Indiana Professional Growth Plan

What the PGP Actually Requires

Indiana's Professional Growth Plan is the mechanism for renewing and upgrading your teaching license. The specific requirements depend on where you are in the licensing progression.

The PGP is not a single test or course. It's a point-based system where you accumulate professional development credits over the life of your license. For active district employees, the school corporation's licensing advisor signs off on the completed points in LVIS 360.

From Initial Practitioner to Proficient Practitioner

When you first earn your teaching license in Indiana, you receive a two-year Initial Practitioner License. Converting it to the five-year Proficient Practitioner License requires one of two paths:

Path 1: The 40-Point PGP. Accumulate 40 professional growth points during your two-year Initial Practitioner term. Points come from graduate coursework, professional development workshops, mentoring activities, and educational leadership work. Your building administrator and school corporation verify the points in LVIS.

Path 2: IMAP Completion. The Indiana Mentor and Assessment Program pairs first-year teachers with experienced mentors assigned by their school district. Your mentor guides you through a structured induction process, and the district conducts annual evaluations to verify IMAP completion. When the IDOE receives confirmation from your district, the conversion is processed in LVIS.

Most new teachers complete IMAP through their hiring district because the mentorship support is built into the school's onboarding process. If your district doesn't offer IMAP or you're working in a charter or private school without a formal program, the 40-point PGP route is your alternative.

Renewing the Five-Year Proficient Practitioner License

Once you hold the Proficient Practitioner License, renewal requires either:

• 90 Professional Growth Points accumulated over the five-year term, or
• 6 graduate credit hours from an accredited institution

The 90-point option is more flexible. Points can come from workshops, conferences, committee work, curriculum development, and other professional activities. Your school corporation's licensing advisor verifies and signs off on the points in LVIS 360.

The 6-credit-hour option works well if you're pursuing a master's degree or additional endorsements anyway — graduate coursework double-counts toward both your degree and your renewal requirement.

The Early Literacy Endorsement Renewal Cliff

Under Senate Enrolled Act 1 (2024), K-5 and special education teachers whose licenses expire on or after July 1, 2027, must add the Early Literacy Endorsement to qualify for standard renewal. This requires completing approved Science of Reading coursework and passing the Praxis 5205 Teaching Reading exam with a minimum score of 159.

The IDOE is currently funding free Keys to Literacy coursework to help teachers earn this endorsement. Enrollment is open from July 1, 2026, through June 1, 2027. If you teach K-5 or special education and your license renewal is approaching, this is a window you don't want to miss.

Teachers whose licenses expire on or after July 1, 2027 and who haven't earned the endorsement may receive a temporary one-year waiver extension on a case-by-case basis under IC 20-28-5-19.8, but that's not a path you want to rely on.

How PGP Points Work in Practice

Points aren't standardized across the state — your school corporation's professional development committee sets local policies for what qualifies and how many points each activity earns. However, most districts follow these general categories:

• Graduate coursework: points are assigned under the applicable PGP rules
• Professional development workshops: points vary by the activity and applicable local policy
• Educational leadership: curriculum committee work, mentoring other teachers
• Conference attendance: state and national education conferences

The key is documentation. Every activity needs evidence — transcripts, certificates, sign-in sheets — so your school corporation can verify the points in LVIS. Your building administrator reviews the documentation and your school corporation signs off before the IDOE processes the renewal.

Charter School License Conversion (SB 204)

If you hold a Charter School License, SB 204 (enacted 2026) created a new conversion route to a standard Professional Educator License. The requirements: two consecutive years of effective teaching ratings signed by a school administrator, passing content-area exams, and completion of all mandatory safety trainings.

This is a significant change for charter school educators who previously had no direct path to a standard license without enrolling in additional preparation programs.

The Indiana Teacher Certification Guide includes the full PGP point calculation framework and maps the conversion requirements for every license type in the Indiana system.

See more Indiana guides →