LPDC: How Ohio Educators Renew Licenses Through Local Professional Development Committees

What Is LPDC

A Local Professional Development Committee (LPDC) is a state-sanctioned body in Ohio that reviews and approves Individual Professional Development Plans (IPDPs) and completed coursework for educator license renewal. The Ohio State Board of Education authorizes LPDCs to operate at the district, educational service center, or diocesan level. Every educator holding a five-year professional license in Ohio must have their renewal activities approved by an LPDC before the license expires.

LPDCs verify that professional development meets state standards before the educator submits renewal documentation to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. Without LPDC approval, an educator cannot renew a professional license.

Districts with licensed staff must either operate their own LPDC or contract with an educational service center or neighboring district that maintains a state-approved committee. The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce publishes a registry of approved LPDCs, and districts may enter reciprocal agreements to share committee services.

Ohio License Renewal Requirements

A five-year professional educator license in Ohio requires 180 contact hours of approved professional development or 18 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) over the five-year cycle. Educators may substitute six semester hours of college coursework for 180 contact hours, or combine semester hours and CEUs. One semester hour equals 30 contact hours. One CEU equals 10 contact hours.

Educators must submit their completed IPDP and all documentation to the LPDC at least 120 days before the license expires. The LPDC reviews the plan to confirm that activities align with state standards and the educator's professional growth goals. If the committee denies approval, the educator must complete additional hours or resubmit corrected documentation before the expiration date.

The state does not accept partial completion. An educator who completes 150 contact hours cannot renew the license until the full 180 hours are verified and approved by the LPDC.

LPDC Membership and Authority

An LPDC must include at least five voting members. A majority must be classroom teachers, and at least one member must be an administrator. The committee is appointed by the district superintendent or ESC superintendent. Members must complete state training on Ohio standards for professional development and LPDC procedures before serving.

The LPDC has final authority to approve or deny professional development activities for license renewal. Educators may appeal denials to the State Board of Education, but the appeal process can extend beyond the license expiration date.

Step-by-Step LPDC Approval Process

The educator submits an Individual Professional Development Plan (IPDP) to the LPDC within the first year of the license cycle.

The LPDC reviews the plan to ensure proposed activities align with Ohio standards for professional development and the educator's licensure area.

The educator completes approved professional development activities over the five-year cycle and collects documentation: transcripts, CEU certificates, training rosters.

The educator submits the completed IPDP and all documentation to the LPDC at least 120 days before the license expires.

The LPDC reviews the submission, verifies completion of 180 contact hours or equivalent, and signs the approval form.

The educator submits the LPDC-approved form to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce to renew the license.

The 120-day submission deadline is non-negotiable. LPDCs typically meet monthly or quarterly, and late submissions may not be reviewed before the license expires.

Which Educators Need LPDC Approval

All holders of five-year professional educator licenses in Ohio must use an LPDC. This includes teachers, principals, and other licensed administrators. Educators with one-year, two-year, or four-year licenses do not require LPDC approval. Those licenses renew through college coursework verified by the issuing institution.

Educational service centers and BOCES that employ licensed staff must either operate their own LPDC or contract with another agency's LPDC. Failure to provide LPDC access prevents staff from renewing licenses.

A substitute teacher who holds a five-year professional license must complete LPDC approval for that license, even if the current position does not require it.

Where Districts Get This Wrong

Human resources staff assume the LPDC automatically tracks all professional development, but the educator is responsible for logging activities and submitting documentation. The LPDC reviews only what the educator submits.

Districts fail to remind staff of the 120-day submission deadline. Educators miss the cutoff, forcing emergency one-year renewals. A one-year renewal costs the same fee but requires the educator to complete the renewal process again in 12 months instead of five years.

Administrators approve in-service training without verifying that the provider is on the state-approved list, and the LPDC later rejects those hours. The educator must then repeat the training with an approved provider or find substitute hours before the deadline.

Central office does not maintain a calendar of staff license expiration dates. A lapsed license disqualifies the educator from employment until the license is reinstated. The district cannot retroactively pay the educator for time worked without a valid credential.

LPDCs meet infrequently or lack a submission portal, so educators submit paper packets that are lost or delayed. Both parties dispute responsibility while the expiration date passes.

Managing LPDC Compliance at Scale

Districts with 50 or more licensed staff cannot track LPDC renewals in a spreadsheet. The renewal cycles do not align, the documentation requirements change, and the LPDC meets on a fixed schedule that does not accommodate late submissions.

Solutionwhere maintains a roster of all licensed staff with expiration dates and sends automated reminders at 180 days and 120 days before expiration. The reminders include the educator's name, license number, expiration date, and instructions for submitting the IPDP to the LPDC. Human resources sets the reminder schedule once, and the system delivers notifications on time every cycle.

Educators upload IPDP documentation directly to their profile, and LPDC members review and approve submissions in the same platform. The submission is date-stamped, and both the educator and the committee have a permanent record of what was submitted and when. LPDC members add approval notes or request corrections without scheduling a meeting.

The system flags professional development providers that are not on the state-approved list before the educator submits hours to the LPDC. The provider database matches Ohio Department of Education and Workforce records, and the platform warns the educator if a training session will not count toward renewal.

Human resources exports a compliance report showing which staff have submitted plans, which have received LPDC approval, and which are overdue. The report includes license numbers, expiration dates, submission dates, and approval status. The export runs on demand or on a monthly schedule.

Regional service agencies use the platform to operate a shared LPDC for member districts, reducing duplicate committee meetings and inconsistent approval standards. The ESC tracks which districts use the shared LPDC and invoices each district for a proportional share of the service.

Responsible for tracking this across your staff? See how districts manage it in Solutionwhere.