The MCPS Certification Unit works directly with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to provide certification services for all MCPS professional employees. Once employed by MCPS as a contracted educator, specialist or administrator, MCPS handles ALL of your certification via its direct access to the MSDE's Educator Information System (EIS). Please review the Getting Started section of our website to ensure that you have completed all of the steps necessary for our unit to process your Maryland Educator Certificate.
Please contact a member of the Certification Unit with any and all questions about your Maryland Educator Certificate, local MCPS contingencies, salary advancement, course applicability, and equivalent credit applicability.
You will need to complete the online W-4 form so that the correct federal and state income tax will be withheld from your pay. You may complete the form on or after your first work day.*
To access the W-4 form:
*Visit the Employee Self-Service web page.
*Click on My W-4 under the green My Pay banner.
*Log in using your Outlook username and password and follow the on-screen instructions.
*If you are a new employee at the start of the school year, you will find your first work day—listed by position—in the Work Schedule. If you were hired after the first work day of the school year for your position, your first work day is your date of hire.
Employees hired after February 1, 2001, are required to participate in direct deposit.
To enroll in direct deposit:
*Visit the Employee Self-Service web page.
*Click on My direct deposit, under the green My Pay banner.
*Log in using your Outlook username and password and follow the on-screen instructions.
You have the option of withholding a designated amount of your net salary from each paycheck received during the school year in order to receive disbursements during July and August. Although targeted to 9- and 10-month employees, all employees are eligible. Learn more.
All new employees in the MCAAP/MCBOA bargaining unit are automatically enrolled in the Sick Leave Bank. The MCAAP/MCBOA Sick Leave Bank is designed to assure that those members in most need during a period of sustained disability have paid leave available after their own sick leave has expired. A new member may submit an Opt-Out Form within 30 days of their start date to withdraw their membership and get the contribution back. Detailed information regarding the benefits, annual contribution can be found here.
If you worked for another public school system in the state of Maryland prior to your employment with MCPS, you are allowed to transfer up to 800 hours of accumulated sick leave.
If you are a former employee returning back to MCPS, any unused sick leave hours paid to you while resigning from MCPS will be reduced from the unused sick leave hours from another school district. You will receive credit for any remaining leave balance.
To make such a transfer, print and complete Part I of MCPS Form 430-62, Transfer of Cumulative Sick Leave. Then, send it to your former employer and ask them to complete Part II and mail it to the Employee and Retiree Service Center.
If you are newly moving to this area, you have to update your address using the online address change form on or after your first work day.*
Any employee who does not provide a local address (An address in Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina or West Virginia) is defaulted to the MCPS address in Maryland to ensure state income taxes are withheld.
To access the Address Change Form:
Visit the Employee Self-Service web page
Click on My address change option under the orange My Profile banner
Review the information in web page displayed and click the “Update Address” at the bottom of the page
Log in using your Outlook username and password and follow the on-screen instructions.
* If you are a new employee at the start of the school year, you will find your first work day—listed by position—in the Work Schedule. If you were hired after the first work day of the school year for your position, your first work day is your date of hire.
Any Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) employee who is newly hired into a permanent position of .5 FTE or more (20 hours or more per week) is eligible for employee benefits. An MCPS employee whose FTE is increased to .5 or more also is eligible for benefits.
As a benefits-eligible employee, you have the option of enrolling in health benefits, including medical, prescription, dental, and vision plans; optional employee term life insurance; optional dependent term life insurance; and flexible spending accounts (medical and/or dependent care). You will find detailed information about your benefit options in the Employee Benefit Summary. The Employee Benefits Web Page provides additional information. Both resources can help you make the benefit choices that are best for you and your family.
MCPS employees enroll in their benefit plans online on or after their first work day. On your first work day, the Employee and Retiree Service Center will send a message to your MCPS Outlook e-mail account with a link to the online Benefits Enrollment System and instructions for logging in to the system. Once you are logged in, follow the on-screen instructions for enrolling in benefits and submitting any required supporting documents. If you choose not to enroll in benefits, you still must log in to the system to indicate your decision to decline coverage (insurances) or participation (FSAs).
You must enroll in your benefit plans online on or after your first work day but within 60 days of that date**.
* If you are a new employee at the start of the school year, you will find your first work day—listed by position—in the Work Schedule. If you were hired after the first work day of the school year for your position, your first work day is your date of hire.
** Special enrollment rules are currently in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Details regarding the special provisions can be reviewed by clicking this link .
All permanent MCPS employees who are hired to work more than 500 hours in their first fiscal year are required to enroll in a pension plan. Once enrolled, membership will continue even if an employee’s work hours decrease to below 500 hours per year.
MCPS provides a supplemental pension plan for its employees, whether they are enrolled in the MCPS core pension plan or the state teachers’ pension system. To be properly enrolled in the MCPS pension plan, all benefits-eligible employees must complete MCPS Form 455-3, Membership Information Montgomery County Public Schools Employee Pension System. Please print, complete, and sign this form and either drop it off or send it to the Employee and Retiree Service Center. You must include a photocopy of your birth certificate or valid driver’s license as proof of your birth date.
As a condition of employment with MCPS, you are required to properly enroll in the Maryland State Teachers’ Reformed Pension Plan (State core plan). State law requires that you complete the enrollment within 30 days of employment. If you fail to complete your enrollment in a timely manner, the State will fine MCPS $100, which will be deducted from your pay.
To enroll in the Maryland State Teachers’ Reformed Pension Plan, complete the following steps. To avoid processing delays, be sure to read State Pension Enrollment Dos and Don’ts before completing the required forms.
Send completed, original State pension enrollment forms and a copy of your current driver’s license or birth certificate to the Employee and Retiree Service Center via Pony mail or US mail. DO NOT send the forms directly to the MSRA. Employee and Retiree Service Center (ERSC) staff will submit the forms to MSRA on your behalf.
Enrollment is mandatory and protects your pension and death benefits.
MCPS Form 455-5, Designation of Beneficiary/Beneficiariesis used to name the person or persons (beneficiaries) you wish to receive any accumulated retirement contributions and death benefits (from the MCPS Pension System) in the event of your death while employed. Please print, complete, and sign this form and either drop it off or send it to the Employee and Retiree Service Center.
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) offers employees two optional defined contribution plans through Fidelity Investments: a 403(b) Tax Sheltered Savings Plan and a 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan. You may enroll in one or both plans to help you save money to supplement your retirement goals while also reducing your current taxable income. Please view the MCPS 403(b) & 457(b) Retirement Savings Plans video for more information.
Please visit the MCPS/Fidelity website at www.netbenefits.com/mcps to learn more and to set up your account after your start date. Need assistance? Contact Fidelity at 1-800-343-0860.
The New Teacher Induction program is excited to announce plans for the 2021 New Educator Orientation (NEO). Educators hired by MCPS for the 2021-2022 school year and/or educators hired after August 21, 2020, and did not attend the New Educator Orientation in 2020, are expected to attend NEO is specifically designed to introduce educators to the MCPS curriculum and the latest on-going assessment methods. In addition, educators will learn how to create and maintain a positive classroom environment, honor diversity, and integrate students of all abilities and learning levels (including English Language Learners) in classroom instruction.
NEO will be held over three days (TBD). The general session will occur at two sites (TBD). New special education teachers will attend a fourth day of training on the Special Education Day (TBD). New educators will sign up on PDO (PDO will be available for sign up mid-July to attend its orientation NEO attendees will be paid for their participation. Please click this website in early august to get updated information on NEO.
Fingerprinting, I-9 and CPS forms must be completed and clearance issued in order to attend NEO.
MCEA is a leader in efforts to build a new kind of teachers union that responds to the needs of today's educators. We are more than 14,000 classroom teachers, guidance counselors, speech pathologists, media specialists, and other non-supervisory certified educators in the Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools system. We work in a rapidly urbanizing suburban district with a growing divide between haves and have-nots.
MCEA members teach 157,000 students in 204 schools spread over 497 square miles. The district has densely populated low-income urban neighborhoods, sprawling suburban subdivisions, and rural agricultural towns.
By joining MCEA, you help make decisions affecting your work life, and help our profession grow stronger. The greater our numbers, the more effective we are at:
Join MCEA: bit.ly/joinmcea
MCEA Website: https://mceanea.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mceanea
Twitter: @MCEANEA
Instagram: @MCEANEA
MCEA New Educator Action Team (NEAT)
Who We Are? The New Educator Action Team (NEAT) is a member-led group of new and early career educators who have seven or fewer years of education experience. NEAT supports, engages, and develops meaningful relationships with new and early career educators. We advocate for our profession and our students through organizing, member engagement, and participating in learning opportunities.
NEATRise Mentoring Program: NEATRise is a volunteer mentoring program initiated by the New Educator Action Team at MCEA to support new and early career educators in their first three years of teaching. This program is for early career educators who want to gain knowledge, support, and assistance in areas like classroom and behavior management, professional growth, building student relationships, navigating MCPS policies and procedures, understanding their rights as a union member.
Are you interested in becoming a NEATRise mentor or mentee? If so, please complete the following form http://bit.ly/NEATRise for more information.
MCEA NEAT meets every second Thursday of the month at 4:15 P.M.
Join the MCEA NEAT Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/234595317466266
Fingerprinting, I-9 and CPS forms must be completed and clearance issued in order to attend NEO.
As part of the onboarding process, it is required that you be fingerprinted and cleared prior to your first day of work. Should you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact the fingerprinting office at: FingerprintingInquiries@mcpsmd.org.
Please know that this employment is contingent upon satisfactorily completing the following requirements:
Should you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at (301) 279-3276.
Annual Districtwide Compliance Training
Montgomery County Public Schools is committed to providing a safe and welcoming learning and working environment for students and staff across our district. To fulfill this commitment, all staff are required to complete the annual Districtwide Compliance Training for the 2023–2024 school year. This training is designed to ensure that every employee has the necessary information to establish and maintain a positive, safe, healthy, and lawful climate and culture in which all adults and students are able to thrive and do their best work.
This year, new modules have been developed and organized around three important areas of focus; a) Student Safety, b) Respecting Student Differences, and c) Workplace Expectations. The mandatory training consists of these three online modules, which are designed to be completed in one sitting. In addition to the new content, employees now also have the option to take the training in Spanish. Topics from these modules include preventing, recognizing, and reporting child abuse and neglect, employee code of conduct, bullying, harassment (including sexual harassment) and intimidation prevention, recognizing and reporting incidents of hate-bias, religious diversity, and many other important issues.
To sign-up for the training:
When registering on PDO, if a course section is full, scroll down to “view more sections”.
There are more than 30 sections with 999 seats in each section.
To verify your completion:
Training Module Support Guide – Click Here
Online Resources for the module training - Click Here
Experiencing login or technical issues, contact the Help Desk:
Compliance training and information and requirements can be accessed on the Student Welfare and Compliance homepage linked Here. Questions regarding the compliance training can be addressed at SWC@mcpsmd.org.