Continuing Education Requirements for TSE Public School Teachers

Maintaining compliance with continuing education requirements is important for safety and to uphold high professional standards in OSPI-administered traffic safety education programs.

Traffic Safety Education (TSE) is one of the very few subject areas that require continuing education coursework specific to the endorsed subject matter. It is important to know how to remain compliant to continue delivering TSE instruction. However, it can be confusing to determine the regulations for continuing education. The requirements are not a one-size-fits-all solution, given the variety of certificates and licenses and their respective renewal standards.

Continuing Education Requirements

There are five types of continuing education requirements that pertain to TSE teachers in the public schools, depending upon the type of certificate/license you hold. Find your particular category below:

Certified Teachers with a Traffic Safety Education Endorsement
- 40 approved clock hours (or 4 university credits) of TSE-related coursework is required every 5 years. This can include the 100 hours/10 credits required every 5 years to renew a continuing, residency, or professional teaching certification.
- The district's superintendent or designee is responsible for monitoring compliance with this requirement and reporting it to OSPI (just like checking the driving abstracts annually is also her/his duty).
- It is the teacher's responsibility to maintain compliance by completing the required coursework in a timely manner. If you do not complete the continuing education requirement, you automatically lose the ability to teach TSE legally. Teaching without maintaining continuing education requirements constitutes a willful act of unprofessional conduct. That is a serious thing with serious implications. OSPI's certification department will not remind you or automatically revoke your TSE endorsement or your teaching certificate if you fail to meet requirements. Your teaching certification becomes invalid only if you do not renew your teaching certificate before the expiration date, or it is revoked/suspended due to a ruling by the Office of Professional Practice (OPP) from a finding of unprofessional conduct. You are subject to having your records audited by DOL, OSPI, or both.*
Lifetime Certificate Teachers with a Letter of Approval to Teach TSE
- Must comply with the same TSE continuing education requirement above, even if not otherwise required to complete continuing education to maintain a teaching certificate. This is out of the norm. But remember, these requirements apply to TSE under Chapter 28A.220 RCW (Traffic Safety) and WAC 392-153, not to teacher certification.
Conditional Instructors (BTW or Classroom)
- 60 hours of TSE-related coursework is required every 2 years (12 of which must be approved clock hours). Verifiable by a Form SPI 1125 that you receive from an OSPI-approved clock-hour provider, such as WTSEA. The other 48 hours can be project-related or other coursework approved in advance by your TSE coordinator (if the superintendent has designated the coordinator as the authorizing agent). You are subject to having your records audited by DOL or OSPI or both.* (At the time of this memo, It isn't completely clear what documentation is necessary to support this in case of an audit; the best advice is to check with OSPI before engaging in any project-based coursework in your district. Approved courses include DOL examiner training, SPED/Neurodivergent teaching methods training, de-escalation training, technology classes, first-aid courses (only once every 3 years), etc. TSE projects can be curriculum development/revision, drafting lesson plans/route plans, etc.
Commercial Driver Training School DOL-Licensed Instructors Who Are also an OSPI- Certified or Conditional TSE Public School Teachers
- Falls under the above respective requirements. The DOL rules do not govern continuing education requirements when teaching traffic safety in a public school. You are subject to having your records audited by DOL, OSPI, or both.*
Commercial Driver Training School DOL-Licensed Instructors Under Contract with a Public School
- A school district may contract with a commercial driver training school to provide the BTW lessons only. (This is not currently allowed for classroom instruction.) In this case, the teacher is employed by a driving school, not the school district, and teaches under a DOL-issued license. Thus, the DOL's continuing education requirements apply. View the requirements.
- All OSPI instructional requirements under RCW 28A.220 and WAC 392-153 (such as concurrency/integration scheduling standards, BTW observation standards, etc.) must be met. The DOL rules do not govern teaching requirements when such a teacher is teaching TSE in a public school. You are subject to having your records audited by DOL, OSPI, or both.*

*Note: While OSPI is the agency having oversight over the public school TSE programs, DOL is the agency assigned auditing authority for the annual audits. OSPI will rarely request documentation for continuing education compliance unless fraud is suspected. Beginning in September 2026, DOL will conduct audits to ensure compliance with continuing education requirements. TSE teachers are advised to have their documentation file ready for their next audit.

When is Documentation Required?

There are three different times when you might be asked to show documentation proving compliance with TSE CE requirements:

Your District Superintendent may request it to certify compliance with the requirements for the annual program approval form to OSPI. This is up to the Superintendent. Check with your TSE Coordinator.
When your teaching certification renews, you will need to report your continuing education coursework to the Certification Department at OSPI. However, you rarely need to show the actual completion certificates or transcripts. Reporting your coursework on the honor system usually suffices.
DOL may request documentation of your TSE CE coursework at an annual audit of your TSE program.

How is Documentation Obtained and Processed?

Each time you attend a WTSEA-sponsored workshop/conference. You must also sign in/out at the workshop/conference, and return the evaluation form. At that time, a copy of the official clock-hour form (FORM SPI 1125) that certifies your credit will be handed to you. Fill it out, sign it, and keep it in your permanent file as proof of earning the clock-hour credit. Never give the original copy to anyone (such as OSPI or your school district) who may require proof of attendance. Unlike the ESDs, WTSEA does not send you a transcript each year listing the clock hours you have earned; we do not maintain a database of each instructor's clock hours. This is your responsibility. But if you properly registered, paid, and complied with attendance procedures and misplaced your FORM SPI 1125, WTSEA can send a duplicate form upon request.
For the purposes of your certificate renewal. Enter the coursework information and hours as they are completed in the professional development section of the e-certification system. (There is also a hard copy form OSPI-form #1547, available on the OSPI website.) You do not need to submit the FORM SPI 1125 document or any other certificate of completion. Keep all original copies for your records in case of an audit.
For the purposes of your annual DOL audit. The DOL is the designated authority responsible for conducting TSE compliance audits and may request documentation to ensure that all instructors are qualified to teach driver training. Make sure you have the proper documentation ready for your annual audit.

What Documentation is Required?

These are the documents necessary to certify that you are qualified in traffic safety education:

Current, valid teaching certification showing your TSE credentials
5-year complete driving abstract is required annually
Original copies of TSE continuing education completion certificates, transcripts, and/or SPI 1125 forms

Keep an up-to-date file ready and accessible. Organize these by dates, with the most recent docs at the top. A backup electronic file on an external hard drive or flash drive is also wise.

An audit of your TSE program by DOL is not the same thing as an audit by OSPI Certification of your certificate renewal documentation. Acceptable forms of documentation include:

College transcripts (You are encouraged to get approval from your district superintendent, TSE coordinator, or OSPI before enrolling in a course.)
Form SPI 1125 from an approved clock-hour provider
Attendance or completion certificates for TSE coursework sponsored by entities that are not OSPI-approved clock hour providers (Such as a certificate from an ADTSEA-sponsored online course)
To be assured of acceptance of other course completion documentation, check with OSPI before registering for and taking a course. Pre-approval is required.

WTSEA and any other approved clock-hour providers cannot offer clock hours for attendance in a course/workshop/conference after the fact. There are strict requirements for record-keeping and prior approval. Because of these administrative requirements and the demand of time to ensue proper procedures, WTSEA only offers clock hours for limited live workshops and conferences in which one of our officers can attend.

Documentation for a Teaching Certificate Renewal may differ from that for TSE CE. OSPI's certification department has higher requirements than continuing education under WAC 392-153-020 and 021. Only a college transcript or a Form SPI 1125 is acceptable for a teaching certificate renewal under chapter 28A.410 RCW. This is the same documentation your school district will require in order to advance on the salary scale. Check with your school district and OSPI to be certain which alternative documentation is acceptable.

Clock hours from another state or national conference. Because an OSPI-approved clock-hour provider can't always be present, and because TSE-specific courses are not always available in Washington, OSPI/DOL will usually accept TSE coursework taken elsewhere. But remember, this is for your TSE continuing education requirement, not for teacher certification renewal requirements. OSPI/DOL will accept online courses from ADTSEA. No preapproval required. Checking with OSPI ahead of time for other courses is important.

Annual TSE program approval by OSPI is contingent upon the district's responsibility to "provide verification of compliance with the provisions of this chapter," which includes certifying that all instructors/teachers remain "qualified teachers of driver training education" by meeting all applicable requirements. If you do not maintain your continuing education requirements, you endanger the district's TSE program because OSPI can suspend program approval and DOL can decertify your program, denying access to the DRIVES portal. Further, it is a violation of professional conduct standards for you teach TSE if you haven't maintained your CE requirement and continue to teach TSE in disregard of this stipulation. Doing so is illegal and puts your whole teaching career in jeopardy. If a crash occurs and someone is killed or injured, this will be a huge liability risk for you and the district. Moreover, the superintendent's certificate may also be in jeopardy for having provided assurance of compliance to OSPI via the annual TSE program approval form.

Opportunities for Clock Hours

It can be challenging to find opportunities to meet your continuing education requirements because they must be specific to the field of traffic safety education. The best way to stay in compliance and remain abreast of best practices in TSE is to be a member of one or more of the following professional associations:

The simplest way to meet the continuing education requirement is to be a WTSEA-ADTSEA member and to attend at least one TSE-related workshop or conference per year. WTSEA is an OSPI-approved clock hour provider and typically offers 8 clock hours at our annual conference. WTSEA offers clock hours as a service at no charge to current members only. Dues must be paid at renewal time and are good for one year.

In addition, WTSEA usually offers clock hours for other TSE-related conferences/workshops in Washington or Oregon (even if sponsored by ODOT, the DOL, or PDSAW), if we have an officer in attendance. We also offer clock hours for attendance at the annual ADTSEA conference. If you are a WTSEA-ADTSEA member and receive clock hours from us or ADTSEA, your clock hours will be accepted by both OSPI and DOL. You may have to check in and out at both registration tables to get the appropriate documentation. WTSEA will not approve clock hours for general professional development courses, first aid, or other courses offered by a school district or ESD because we cannot monitor the coursework. WTSEA does not approve clock hours when a school district or ESD is an approved clock hour provider and is sponsoring the training. We can only approve courses when we can verify attendance by having an officer present. Therefore, we do not approve online-only coursework. OSPI may. Check with the OSPI TSE Program Supervisor.

Contact Information

This memo is offered by WTSEA for information purposes only. For any official interpretation of the rules and procedures pertaining to TSE continuing education requirements for public-school teachers, please contact OSPI:

Mindy Smith, Program Supervisor
Student Transportation and Traffic Safety Education
Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)  
Phone: 360-725-6121
Cell: 360-664-3631
mindy.smith@k12.wa.us

Legal References

RCW 28A.220.030(3)(a)
A qualified teacher of driver training education must be certificated under chapter 28A.410 and obtain a traffic safety endorsement or a letter of approval to teach traffic safety education from the superintendent of public instruction to teach either the classroom instruction or the behind-the-wheel instruction portion of the driver training education course, or both, under rules adopted by the superintendent. The classroom or behind-the-wheel instruction portion of the driver training education course may also be taught by instructors certified under rules adopted by the superintendent of public instruction, excluding any requirement that the instructor be certified under chapter 28A.410.
RCW 28A.220.030(3)(b)
The superintendent shall establish a required minimum number of hours of continuing traffic safety education for traffic safety education instructors.
RCW 28A.220.030(4) The board of directors of a school district, or combination of school districts, may contract with any driver training school licensed under chapter 46.82 to teach the behind-the-wheel instruction portion of the driver training education course. Instructors provided by any such contracting driver training school must be properly qualified teachers of driver training education under the joint qualification requirements adopted by the superintendent of public instruction and the director of licensing.
WAC 392-153-020 Certified Teacher
- If you are a teacher certificated under provisions of chapter 28A.410, you can qualify for a traffic safety endorsement or letter of authorization issued by the superintendent of public instruction to teach the classroom or laboratory phases if you meet the following requirements:
  - Possess a valid Washington state driver's license (or a valid license issued by another state, provided you are a legal resident of that state).
  - Provide a current satisfactory driving record to the employing school district on an annual basis.
  - Complete twelve quarter hours (or eight semester hours) of approved coursework.
  - Provide verification to the office of the superintendent of public instruction that the employing school district has determined that you comply with all of the requirements set forth in this chapter.
- If you were endorsed by the superintendent of public instruction to teach traffic safety education in the state of Washington prior to May 27, 1969, and you possess a conditional certificate but do not hold a validteaching certificate under chapter 28A.410, you can continue to be qualified to teach both classroom and laboratory phase, provided you continue to meet all conditional certificate requirements. (WAC 392-153-021)
- The coursework requirement to maintain a traffic safety education endorsement or letter of approval is forty clock hours every five years.
WAC 392-153-021 (3) Conditional Certificate Holder
A behind-the-wheel or classroom conditional certificate is valid for up to two years. The superintendent of public instruction may reissue the conditional certificate if you provide verification that you continue to meet all requirements of this chapter, including having completed sixty hours of coursework within the previous two years. However, for the purpose of reissue, the employing school district superintendent (or designee) may approve up to 48 of the 60 hours, including credit for professional development courses or traffic safety education-related projects.
WAC 392-153-040 Administration
Each school district offering an approved traffic safety education program shall:
- Appoint a person to be responsible for ensuring the program's continuing compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
- Adopt written policies including enrollment criteria, student fees, student fee refunds, failures, repeats, and access for part-time and home-based students.
- Maintain individual student records that include the student's progress, instructional time, and evaluation results. Records shall also include attendance information and the starting and ending dates for each course conducted within the program.
- Ensure that any activity provided under a contract with a commercial driving school meets all the requirements of a public-school program.
- Notify the superintendent of public instruction, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 180-79A, of any instructor no longer meeting the requirements of WAC 392-153-010(2).
RCW 28A.220.037
Traffic safety education program-Development and administration of certification process-Program audits-Suspension of program certification-Duties of the Department of Licensing.
- The department of licensing shall develop and administer the certification process required under RCW 28A.220.030 for a school district's or approved private school's traffic safety education program in consultation with the superintendent.
- The department of licensing shall conduct audits of traffic safety education programs to ensure that the instructors are qualified teachers of driver training education and that they teach the required curriculum material, that accurate records are maintained, and that accurate information is provided to the department of licensing regarding student performance. Each school district and approved private school may be audited at least once every five years or more frequently. The audit process must take into account the unique nature of school district facilities, operations, and hours. As part of its audit process, the department of licensing may examine all relevant information, including driver training education course curriculum materials and student records, and visit any course in progress in the traffic safety education program. The director shall consult with the superintendent in developing and carrying out these auditing practices.
- The Department of Licensing may suspend a school's or school district's traffic safety education program certification if:
  - The school or school district does not follow the curriculum promulgated by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Department of Licensing
  - Any program instructors who are not qualified as teachers of driver training education
  - Accurate records have not been maintained under RCW 28A.220.030(5), or accurate information regarding student performance has not been provided to the Department of Licensing
  - The school or school district refuses to cooperate with the department of licensing audit process authorized under this chapter. The director shall consult with the superintendent in developing and carrying out these program certification suspension practices.