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Colorado teacher license renewal requires 90 contact hours, or six semester hours, of professional development during the seven years a professional license is valid. Within those 90 hours, every teacher needs at least 10 contact hours in special education and behavioral health. Teachers with an elementary, English, math, science, social studies or middle-level endorsement must also complete 45 contact hours of English Learner professional development, a one-time requirement that applies at renewals on or after September 1, 2025. This guide explains each rule and how districts can plan for them.
Table of contents
Executive Summary
Colorado extended professional license terms from five to seven years in 2021 (House Bill 21-1104). Renewal still rests on 90 contact hours of accepted professional development, but two specific requirements now sit inside that total.
The first, 10 hours of special education and behavioral health, applies to every renewal of a professional teacher license that expires on or after June 30, 2025. The second, 45 hours of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Education, applies once to most core content teachers and is now arriving at renewal time. For districts, the 45-hour requirement is the larger planning challenge, and also an opportunity to build English Learner capacity across content classrooms.
Key Takeaways
- Professional licenses are valid for seven years and renew with 90 contact hours or six semester hours.
- 1 semester hour = 15 contact hours; 1 quarter hour = 10; 1 CEU = 10.
- At least 10 of the 90 hours must cover special education and behavioral health, with at least one hour in each.
- Teachers with elementary, English, math, science, social studies or middle-level endorsements need 45 contact hours of English Learner PD, once in their career.
- The 45 hours count toward the 90; up to 10 hours of relevant work experience can count toward the 45.
- Teachers can document existing PD on CDE’s English Learner PD Standards Matrix or complete a CDE-approved 45-hour program.
What District Leaders Need to Know
- The 45-hour requirement is landing now. It applies at any renewal on or after September 1, 2025, for licenses with the listed endorsements.
- Districts can become approved programs. Districts, BOCES, charter schools and PD providers can apply to CDE to offer a 45-hour CLD program; approval is renewed every three years.
- Not all PD needs pre-approval. CDE pre-approves only full 45-hour programs; shorter PD can count if the teacher documents it against the standards.
- Waivers exist. In districts, or CSI-authorized charter schools, whose English Learner population has averaged 2 percent or less over three years, the superintendent or charter principal can request a waiver on behalf of individual teachers.
- CLD-endorsed teachers are exempt from the 45 hours, though they still need 90 renewal hours.
Funding Options
| Funding source | Eligible uses | How to access |
|---|---|---|
| Title II, Part A | Professional development for teachers, including CLD training | Formula grant through CDE |
| Title III, Part A | Supplemental PD for teachers of English Learners | Formula grant; supplement, not supplant |
| Title IV, Part A | PD on the effective use of technology | Formula grant through CDE |
| BOCES services | Shared CLD programs for small districts | Membership and service agreements |
See what Title II funds can be used for and what Title III funds can be used for.
District Benchmark
Take a district with 300 teachers who hold one of the listed endorsements and no CLD endorsement. Each needs 45 hours once: 13,500 hours across the staff. If renewals are spread evenly across the seven-year cycle, about 43 teachers a year reach renewal and need their 45 hours, roughly 1,900 hours a year.
A district that offers a sequence of CLD modules, documented against the standards, can help teachers reach 45 hours over two or three years instead of in the months before their license expires.
How Colorado Teacher License Renewal Works
Definition. Colorado teacher license renewal is the process of extending a professional teacher license for another seven years by documenting 90 contact hours (or six semester hours) of accepted professional development, including any required specialized hours, and applying through CDE’s online system.
| Requirement | Hours | Who | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accepted PD | 90 contact hours (6 semester hours) | All professional licenses | Every 7-year renewal |
| Special education and behavioral health | 10 of the 90, at least 1 in each | All teachers | Licenses expiring on or after June 30, 2025 |
| English Learner (CLD) PD | 45, within the 90 | Elementary, English, math, science, social studies, middle-level endorsements | Once, at renewal on or after September 1, 2025 |
The 45-Hour English Learner Requirement
Colorado’s State Board of Education adopted the requirement in 2018 to better serve English Learners in content classrooms. Teachers must demonstrate 45 clock or contact hours, or three semester hours, of professional learning aligned to CDE’s Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education standards.
There are two ways to meet it:
- Complete a CDE-approved English Learner PD program. Each approved program covers 45 contact hours and all required standards, and issues a single certificate for the renewal application.
- Document your own PD. Complete the English Learner PD Standards Matrix, showing how earlier training, coursework and up to 10 hours of relevant work experience address the standards.
The requirement is one-time: once met, it does not repeat at later renewals.
Colorado Renewal by the Numbers
- 7-year license term since HB 21-1104 (2021).
- 90 contact hours or 6 semester hours per renewal.
- 10 hours of special education and behavioral health per renewal, for licenses expiring on or after June 30, 2025.
- 45 hours of English Learner PD, once, for listed endorsements, from September 1, 2025.
- Up to 10 hours of relevant work experience may count toward the 45.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Consider a suburban district that maps its existing PD against the CLD standards and finds that its sheltered instruction workshops cover about 20 hours. It could add a second-year sequence on oral language and assessment for English Learners and a short module on family engagement. Teachers would document all three on the Standards Matrix and reach 45 hours before renewal, and content teachers would share a common set of English Learner strategies.
Common Mistakes
- Assuming the 45 hours are added on top of the 90; they count within it.
- Waiting until the renewal year to start the 45 hours.
- Forgetting the 10-hour special education and behavioral health requirement, which repeats every renewal.
- Collecting CLD hours that do not map to the required standards.
- Overlooking work experience that can count for up to 10 hours.
Recommended Actions
Immediate (this month)
- List teachers with listed endorsements who renew in the next two years and lack a CLD endorsement.
- Share the Standards Matrix and examples of qualifying PD.
Medium-Term (this year)
- Map district PD to the CLD standards and fill the gaps.
- Consider applying to CDE as an approved English Learner PD program, alone or through your BOCES.
Long-Term (strategy)
- Build a multi-year CLD pathway for new hires.
- Track English Learner outcomes in classrooms of teachers who completed the 45 hours.
Questions District Leaders Should Ask
- How many of our teachers still need the 45 English Learner hours, and when do they renew?
- Which of our existing PD offerings already map to the CLD standards?
- Should we become a CDE-approved program or partner with an existing one?
- How will we know whether the 45 hours changed classroom practice?
FAQ
How many hours do Colorado teachers need to renew their license?
90 contact hours or six semester hours of accepted professional development within the seven-year license term.
What is the Colorado 45-hour English Learner requirement?
Teachers with elementary, English, math, science, social studies or middle-level endorsements must complete 45 contact hours of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education PD once, at a renewal on or after September 1, 2025.
Do the 45 English Learner hours count toward the 90?
Yes. They are part of the 90 renewal hours, not in addition to them.
What is the 10-hour special education requirement in Colorado?
At least 10 of a teacher’s 90 hours must address special education and culturally responsive, trauma- and evidence-informed behavioral health, with at least one hour in each.
How long is a Colorado teaching license valid?
A professional teacher license is valid for seven years.
Related Resources
- Teacher Professional Development Requirements by State
- Minnesota Teacher License Renewal
- Massachusetts SEI Endorsement
- WIDA Levels Explained
- What Can Title II Funds Be Used For?
Conclusion
Colorado’s renewal rules now carry a clear message: every content teacher should know how to teach English Learners, and every teacher should understand special education and behavioral health. Districts that plan the 45 hours as a multi-year pathway, rather than a last-minute certificate, turn a licensing rule into lasting classroom capacity.
Sources: CDE, English Learner PD requirement for educators; CDE, Information for PD programs and providers; CDE, Special Education and Behavioral Health Renewal Requirements; CDE, Professional Development: General Accepted Activities (HB 21-1104); CDE, Professional License Renewal.
The Math Teacher and the Newcomer
A middle school math teacher gets a student who arrived last month and understands fractions perfectly but cannot yet explain them in English. We ask content teachers to teach the math and the language of math at once, usually without a co-teacher and with little time to practice new routines.
Colorado districts can meet the 45-hour requirement with sustained learning that teachers apply in class, documented against the CLD standards. Telo AI’s 15-hour course for a whole staff, AI for Every Teacher, is a broader example of that kind of learning: eight weeks with three live sessions, core modules on safe AI use, planning and feedback, an English Learner track on language objectives and speaking practice, and three classroom cycles. It is not a CDE-approved 45-hour program: teachers who count any of its hours toward the requirement document them on the Standards Matrix, and CDE evaluates them with the renewal application.
The newcomer does not need a teacher who speaks her language; she needs one who knows how to make room for it.
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