas.
Examples of Acceptable Activities:
• Building knowledge of literacy, mathematics and science-specific content
• Building knowledge of specific content in other areas covered by the Pennsylvania
academic standards, for teachers who are assigned to those areas
• Curriculum development aligned with Pennsylvania standards
• Data analysis training (all aspects of assessment and evaluation)
Examples of Unacceptable Activities:
• Courses taken outside of an area of certification or work assignment, except for school
administration
• Any courses/programs for personal growth or an alternative career
• Repeat of awareness-level introductory courses, e.g., Introduction to Computers
• Teacher/parent student conferences, grade book analysis, and preparation of report cards
• Repeating a course or program unless it has significantly changed its focus or approach
Teaching Practices
All early childhood, elementary and secondary educators will be expected to
participate in professional development activities that advance high-quality classroom
instruction over the course of the Professional Education Plan.
Examples of Acceptable Activities:
• Training in assessing students and analyzing student data to implement effective change
in instruction
• Observing exemplary school and classroom practices and collaboratively designing
instructional strategies based on analysis of the observed experience
• Training to align and embed literacy, mathematics and science standards and
instructional strategies within other academic content areas
• Acquiring technology skills and designing strategies to integrate technology into the
instructional setting
• Creating shared lessons that help students learn specific skills that assessments identify
as weak or lacking
• Acquiring secondary strategies to increase student engagement and personalize learning
• Training in how to create safe and welcoming learning environments
• Improving understanding of the academic, social, emotional and physical needs of the
individual learner
• Developing knowledge and skills in how to involve families and other stakeholders in the
educational process
• Training in dealing with non-academic issues that may affect learning (grief counseling,
intervening in student-on-student harassment, etc.)
• School- or district-wide planning (strategic, professional development, induction, special
education, school improvement, technology and student support, wellness)
Examples of Unacceptable Activities:
• Instruction time, serving as a mentor or cooperating teacher
• Attending administrative faculty meetings with superintendent or principal
• Supervision of school field trips
• Tutoring
• Tours of school buildings
• Preparing and presenting college course lessons
• Extra curricular assignments (coaching or advising of sports, drama, debate, clubs or
student government)
Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners
All teachers certified in early childhood, elementary or secondary education
(including special education) should participate in continued education focused on
enhancing their ability to teach diverse learners in the least restrictive environment – with
a focus on students who are below proficient or below grade-level.
Such coursework may include diagnosing students’ educational needs, intervening for struggling students, making
appropriate accommodations and adaptations in curriculum, academic content and materials, and
studies about teaching limited English language learners.
Diverse learners are those students who because of limited English language proficiency
or disabilities may have academic needs that require varied instructional strategies to help them
learn. An inclusive setting is the placement of students with disabilities and English language
learners in a regular classroom setting.
Such coursework may include diagnosing students’ educational needs, intervening for
struggling students, making appropriate accommodations and adaptations in curriculum,
academic content and materials, and studies about teaching limited English language learners.
School and District Administrators
All Act 48 activity must meet the Pennsylvania Inspired Leadership (PIL) core
standards, as described in criteria B5 through B8.
Examples of Acceptable Activities:
• Training to facilitate staff analysis of student work
• Training related to strategies, curricula and programs that meet student academic needs
• Effective coaching practices for proven strategies that boost student performance
• Identifying the needs of student subgroups and effective strategies for meeting those
needs
• Training to implement state school improvement planning processes
• Collaborative work with parents and community partners to develop collective efforts
focused on the achievement rate of student subgroups
• School- or district-wide planning (strategic, professional development, induction, special
education, school improvement, technology and student support, wellness)
• Training on legal issues, governance and Board/Superintendent relationships
Examples of Unacceptable Activities:
• IU Superintendent meetings
• Equipment expositions
• Undefined off-site retreats
School Counselors
All elementary, middle and secondary school counselors will be expected to
participate in content-specific professional development applicable to their assigned level
of work over the course of the Professional Education Plan. This professional development
should include training based upon research of effective practices to build capacity to
address the needs of diverse learners who are below proficient or below grade-level – i.e.,
those who, because of gender, ethnic background, socioeconomic status, differing ability
levels, learning styles, limited English language proficiency or disabilities, may have
academic needs that require varied instructional strategies to help them learn.
Professional Development Options Applicable at All Levels (Pre-K – 12)
Examples of Acceptable Activities:
• Advocacy processes needed to address institutional and social barriers that impede
access, equity, and success for students
• Training that provides an understanding of the cultural context of relationships, issues
and trends in a multicultural, diverse society
• Study of developmental disorders
• Training to disaggregate data in relation to student achievement
• Working with instructional teams to develop curriculum/lesson plans
• Training that builds capacity to collaborate with teams of teachers, school leadership
and parents
• Design and implementation of a comprehensive, data-driven school counseling
program
• Training in the facilitation and evaluation of advisory programs
• Training that deals with special needs like homelessness, adolescent depression, etc.
• Career development program: planning, organization, implementation, administration and
evaluation
• School- or district-wide planning and team planning activities (strategic, professional
development, induction, special education, school improvement, technology, student
support, and wellness) with other professional employees, where those professional
employees are receiving Act 48 credit
Examples of Unacceptable Activities:
• Undefined counselor workshops
• Sheltered workshop visitation
• Undefined district meeting
• Sorting PSSA reports
• Undefined hot topics seminar
• Supervision of visits to career sites/colleges
• Career Day monitoring
• Parents Anonymous Meeting
• Community center evening work
• Undefined independent studies abroad
Educational Specialists, excluding School Counselors
Educational specialists, other than school counselors, must participate in professional
development activities that enhance their ability to meet the demonstrated needs of the students
and families they serve in order to increase the ability of students to succeed academically.
Content knowledge for education specialists may include training in how to reduce health
problems and prevent health risk behaviors that delay student learning.
Examples of Acceptable Activities:
• Identifying the health and social services needs and assets of students, families, schools
and communities by using various types of data
• Training to acquire health risk reduction and prevention strategies
• Study of school-based health programs at state and national levels
• Student Assistance Program training
• Learning how to implement school-wide programs and classroom management strategies
designed to improve student conduct
• Studies related to cross-organizational professional development on social and health
services issues
• Prevention training on contemporary health issues affecting school age children
• Training for emergency preparedness: CPR/AED training and certification updates
• Professional education programs that grant Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for
purpose of licensure
• School- or district-wide planning (strategic, professional development, induction, special
education, school improvement, technology and student support, wellness)
Examples of Unacceptable Activities:
• Independent studies
• Union related bargaining behavior studies