California Teacher Salary Advancement, Explained: Steps, Columns & Graduate Units

By For Teachers By Teachers — supporting PreK–12 teachers since 2015

For Teachers By Teachers (FTBT) is an online professional development company for PreK–12 teachers, founded in 2015, with regionally accredited university partners UMass Global and CSU Pueblo. This guide explains how California's teacher salary schedule actually works — how steps and columns differ, how graduate units move you to a higher-paying column, what kinds of units count, and how to submit them.

California has no statewide salary schedule and no state-mandated renewal coursework, so the rules that matter to you live in your own district's collective bargaining agreement. Here's the plain-English version.

How does the California teacher salary schedule work?

California teacher pay is set on a "step-and-column" grid (also called step-and-lane, and in some districts measured in "salary points" or "classes"). Steps run down the grid and represent years of service — you move down one step for each year you teach, automatically. Columns run across the grid and represent your education level beyond a bachelor's degree, measured in graduate or post-baccalaureate semester units. There is no single statewide schedule: every district negotiates its own grid through collective bargaining with its local teachers' union, so the exact dollar figures and column thresholds are specific to where you teach. The one constant statewide is the structure — years move you down, education moves you across.

What's the difference between a "step" and a "column" (or "lane")?

A step is tied to time; a column is tied to action. Steps advance on their own — stay employed and you move down a step roughly once a year until you hit the top of the schedule. Columns only move when you do something about it: earn additional graduate units and submit documentation to your district. That's the key insight for any teacher trying to raise their pay faster than seniority allows — the column is the lever you actually control, and a column change is permanent, so once you move from a BA column to a BA+30 column, you stay there for the rest of your career in that district.

How many graduate units do I need to move up a column?

It depends entirely on your district, because each district sets its own column thresholds in its bargaining agreement. That said, most California districts structure columns in 15-unit increments beyond the bachelor's — commonly BA, BA+15, BA+30, BA+45, BA+60, and BA+75 (some districts use "Class I through Class V" or "pay scale group" labels for the same idea). Units are counted as semester units; if your transcript shows quarter units, districts convert them at quarter units × 0.667 = semester units. To find your exact next target, pull up your district's salary schedule — it's published in the collective bargaining agreement and usually posted on your district HR or union website — and see how many units stand between your current column and the next one.

What kind of units count toward salary advancement?

Again, your district's agreement is the authority, but most California districts apply a consistent set of rules. Units generally must be upper-division or graduate level, earned after the date your bachelor's degree was conferred, from a regionally accredited college or university, completed with at least a minimum grade (often a "C" or better), and reasonably related to your teaching assignment. Many districts also require prior approval before you enroll, so the single most important habit is to confirm with your HR or salary office that a course will count before you pay for it. Skipping that step is the most common reason a teacher finishes a course and then learns it won't move their column.

Do I need a master's degree, or do graduate units count on their own?

Both can work, but they are not the same thing — and this is where teachers most often get tripped up. On most California schedules, the higher columns can be reached by either completing a master's degree or accumulating a set number of post-baccalaureate units (for example, a district might place a master's in the same column as BA+36). Individual graduate units move you across the BA+X unit columns where your district recognizes them — but accumulating units does not award you a master's degree, and professional-development graduate units like the ones we offer through UMass Global and CSU Pueblo do not stack toward a master's at either institution. If your district has a column that specifically requires a master's degree (an "MA" or "MA+30" lane), that lane requires an actual conferred master's, not units alone. Decide which path your district's schedule rewards before you start.

Do I need PD hours or coursework to renew my California teaching credential?

No — and this surprises a lot of teachers. California eliminated the old professional-growth requirement for the Clear credential under Senate Bill 1209, so renewing a Clear teaching credential today is purely administrative: log in to CTC Online, confirm your information, pay the renewal fee (about $100), and your credential is renewed for another five years, with processing typically around ten business days. There are no state-required PD hours, coursework, or growth verification for a standard Clear credential renewal. Separately, some districts maintain their own professional-development expectations through their bargaining agreement, and where a district does, graduate semester units are commonly counted at 15 clock hours per unit — but that's a district matter, not a state renewal mandate. For salary advancement, units are valuable; for credential renewal, the state simply asks you to renew online and pay.

How do I actually submit units for a column change?

Once you've completed qualifying units, you request the column change directly from your district — the state isn't involved. The standard process is to send an official transcript showing the completed coursework to your district HR or salary office, often along with a salary-advancement request form. Districts process column changes on their own calendar, usually once or twice a year, with common submission deadlines around September 1 for fall and February 1 for spring (your district sets its own dates, so confirm yours). Because timing determines when your raise starts, it's worth submitting as soon as your transcript is available rather than waiting for the next window.

Does a For Teachers By Teachers course count for California salary advancement?

In most cases yes, but the honest answer is that your district decides. Our courses are graduate-level professional development, issued as official semester units on a transcript from a regionally accredited university partner — UMass Global, regionally accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), for letter grades, or CSU Pueblo, regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), for pass/fail. That regional accreditation is exactly what most California district agreements ask for. Because acceptance still comes down to your specific bargaining agreement and the "related to your assignment" rule, check with your HR or salary office before enrolling — and if they want documentation, we'll provide syllabi and course details to support your request.

Where can I take California salary-advancement courses online?

We offer self-paced, 100% online, quiz-based graduate-level courses built for working California teachers — no live sessions, no portfolios, no busywork — with units transcripted by UMass Global (letter grade) or CSU Pueblo (pass/fail). You enroll, complete the course on your own schedule, and order the official transcript to send to your district for your column change. Because columns commonly move in 15-unit blocks, many California teachers take several courses together, which is why we offer a California bundle that maps to a 15-unit column jump. You can browse the California courses and bundle, confirm acceptance with your district, and start whenever you're ready.

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Published by For Teachers By Teachers, an online professional development provider for PreK–12 teachers since 2015. This guide is general information, not district-specific advice — salary advancement and credit acceptance are governed by each California district's collective bargaining agreement, so confirm details with your HR or salary office. Last reviewed June 2026.