English Learner Educator Professional Development Requirements

According to State Board of Education rule 1 CCR 301-37 7.02(11)(b-c), a district superintendent or principal of a charter school authorized by CSI may annually request a waiver from the English learner professional development requirements for educators presently employed in their district (or charter school) who hold an elementary, math, science, social studies or English language arts endorsement on a professional teacher license they are seeking to renew if the district or CSI charter school has had an average of 2% or fewer identified English language learners in the three years immediately preceding such request, as identified in the Department’s annual Student October Pupil Enrollment data collection.

This waiver process allows an educator to renew their license for one renewal period without completing the English language learner professional development requirements.

School districts and principals of CSI charter schools may apply for an ELPD waiver on behalf of their presently employed educators endorsed in elementary, math, science, social studies or English language arts if the district or school has an average of 2% or fewer identified English language learners in each of the three preceding school years based on October count data. The current waiver application is based on the K-12 October count data from the 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26 school years.  

Please refer to your K-12 October count data in the data pipeline in order to determine your district or CSI charter school’s eligibility. Note that charter schools authorized by a school district will utilize district data and the district waiver process.

You may review the eligibility list below to determine if your district or CSI charter school is eligible for the waiver. Eligibility was calculated using the following steps:

1. Added all categories of K-12 multilingual learners in your October count data from the 2023-24 school year (NEP, LEP, M1, and M2).

2. Divided your total number of K-12 multilingual learners by the total number of students in your district or CSI charter school. Multiply by 100. This will give you a percentage. Round the number to the nearest hundredth (two decimal places).

3. Checked to see that your percentage is 2.00% or fewer for the 2023-24 school year.  If it is 2.01% or higher, your program is not eligible for the waiver. If it is less than 2.01%, proceed to step 4.  

4. Repeated steps 1-3 with the school year 2024-25 data. If the % of MLL in 2024-25 is 2.01% or higher, your program is not eligible for the waiver. If that % is less than 2.01%, proceed to step 5.

5. Repeated steps 1-3 with the school year 2025-26 data. If the % of MLL in 2025-26 is 2.01% or higher, your program is not eligible for the waiver. If that percentage is less than 2.01%, proceed to step 6. 

6. Now the % of MLL in each of the past three school years has been calculated. If all three numbers were 2.00% or fewer, you are eligible to apply for a waiver.

The ELPD waiver is an annual process. Superintendents and CSI principals, not individual educators, may apply at any time but the approved waiver is only valid for the current calendar year. For instance, an application made on Sept. 1, 2024 will be valid for the 2024 calendar year, expiring on Dec. 31, 2024. An application made on Jan. 15, 2025 will be valid for the 2025 calendar year. An application must be made each year based on the last three years’ data from the data pipeline. For instance, applications made in 2025 would use 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25 school years.  

Districts or CSI charter schools that have met eligibility requirements will receive a waiver on behalf of their teachers. An educator may submit the approved waiver with their license renewal application in order to waive the ELPD designation requirement for that renewal cycle only. The waiver must be valid at the time the educator submits their renewal application, and the educator must currently be employed in the school or district holding a valid waiver. For example, a 2025 waiver would be valid only for renewal application submitted from Jan. 1, 2025 through Dec. 31, 2025.

Note that an ELPD waiver does not waive the ELPD requirement indefinitely for the license-holder, but only for that renewal period.

An educator who holds an elementary, math, science, social studies or English language arts endorsement on their professional teacher license must complete the English Learner professional development requirement or submit a waiver in order to renew, regardless of the content area(s) they are currently teaching. An endorsement may not be removed from a license to avoid satisfying this requirement.

For district superintendents and CSI charter school principals only: Upon review of the above eligible school district and CSI charter school lists, if you believe that your district or CSI charter is eligible for an ELPD waiver, you may apply for a district/CSI charter school ELPD waiver on behalf of your educators. Applications will be processed continuously. You can expect a response within 20 working days.

According to State Board of Education rule 7.02(11)(d), the leader of a nonpublic school annually may request a waiver from the English language learner professional development requirements for educators in their nonpublic school endorsed in elementary, math, science, social studies or English language arts if the nonpublic school has had an average of 2 percent or fewer identified English language learners in the three years immediately preceding such request. To demonstrate eligibility for the waiver, the nonpublic school must collect and submit data to the Colorado Department of Education for approval. The submission must include the school’s total K-12 enrollment, the number of K-12 non-English proficient students and the number of K-12 limited-English proficient students with equivalent data related to English language learners, as collected in the Department’s annual Student October Pupil Enrollment data collection.

This waiver process allows an educator to renew their license for one renewal period without completing the English language learner professional development requirements.

Nonpublic school leaders may apply for an ELPD waiver on behalf of their presently employed educators endorsed in elementary, math, science, social studies or English language arts if the school has an average of 2% or fewer identified English language learners in each of the three preceding school years based on the data submitted to the Department. The current waiver application is based on data collected from the 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26 school years.  

Nonpublic schools are responsible for collecting data from the past three years of data (2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26) in the form of an Excel spreadsheet that includes the following for each of the three years: the school’s total K-12 enrollment, the number of K-12 non-English proficient students, the number of K-12 limited-English proficient students, the number of K-12 FEP M1- Monitor Year 1, the number of K-12 FEP M2- Monitory Year 2, and equivalent data related to English learners, as collected in the Department’s annual Student October Pupil Enrollment data collection. Data must be calculated to show the nonpublic school has had an average of 2 percent or fewer identified English learners in the three years immediately preceding such a request. If a nonpublic school does not have data for the last 3 years, it is not eligible for this waiver.

Eligibility can be calculated by following the below steps:

1. Added all categories of K-12 multilingual learners in your data from the 2023-24 school year (NEP, LEP, M1, and M2).

2. Divided your total number of K-12 multilingual learners by the total number of students in your district or CSI charter school.  Multiply by 100. This will give you a percentage. Round the number to the nearest hundredth (two decimal places).

3. Checked to see that your percentage is 2.00% or fewer for the 2023-24 school year.  If it is 2.01% or higher, your program is not eligible for the waiver. If it is less than 2.01%, proceed to step 4.  

4. Repeated steps 1-3 with the school year 2024-25 data. If the % of MLL in 2024-25 is 2.01% or higher, your program is not eligible for the waiver. If that % is less than 2.01%, proceed to step 5.

5. Repeated steps 1-3 with the school year 2025-26 data. If the % of MLL in 2025-26 is 2.01% or higher, your program is not eligible for the waiver. If that percentage is less than 2.01%, proceed to step 6. 

6. Now the % of MLL in each of the past three school years has been calculated. If all three numbers were 2.00% or fewer, you are eligible to apply for a waiver.

The ELPD waiver is an annual process. Nonpublic school leaders, not individual educators, may apply at any time but the approved waiver is only valid for the current calendar year. For instance, an application made on Sept. 1, 2024 will be valid for the 2024 calendar year, expiring on Dec. 31, 2024. An application made on Jan. 15, 2025 will be valid for the 2025 calendar year. An application must be made each year based on the last three years’ data collected. 

Nonpublic schools that have collected equivalent October data and determined that they have met eligibility requirements, as reviewed by the department, will receive a waiver on behalf of their teachers. An educator may submit the approved waiver with their license renewal application in order to waive the ELPD designation requirement for that renewal cycle only. The waiver must be valid at the time the educator submits their renewal application, and the educator must currently be employed in the school or district holding a valid waiver. For example, a 2025 waiver would be valid only for renewal application submitted from Jan. 1, 2025 through Dec. 31, 2025.

Note that an ELPD waiver does not waive the ELPD requirement indefinitely for the license-holder, but only for that renewal period.

An educator who holds an elementary, math, science, social studies or English language arts endorsement on their professional teacher license must complete the English Learner professional development requirement or submit a waiver in order to renew, regardless of the content area(s) they are currently teaching. An endorsement may not be removed from a license to avoid satisfying this requirement.

For nonpublic school leaders only: Upon collection of equivalent October count data and determination of eligibility, if you believe that your nonpublic school is eligible for an ELPD waiver, you may apply for a nonpublic school ELPD waiver on behalf of your educators. Applications will be processed continuously. You can expect a response within 20 working days.