Kansas board to vote on unlicensed-teacher idea

The Kansas State Board of Education is expected to vote Tuesday on a measure that would allow some school districts to hire unlicensed people to fill teaching positions.

Advocates of the measure – including the Coalition of Innovative School Districts, which developed it – say relaxing some licensing requirements would help them address teacher shortages and fill slots in hard-to-fill subject areas.

Opponents, including the state’s largest teachers union, say opening classrooms to unlicensed teachers would be bad for students and a slippery slope for education.

“Knowing how to teach is as important as knowing what to teach,” said Mark Farr, president of the Kansas National Education Association. “Having an untrained teacher in the classroom is not good for our kids.”

The proposal would apply to the state’s six innovative districts – Blue Valley, Concordia, Hugoton, Kansas City, Marysville and McPherson. The coalition was created by Kansas lawmakers in 2013 to allow a small group of districts to work outside some of the state’s educational red tape.

The districts are proposing a “specialized teaching certificate” for prospective employees who do not have a teaching license.

Potential employees would have to pass a background check and receive approval from the local and state school boards and the Coalition of Innovative School Districts. The certificate would have to be renewed each year. Certificates would not be granted for positions that include federal requirements, such as special education or teachers funded through Title I, a program aimed at low-income students.

Jim McNiece, chairman of the state board, said much of what the coalition seeks is already allowed as part of the state’s evolving education policy.

Last year, Kansas loosened teaching requirements for some subject areas, allowing districts to hire people with expertise in fields related to science, technology, engineering and math – but no education degree – to teach those subjects in middle or high school.

“They’re actually a little behind what’s already happened,” said McNiece, a former teacher and principal from Wichita. “It’s kind of like we’re being asked to approve what basically, in a lot of ways, they could already do.”

Not so, says Farr, the union president. Unlike alternative certification programs, which allow people to teach under a provisional license while they complete education coursework, the coalition’s proposal does not require peer mentoring or any formalized training in classroom management or education pedagogy.

“The only requirement that this has is that they pass a background check,” Farr said. “There is no requirement to even have a high school diploma. … That really concerns me.”

McNiece, who also serves on the coalition board, said member districts have different visions for how they might use the specialized certificates.

Marysville, a rural district, would like to hire a professional chef to teach advanced classes in its culinary arts program, he said. Hugoton wants more Spanish-speaking teachers to serve its growing immigrant population.

“Like anything, there would be checks and balances,” McNiece said. “It’s not like they’re going to do this in secret. There’s a lot of transparency. Everyone’s going to be watching the first couple districts that do this.”

Kathy Busch, a state board member from Wichita, said she hasn’t yet decided how she will vote on the issue.

“I’m all for whatever we can do to get qualified folks in the classroom, and let’s look at some innovative ways to do that,” Busch said.

“My concerns with (the proposal) is I think they should either have a college degree or … an industry-recognized license or certificate of some sort,” she said. “They also should have the support they’ll need to be effective in a classroom.”

McNiece said districts “are not asking to use this for a third-grade teacher.” He added that responsible districts and administrators will make sure any teacher – licensed or not – gets proper support and training.

“They would not just throw you in there and say, ‘Hey, you’ve got class on Tuesday and Thursday, and there’s 30 kids showing up, and I hope you do well,’ ” McNiece said.

Farr said that could happen, and if it does, students would suffer.

“The state has a variety of options available for those (with expertise) to work toward licensure and still get the training they need to be successful in the classroom,” Farr said.

“I hope the state Board of Education will do what’s in the best interest of kids and put a licensed educator – someone who knows not only what to teach, but how to teach – in our classrooms.”

This story was originally published July 12, 2015 at 6:11 PM with the headline "Kansas board to vote on unlicensed-teacher idea."