Wisconsin Ag Connection - Ag Ed Officials Cry Foul Over JFC Provision on Teacher Credentials

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Ag Ed Officials Cry Foul Over JFC Provision on Teacher Credentials
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 05/29/2015

Wisconsin's state school superintendent says he's 'gravely' concern about a teacher licensure provision the Joint Finance Committee added into its proposed state budget package this week. Tony Evers said lawmakers are supporting a policy that would allow nearly anyone the ability to teach certain classes in public schools regardless of their education, training, or whether they are deemed to be safe around children.

"If these budget provisions were to pass there would no longer be any state assurances that teachers met any specific minimum requirements," the Department of Public Instruction said in a memo. "Wisconsin will have one of the lowest requirements in the country to become a teacher. This will lead to teachers in the classroom that are unprepared and unqualified to teach the next generation of youth."

As part of the provision, anyone with a Bachelor's degree could teach English, social studies, math, or science, regardless of what their degree was in, if a district felt they would be proficient and had undefined relevant experience. In addition, anyone could teach business, music, art, physical education, agriculture, family and consumer education, technology education, special education and any other subjects under the same circumstances with no prior education required at all.

Jeff Hicken, who serves as the DPI's consultant for agriculture education, told Wisconsin Ag Connection that ag and tech ed teachers should be especially concerned about the idea.

"This provision basically means that anyone can just walk into a school, even if they were a high school dropout, and be hired to teach various classes," Hicken explained. "It's a very serious situation that could bring our school system from a highly regarded educational institution to something less than what our students should expect in getting a quality education."

Backers of the proposal say many school districts, especially in rural areas, are having a difficult time recruiting quality teachers. They feel that relaxing the current standards will help bring in capable faculty to fill that void.

Meanwhile, Evers says these provisions are unlikely to be removed from the budget unless legislators hear 'significant concerns' about it. He is encouraging the public to contact their local legislators to share their concerns about the budget provision.

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