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Administrator Licenses

Under Wis. Admin. Code PI 34, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction issues the following administration licenses.  The developmental level for all of these licenses is Early Childhood through Adolecence (EC-A), which corresponds to ages Birth – 21 and grades PK – 12.

Licenses Developmental Level
Principal EC-A
School District Administrator or Superintendent
Director of Instruction
Director of Special Education and Pupil Services
School Business Administrator
Career and Technical Education Coordinator
Reading Specialist
Instructional Library Media Supervisor
Instructional Technology Coordinator
Instructional Program Coordinator, including:
  • Dean of Students
  • School to Work
  • Gifted and Talented
  • Title I
  • Children-at-risk
Non-instructional Program Coordinator, including:
  • Personnel
  • Research
  • Standards and Assessment
  • Athletics and co-curricular programs
  • School network administrator
  • Public relations
  • Other non-instructional positions as determined by local districts

Degree and Experience Requirements

Unless otherwise specified, applicants for licenses in the category of administration must have:

  1. Completion of a state-approved educator preparation program in the licensure area.
  2. A minimum of master’s degree or the equivalent. Superintendent license requires a specialist degree or equivalent; program coordinator licenses require a bachelor’s degree.
  3. A valid or eligibility to hold a Professional Educator License in teaching or pupil services. School business administrator and program coordinator licenses are waived from this requirement.
  4. Three years of successful full-time classroom teaching experience, or three years of successful experience as pupil services professional including 540 hours of classroom teaching experience. School business administrator and program coordinator licenses are waived from this requirement.

Licenses Issued Prior to July 2004

Five-year administrator licenses that were issued before Wis. Admin. Code PI 34 took effect in 2004 might have been issued for a position and/or grade level that are not listed above. Upon applications, these 5-year administrator licenses will be renewed as Professional Educator License. However, in some cases the position and/or grade level will remain as they were.

Submit questions and comments about this information to the Licensing Online Help desk.