Dive Brief:
- In a late-night session negotiating Wisconsin's 2015-16 budget, state lawmakers removed a controversial provision that would have substantially loosened teacher licensing laws.
- The most high-profile aspect of the proposal would have allowed people without a high school diploma to teach "non-core" subjects, while anyone with a bachelor's degree in any subject would have been able to teach core subjects.
- None of the changes would have required additional training.
Dive Insight:
The controversial provision drew national attention and was originally intended to address the state's rural teacher shortage. Rural areas throughout the United States struggle to staff their schools, thanks in part to lower wages, fewer job opportunities for partners, and a lack of qualified local candidates. One rural school district in Colorado had an open elementary teaching position for four years before filling it.
The architect of the provision, Republican state Rep. Mary Czaja, said its demise means that school districts will be stuck in that same position. “It’s really going to restrict opportunities in the small rural schools,” she told the Wisconsin State-Journal.
Still, its passage would have made the state the only one in the country not to require a bachelor degree for some subjects, such as foreign languages, according to Politifact.