SCECH: How Michigan Teachers Earn 150 Hours for Certificate Renewal, and How SCECH Compares With DPPD

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

SCECH stands for State Continuing Education Clock Hours, the professional learning hours Michigan teachers earn from programs approved by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE). To renew a Standard or Professional Teaching Certificate, a Michigan teacher needs 150 hours of education-related professional learning in each five-year cycle, earned through SCECHs, college credit or District Provided Professional Development (DPPD), which since July 1, 2020 counts only when it is awarded as SCECHs. This guide explains how SCECHs work, how they differ from DPPD, who can offer them, and how districts can plan renewal hours that also improve teaching.

Executive Summary

Michigan’s teaching certificates run on five-year cycles with unlimited renewals. Each renewal requires 150 hours of education-related professional learning, recorded in the Michigan Online Educator Certification System (MOECS). Teachers can earn those hours through SCECH programs offered by MDE-approved sponsors, through professional development their district provides as DPPD, which since July 1, 2020 must be entered in MOECS as SCECHs to count, or through college credit, at 25 hours per semester credit.

For districts, the practical question is not whether teachers can find 150 hours. It is whether those hours add up to a coherent plan. A district that designs sustained, job-embedded learning and awards it as SCECHs can cover much of the renewal requirement while working on its own priorities, including instruction for English Learners and the responsible use of AI.

Key Takeaways

• Michigan teachers need 150 hours of education-related professional learning to renew a Standard or Professional certificate.
• Hours can be SCECHs, college credit (1 semester credit = 25 hours), DPPD awarded as SCECHs, or any combination.
• Only MDE-approved SCECH sponsors can submit programs for SCECH credit; other providers work through an approved sponsor.
• Since July 1, 2020, DPPD counts toward renewal, hour for hour, only when the district or its sponsor enters it in MOECS as SCECHs.
• Renewal can be requested any time after January 1 of the year the certificate expires.
• Michigan has no separate English Learner hour quota for renewal, but districts must now meet state minimums for direct English language development instruction.

What District Leaders Need to Know

• DPPD is a planning lever. Professional development the district provides can count toward renewal when the district, its ISD or a district consortium awards it as SCECHs, so a well-designed district plan reduces the hours teachers chase on their own.
• Sponsorship is regulated. SCECH programs must come from an approved sponsor and be submitted through MOECS by a SCECH coordinator.
• Records matter. All hours must be entered in MOECS before the teacher applies, or the system will not recognize eligibility.
• Content should match the certificate. SCECHs and DPPD hours must be appropriate to the content and grade level of the certificate and endorsement.
• English Learner capacity is a growing priority. In 2025-26, Michigan began requiring a minimum number of minutes per week of direct English language development instruction, set by MDE program models. Since July 2026, section 1280h of the Revised School Code (MCL 380.1280h) ties those minimums to the state’s weighted foundation payments. That makes EL-focused professional learning a natural use of DPPD time.

Funding Options

For a detailed list of Title II uses, see what Title II funds can be used for, and for English Learner programs, what Title III funds can be used for.

District Benchmark

Take a district with 200 certificated teachers. At 150 hours per five-year cycle, its staff must log 30,000 hours of professional learning per cycle, about 6,000 hours a year.

If the district provides 15 hours of structured learning per teacher per year and awards them as SCECHs, it covers 75 of each teacher’s 150 hours, half the requirement, while steering that time toward its own goals. The remaining hours become a choice for teachers rather than a scramble before the certificate expires.

What Is a SCECH?

Definition. A SCECH (State Continuing Education Clock Hour) is one hour of professional learning in a program approved by MDE and offered by an approved SCECH sponsor. One SCECH equals one professional learning hour toward certificate renewal or progression.

Approved sponsors and the catalog of SCECH offerings are listed in MOECS. After a program, the sponsor’s coordinator uploads participants to MOECS, and each educator completes the program evaluation there; the SCECHs are awarded once the evaluation is done.

SCECH vs DPPD

Both count toward the 150 hours, DPPD from after July 1, 2020 only once it is entered as SCECHs, and teachers can combine them with college credit. The right mix depends on what the district already provides and how well it documents it.

How to Renew a Michigan Certificate With SCECHs

1. Check your expiration date in MOECS and your certificate type.
2. Total your hours already recorded: SCECHs, DPPD and college credit.
3. Fill the gap with programs appropriate to your content and grade level, using the SCECH catalog or district offerings.
4. Confirm uploads. Make sure each sponsor has entered the hours in MOECS and that you have completed each program evaluation.
5. Apply for renewal in MOECS any time after January 1 of the expiration year.

Who Can Be a SCECH Sponsor?

MDE approves SCECH sponsors that fall into defined categories, such as schools and educational entities that employ certified educators, and educational organizations that work directly with Michigan schools to meet the needs of PK-12 students. Each sponsor names a coordinator who submits program applications and uploads participants in MOECS.

Organizations outside those categories cannot submit a SCECH program directly. They can offer their program through an existing approved sponsor, such as an intermediate school district (ISD). For districts, this means an outside provider’s course can carry SCECHs if an approved sponsor submits it, or can count as DPPD if the district provides it to its own staff and awards it as SCECHs.

SCECH and Renewal by the Numbers

• 150 hours of education-related professional learning per renewal (MDE).
• 5-year validity per renewal, with unlimited renewals for Standard and Professional certificates.
• 1 semester credit = 25 professional learning hours; 1 SCECH = 1 hour; 1 DPPD hour = 1 hour.
• Renewal applications open January 1 of the expiration year.

What This Looks Like in Practice

Consider a district with a growing newcomer population that sets one PD priority for the year: helping content teachers support English Learners. It could schedule monthly 90-minute sessions plus two classroom cycles in which teachers try a strategy and bring back student work, and award the hours as SCECHs through its DPPD program in MOECS.

By June, each participating teacher would have about 15 hours toward renewal, all tied to a district goal, and the district would have evidence of what changed in classrooms. Teachers who want more could still choose SCECH courses that fit their own interests.

Common Mistakes

1. Waiting until the expiration year to count hours.
2. Assuming hours were uploaded; hours missing from MOECS are not recognized when the teacher applies.
3. Choosing hours that do not match the content or grade level of the certificate.
4. Running district PD without entering it in MOECS as SCECHs, so those hours cannot count toward renewal.
5. Treating renewal as a compliance exercise disconnected from the district’s instructional goals.

Recommended Actions

Immediate (this month)

• Confirm who enters DPPD as SCECHs in MOECS and how often.
• Send teachers a one-page guide to SCECH, DPPD and their expiration dates.

Medium-Term (this year)

• Build a district PD calendar that delivers 10 to 15 DPPD hours per teacher on one priority.
• Partner with your ISD to carry SCECHs for any outside course you adopt.

Long-Term (strategy)

• Align renewal hours with the district’s improvement plan and English Learner program goals.
• Track whether PD hours translate into changes in classroom practice.

Questions District Leaders Should Ask

• How many of our teachers renew in the next 18 months, and how many hours do they still need?
• What share of our PD is awarded as SCECHs?
• Which outside courses do our teachers take, and do they serve district priorities?
• How much of our PD addresses English Learners, now that the state applies specific EL requirements?

FAQ

What does SCECH stand for?

State Continuing Education Clock Hours: professional learning hours approved by the Michigan Department of Education and offered by approved sponsors.

How many SCECHs do I need to renew my Michigan teaching certificate?

You need 150 hours of education-related professional learning per renewal. They can be SCECHs, college credit, DPPD awarded as SCECHs, or a combination.

What is the difference between SCECH and DPPD?

SCECHs come from MDE-approved sponsors. DPPD is professional development provided by your employing district; since July 1, 2020, it counts toward renewal only when the district or its sponsor awards it as SCECHs in MOECS.

How do I check my SCECH hours?

Log in to MOECS, where sponsors upload completed hours, and complete each program evaluation so the SCECHs are awarded. Ask the sponsor’s coordinator if a program you completed does not appear.

Can a private company offer SCECHs?

Only through an approved SCECH sponsor, unless the organization itself qualifies and is approved as a sponsor by MDE.

How do I earn SCECHs in Michigan?

Attend professional learning offered by an MDE-approved SCECH sponsor, such as an ISD, a district or a university. The sponsor awards the hours in MOECS, which also lists approved sponsors and the SCECH Catalog of approved programs (MDE, SCECH Overview).

>Related Resources

• Teacher Professional Development Requirements by State
• Minnesota Teacher License Renewal
• Pennsylvania Act 48
• Professional Development Topics for Teachers
• What Can Title II Funds Be Used For?

Conclusion

Michigan gives districts an unusual amount of room: professional development a district provides can count toward renewal when the district awards it as SCECHs. Districts that use that room deliberately turn 150 required hours into a sustained plan for better teaching, rather than leaving teachers to collect unrelated workshops before a deadline.

Sources: MDE, Professional Teaching Certificate Renewal; MDE, SCECH Overview; MDE, SCECH Sponsor Manual; MDE, DPPD program guidance; MDE, DPPD FAQ; Chalkbeat Detroit, Michigan’s new requirements for teaching English learners, September 2025; Michigan Legislature, MCL 380.1280h.

Hours Logged Versus Practice Changed

Every spring, some teachers discover they are short of hours and fill the gap with whatever course fits the calendar. We ask teachers to keep growing while they teach full days, and then let renewal become a separate errand. Even the most committed teacher cannot turn a scattered list of workshops into a change in practice.

Some districts are responding by choosing one sustained course that teachers apply in their own classrooms and awarding it as SCECHs. Telo AI’s 15-hour course for a whole staff, AI for Every Teacher, is one example: over eight weeks, four core modules, a two-module track for each teacher, including one for English Learners, three live sessions and three classroom cycles in which teachers try each routine with their students and bring back evidence. Whether its hours count toward renewal depends on whether the district, its ISD or another approved sponsor awards them as SCECHs.

The hours that matter most are the ones a teacher can still see in her classroom a year later.