Free Professional Development for Teachers: How Sweet It Is

Q: How many professional development hours do Arkansas teachers need?

Most educators holding a standard Arkansas teaching license must complete at least 36 hours of professional development annually for licensure renewal and contractual requirements. Requirements can differ for certain credentials, and lifetime license holders do not have an annual professional development requirement for licensing purposes. Districts monitor and verify completion and may require more than the state minimum, so educators should also check their district requirements and employment contract.

Q: Can free professional development count toward license renewal?

Sometimes. Whether professional development counts toward teacher-license renewal generally depends on whether the activity and provider satisfy the applicable state requirements, not whether the training costs money. Approval rules vary by state and may also involve district requirements. Teachers should verify eligibility with the appropriate educator-licensing authority or district before completing a course and retain documentation of completion.

Q: What makes a professional development session actually useful?

Useful professional development gives teachers practical strategies they can apply in their classrooms. Sessions that demonstrate a specific instructional approach, show what it looks like with students, and explain why and when to use it can make it easier for teachers to translate professional learning into classroom practice.

Q: Can teachers design their own professional development plan?

In many districts, teachers can supplement required professional development with courses or activities they select themselves, provided those activities satisfy applicable approval requirements. State and district rules vary, so teachers should determine the approval process before enrolling in training rather than assuming it will count toward required professional development hours.

By Mary McLaughlin, Last Updated: August 21, 2026

Teacher smiling at the front of her classroom as students raise their hands at desks behind her

Free professional development for teachers is easier to find than most of us assume. State-run platforms, university centers, and educator communities all offer courses at no cost. Many issue certificates of completion, though whether those hours count toward licensure depends on your state and district rules. Verify before you enroll.

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Why District PD Doesn't Always Scratch the Itch

In a lot of cases, districts, school management companies, and private school leadership hire a presenter whose message meets one specific, targeted need. If we're honest with ourselves, we'll admit the officials booking those presenters are responding to something real: test data, an identified need across the staff, or a new curricular component everybody has to learn by August.

Those pre-planned sessions are often a real benefit to the teaching team. But here's the question I keep coming back to. What if teachers were handed the chance to build their own plan for professional development instead?

That seems like a progressive idea, and it turns out to be a practical one too, because the hours have to come from somewhere.

The Hours I Actually Have to Find

In my home state of Arkansas, most educators holding a standard license must complete a minimum of 36 hours of professional development each year. The requirement comes from the Arkansas Department of Education's Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, and educator licensure is administered through its Office of Educator Licensure. Not every credential carries the same obligation. Lifetime license holders, for one, have no annual PD requirement for licensing purposes, though an employing district can still set expectations of its own. Districts monitor and verify that the hours got done.

Thirty-six is the floor, not the ceiling. My district asks for an additional 15 on top of it, and a chunk of the total has to be earned over the summer rather than during the school year. Our district hosts a stretch of those hours immediately after summer dismissal, which helps. The rest is on me.

And so my search begins.

Where I Look for Free Professional Development for Teachers

The good news for anyone in the same spot: the free options have gotten better, not worse. One caution before the list, though. Arkansas requires providers offering qualifying professional development credit to meet state approval requirements, and other states run their own systems. A course being free, or handing you a certificate at the end, does not by itself make the hours count. Check that a specific activity qualifies before you sit down to do it. Here's what I actually use.

Resource	Cost	Certificate	Best for
ArkansasIDEAS	Free	Yes	Arkansas educators building their annual hours
IRIS Center	Free	Yes	Special education and inclusive practice
edWeb	Free	Yes	Live and on-demand webinars across every subject
ISTE+ASCD Learning Academy	Paid	Yes	Longer, structured courses when the budget allows

ArkansasIDEAS

My first stop, every time. ArkansasIDEAS is a partnership between Arkansas PBS and the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, and licensed Arkansas educators get the whole catalog at no charge. It's a large catalog of online professional development courses, covering everything from Special Education IEP content to language arts to Arkansas history. Finish a course, and you get a certificate with the hours noted on it, ready to print for your records. If your state runs something similar, find it before you pay anybody.

The IRIS Center at Vanderbilt

This one is the find of the last few years for anyone working in special education. The IRIS Center at Vanderbilt University builds free modules on evidence-based practice, and the structure is straightforward: work through a module, take the posttest, earn a certificate of completion. It's funded by the U.S. Department of Education, so the whole thing costs nothing. The modules are written for general and special education teachers, principals, paraeducators, and substitutes, which makes it useful for a whole building and not just one classroom. The certificate is not automatic licensure credit, though. Whether it counts toward renewal depends on your jurisdiction, and IRIS tracks its approved-provider status in the states that run those systems.

edWeb

edWeb is a free online community for educators with a large library of on-demand webinars and hundreds of new ones each year. edWeb says its CE certificates are accepted in many states for school or district PD and for relicensure. Acceptance rules vary, so check edWeb's state-specific guidance and your own licensing authority before you rely on the hours. Your district's professional learning supervisor can usually tell you how the submission works.

When You Want to Spend the Money

ASCD merged with the International Society for Technology in Education in 2023, and the courses now live under the ISTE+ASCD Learning Academy. These are paid, and they go deeper than a webinar does: self-paced online courses, year-long subscriptions, and competency-based certifications. Worth it when a topic matters enough to sit with it for weeks instead of an hour.

What I Took Away From This Week's Session

So what did I learn at PD this week? I was reminded of the science behind reading instruction. Phonological awareness is the knowledge of word structure. Phonemic awareness is narrower: the knowledge of the smallest pieces of the word, the individual sounds. The two get used interchangeably, and they shouldn't be.

I was reminded, too, to keep our babies in reading material at their level while still pushing them a level above. Both things at once. Walking out with that much to use in my special education classroom next year is a reminder of just how tantalizingly sweet professional development can be when somebody gets it right.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many professional development hours do Arkansas teachers need?

Most educators holding a standard Arkansas license must complete a minimum of 36 hours of professional development annually for licensure renewal and to satisfy contractual requirements. Not every credential carries that obligation, and lifetime license holders have no annual PD requirement for licensing purposes. Districts are responsible for monitoring and verifying completion, and individual districts can require more than the state minimum, so check your own contract before you plan your year.

Can free professional development count toward license renewal?

Sometimes, but approval is the deciding factor rather than price. Whether free PD counts toward license renewal depends on your state's rules and, where they apply, your district's requirements. States structure that approval differently. Verify the provider or the specific activity with the appropriate educator-licensing authority before you complete it, and keep every certificate of completion.

What makes a professional development session actually useful?

The sessions that stick are the ones I can carry into my classroom the following Monday. A presenter who names a specific strategy, shows what it looks like with real students, and explains why it works will beat a general inspirational talk every time.

Can teachers design their own professional development plan?

In many districts, you can supplement required training with courses you pick yourself, as long as the provider and the topic are approved. Ask what the approval process looks like first. It's much easier to get a course signed off before you take it than to argue for credit afterward.

36 hours a year on a standard Arkansas license - The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education sets that annual minimum, districts verify it, and some credentials such as the lifetime license fall outside it.
Free doesn't mean lesser - ArkansasIDEAS, the IRIS Center, and edWeb all issue certificates of completion at no cost, though a certificate on its own is not proof the hours will count.
Special education teachers have a standout option - IRIS Center modules are federally funded, free, and built around evidence-based inclusive practice.
Get approval before you enroll - Confirm a provider counts with your district or licensing agency first, then keep every certificate.

Chasing PD hours is a different project from adding an endorsement or moving into a new role, and those take coursework rather than webinars. The programs featured on this page include online and hybrid options built for teachers already working full time.

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