Montana School Psychologist Continuing Education Requirements
Review current Montana school psychologist license renewal requirements, professional development units, Class 6 Specialist licensure, NCSP recognition, approved professional learning, and online continuing education.
Montana School Psychologist Renewal at a Glance
Professional Development Units
Montana Class 6 Specialist License renewal requires 60 professional development units or an equivalent combination of PDUs and college credit.
Year License Period
Renewal PDUs must be earned during the five-year validity period of the license being renewed.
Recognized Licensure Pathway
A current Nationally Certified School Psychologist credential is specifically accepted as a pathway to Montana Class 6 School Psychologist licensure.
NASP Approved Provider status alone does not automatically make an outside course eligible for Montana OPI professional development units. The activity generally needs to be offered through an approved Montana professional development host or qualify through an applicable school-district or OPI approval process.
Montana School Psychologist Renewal Overview
How Are Montana School Psychologists Credentialed?
Montana school psychologists are licensed through the Montana Office of Public Instruction under the Class 6 Specialist License.
Montana provides three pathways for meeting the professional preparation requirement for a School Psychologist license.
One of those pathways is possession of a current Nationally Certified School Psychologist credential from NASP.
Montana Credential
Montana School Psychologist Licensure Pathways
Montana identifies three primary pathways for satisfying the professional preparation requirements for the Class 6 School Psychologist Specialist License.
Montana Requires 60 Professional Development Units
Renewal of a Montana Class 6 Specialist License requires 60 professional development units or an equivalent combination of PDUs and qualifying college or university credits.
Professional development submitted for renewal generally must have been completed during the five-year validity period of the license being renewed.
Montana allows educators to enter professional development into their Teach Montana educator record and upload completion certificates for documentation and potential audit.
Class 6 Renewal
College Coursework Can Be Combined With Montana PDUs
Montana allows qualifying college or university credit to be converted into professional development units and combined with other approved professional learning.
What Can Count Toward Montana Renewal?
Montana requires professional development activities used for license renewal to be planned and structured learning experiences.
The activity must benefit the educator's professional development and provide exposure to a new idea or skill or extend an existing professional idea or skill.
Professional learning must also satisfy the applicable Montana professional development standards and approval procedures.
Qualifying Learning
Do NASP-Approved Courses Automatically Count for Montana PDUs?
Montana operates its own professional development host and PDU approval system. NASP Approved Provider status does not automatically authorize an organization to issue Montana OPI PDU certificates.
NASP-approved courses may still be professionally relevant to Montana school psychologists, particularly because Montana expressly recognizes the NCSP for initial School Psychologist licensure.
However, an educator who wants to use an outside course for Montana license renewal should confirm that the activity can receive an official Montana PDU certificate through an approved provider, school district, or applicable OPI approval process.
NASP Approved Provider #1152
What If the Course Provider Is Not an OPI-Approved Provider?
Montana provides pathways for educators who want to complete professional learning from an organization that is not already approved to issue Montana PDUs.
In many cases, an educator may first check with the employing school district. Montana school districts may be approved PDU providers and may be able to review an outside professional development activity and issue an OPI professional development unit certificate when the activity satisfies Montana standards.
When an appropriate school-based provider is unavailable, Montana also maintains a Special Situations pre-approval process for qualifying professional learning from non-approved providers.
Can Montana School Psychologists Take Online CE Courses?
Yes. Montana allows approved professional development providers to offer online and asynchronous professional learning when the courses meet state professional development standards.
For asynchronous online courses, Montana requires a method for verifying the amount of time the participant spends in the course or the amount of time the course is designed to require.
Child & School Psychology CE provides structured asynchronous courses with tracked learner progress, instructional content, assessments, and documentation of completion. Montana educators should still confirm OPI PDU approval before using an outside course toward state license renewal.
Online CE for School Psychologists
Explore self-paced professional development in assessment, behavior, mental health, ethics, legal issues, data-based decision making, and school psychology practice.
Browse CE CoursesKeep Documentation of Montana Professional Development
Montana educators should maintain original documentation of professional development used toward renewal and may upload certificates to their Teach Montana educator record.
What If an Applicant Does Not Have Recent Professional Development?
Montana has a provisional pathway for certain school psychologist applicants whose professional credentials are no longer recent.
An applicant with an unrestricted expired out-of-state school psychologist license who has not earned 60 professional development units during the previous five years may be eligible for a Class 5C provisional specialist license.
The provisional license can permit employment as a school psychologist while the individual completes the 60 recent professional development units required for full licensure.
Class 5C
Montana Specifically Recognizes the NCSP
Montana expressly accepts a current NCSP as one pathway to Class 6 School Psychologist licensure. NCSP renewal requirements remain separate from Montana's 60-PDU Class 6 renewal requirement, although some professional development may support both credentials when independently accepted under each system.
Official Montana Licensing Information
School psychologist licensure and renewal requirements are administered by the Montana Office of Public Instruction. School psychologists hold a Class 6 Specialist License and generally need 60 professional development units or qualifying equivalents for renewal.
View Montana License Renewal Information ↗View Montana School Psychologist License Requirements ↗