Technology Director Required Training
The Alabama K-12 Technology and Cybersecurity Act of 2024 requires that all system technology directors to complete 12 hours of training per fiscal year. In addition, technology directors who assume that role after October 1, 2024 must complete ALET's Chief Technology Officer Academy (CTO) within their first 24 months on the job.
Cyber Camps
ALET conducts two cyber camps per year. State K12 cybersecurity funds fund the activities. Camp topics include security measures covering elements of the NIST Cybersecurity framework in K12 environments. Speakers include AL K12 technology directors and network engineers, as well as guest speakers. Registration is restricted to Alabama K12 IT staff and is free. Participants do need to belong to ALET to attend. Typically, the camps are either one day or a day and a half. See the ALET Events Calendar on our home page for information on the next Cyber Camp.
Training for All Other ALET Members
ALET encourages the professional growth of its members. In addition to our conferences, we offer certification programs, mentoring, and technical seminars. All are made available to members for free or a nominal charge.
Tech Director Required Hours
The Alabama K-12 Technology and Cybersecurity Leadership Act requires 12 in-person hours per year. We highly recommend live, in-person learning because it has the added benefit of peer networking. Required Technology Director Continuing Education Units (TD-CEU) begin October 1, 2024.
- Minimum 12 hours each year between October 1st and September 30th each year.
- Minimum of six (6) must be offered by ALET. These include ALET conferences and Cyber Camps. (If you are unable to attend live ALET events, online courses can be taken via our Talent portal. See ALET TD-Talent Online below.)
- Maximum of six (6) hours of credit may be awarded for pre-approved, in-person, external events. (See External Events below.)
- Each of the TD_CEU hours must align to one or more of the six (6) ALET CTO Academy Strands:
- Roles and Responsibilities
- Teaching and Learning
- Technology Planning and Budgeting
- Ethics, Laws, and Policies
- IT Management and Cybersecurity
- Data Management and Governance
ALET TD-Talent Online CEUsIf you cannot participate in live events, you may complete hours online via ALET's Talent LMS. Note that not all online courses offered count towards TD credit hours. ALET will add content throughout the year, but online offerings will not include all topics or sessions provided at live events. Online offerings will start posting in January 2025.
External Events
- Only pre-approved events will qualify.
- Only AL Tech Directors and the AL SDE may request external events be approved.
- An ALET Talent course will be created for each hour of each external event approved for credit.
- Depending on the event, users may be required to upload evidence of attendance and complete an assignment.
- Approved External Events:
- AL SDE E-Rate Boot Camp - 3 hours
- AL SDE EdTech Region Meetings - Up to 3 hours
- AL Educational Technology Conference (AETC) - Up to 3 hours
- AL PowerSchool Conference - Up to 3 hours
- AL Government Digital Summit 2024 - 3 hours
- AASA AI Summit, January 30/31, 2025 - up to 3 hours
- ATiM PLUACLD1185 Beyond Human Minds and Machines: Exploring Artificial Intelligence - 3 hours
- CBT Nuggets CompTIA Network+ training/certification exam - 4 hours
- CBT Nuggets CompTIA Security+ training/certification exam - 4 hours
- Consortium of School Networking annual conference (CoSN) - Up to 6 hours
CoSN CTO Academy workshops - see TalentLMS for options. 1 hour each.
- District Administrator Leadership Institute - Technology Leadership Summit, Dec 2024 - Up to 3 hours
- Future of Educational Technology Conference, Florida - Up to 6 hours
- International Society for Technology in Education annual conference (ISTE) - Up to 6 hours
- Google Certification Level 1 - 3 hours - Must take course after Oct 1, 2024
- Light Brigade Fiber Optics 1-2-3 3 hours
- National K-12 Cybersecurity Leadership Conference (K12SIX) - Up to 3 hours
- RTM 2025 K12 Innovation Forum - Up to 3 credit hours
- Southeast Cybersecurity Summit - Up to 3 credit hours
- Microsoft Defend Against Threats with a Unified Security Operations Platform online webinar - 1 hour
Request an External Event
Request an external event to be approved;
click here. The event must occur between Oct 1, 2024 and Sept 30, 2025.
Tracking and Reporting Your Hours
Use ALET Talent to review your progress. ALET will upload session attendance from live events. At the end of the fiscal year, ALET will provide the ALSDE with a report. The ALSDE will then update an annual PowerSchool Learning course with the names of those who have fulfilled the 12-hour requirement.
