What is the RALC?

There are four Regional Alternative Licensing Centers (RALCs) in North Carolina, created by the State Board of Education and the Department of Public Instruction. They were designed to assist lateral entry teachers in NC to achieve a full professional educator’s license. read more...>

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What Is The RALC?

There are four Regional Alternative Licensing Centers (RALCs) in North Carolina, created by the State Board of Education and the Department of Public Instruction. The centers were designed specifically to assist lateral entry teachers in NC to achieve a full professional educator’s license.

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The RALCs evaluate teaching candidates’ applications, prescribe courses of study, and outline other requirements needed in order to receive full professional educators’ licenses. Upon completion of individuals’ plans of study, the RALC will make recommendation to the Licensure Section at DPI for clear licenses.

Candidates may take the necessary coursework at a variety of colleges and universities.

The centers provide a number of benefits for lateral entry teachers:
  • more consistent evaluations
  • plans of study targeting licensure requirements
  • college/university choices to satisfy course requirements
  • certain requirements can be met at local school systems

 

What Is Lateral Entry?

Lateral entry is an alternate route to teaching in North Carolina for qualified individuals who have not completed a teacher education program. This allows individuals to apply and obtain a teaching position and begin teaching immediately. Lateral entry teachers must complete the necessary educational coursework (and other requirements) for a professional educator’s license while teaching.

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The NC Department of Public Instruction (DPI) only issues lateral entry licenses at the request of the employing school system (i.e., individuals cannot request a lateral entry license on their own). The Regional Alternative Licensing Center (RALC) does not request or issue lateral entry licenses.

Upon being issued a lateral entry professional educator’s license, individuals must affiliate with a college or university that has an approved teacher education program in the licensure area or associate with the RALC in their region. Individual plans of study are prescribed for lateral entry teachers. All requirements outlined for lateral entry teachers must be completed within three school years.

 

Expired Lateral Entry Licenses

The State Board of Education passed a policy that allows individuals who did not complete the requirements of the lateral entry license to obtain another lateral entry license under certain conditions. The policy reads as follows:

"Individuals who do not fulfill the requirements of their lateral entry license within the three years they are initially given may be issued another lateral entry license provided:

  1. they have passed the required Praxis II exam(s) for the specialty area in which the license will be issued and
  2. at least six years have elapsed since the prior lateral entry license was issued."

The State Board of Education policy can be found at http://sbepolicy.dpi.state.nc.us/ Section 1.70 (the last paragraph).