Dive Brief:
- The Indiana State Board of Education on Wednesday voted in favor of a controversial teaching certification program that allows schools to hire nontraditional teachers.
- The career specialist permit allows districts to hire individuals based on past job experience, with the intention of bringing new expertise and life skills to the classroom.
- Teachers and parents who are against the contentious license say it not only devalues the training and education of traditional teachers, but acts as experimentation on students.
Dive Insight:
Under the new permit, Indiana residents who have worked for three years and received a 3.0 in college can get a license allowing them to teach classes in the field they were formally employed in.
This is not the first time a state made this move. In June, the Kansas State Board of Education approved a similar measure where people with bachelor degrees and at least five years in a given field are allowed to teach classes in that field.
Some of the Indiana board members who voted against the program are not necessarily against alternative routes for teaching, but rather against the wording of the bill. "I do believe it is possible to have non-college and non-university programs that are quality if we lay the groundwork for it," state board member Brad Oliver told the Indianapolis Star. "But my concern is that the language in the final (proposal) does not do that."
In fact, an alternative certification route does already exist in Indiana — however, interested parties must enroll in a school of education program before applying. This new plan eliminates that requirement.