Proposed New Bill Simplifies Licensing Requirements for Teaching in Florida

TAMPA, Florida. The proposed new bill aims to help fill Florida classrooms with more teachers by simplifying what it takes to earn a certificate and how long applicants must prove they deserve that teaching certificate.

“We have very, very good teachers, and we want to keep these very good teachers in the classroom and give them the time they need to hone their skills,” said Sen. Corey Simon, the Tallahassee Republican who introduced the bill.

The bill includes provisions that extend temporary teaching certificates for teachers from three to five years and give aspiring teachers more opportunity to prove they are qualified to teach.

In addition, the proposed bill allows candidates to waive the mandatory but controversial General Knowledge (GK) exam if they receive an “effective” or “high-performing” teacher rating from a school principal in two years. in a row.

The changes, if approved, represent the most sweeping changes to Florida’s teacher certification process since our two-year award-winning investigation first uncovered its problems.

Beginning in 2016, Florida-based investigative reporter Cathy Lagrone and photographer/editor Matthew Apthorp uncovered the frustrations of current teachers and aspiring teachers in Florida who met all class requirements but repeatedly failed the Florida Teachers Certification Exam (FTCE), which includes GK. The GK part tests the candidate’s general knowledge of core subjects, even those that the novice teacher does not teach.

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After the state tightened its teacher certification exam in 2015, Lagrone and Apthorp found that pass rates plummeted, forcing many districts to fire teachers deemed effective or highly effective.

While this new proposed bill did not spark any debate among lawmakers before they approved it during their first committee hearing on Tuesday, members of the public were quick to back it.

“The solution to find people is not to lower the requirements, but to increase the respect and salary of teachers,” said one concerned member of the public.

“I hope we don’t lower the requirements,” another person said.

“I want to make sure I have someone who is fully certified and well qualified to teach in the classroom,” said Andrew Spar, head of the Florida Education Association (FEA), the state’s largest teacher union, when asked if there would be The change in the bill makes it too easy to become a teacher.

The teacher shortage in Florida is still more than 5,000 as of January, according to the FEA, but Spar said revising teacher certification requirements is not the way to attract more teachers.

The Florida Department of Education disputes the FEA’s teacher shortage figures and cites a figure of 4,442, representing 2.4% of teacher positions as of September 1, 2022, according to the state agency.

While Spar agrees with changes to the certification process that would end, for example, an English teacher being disqualified from teaching if they fail a general maths test, Spar is concerned that the bill is still too vague to really understand its benefits and potential ramifications.

“What we want to make sure is that we maintain the requirements that you must demonstrate an understanding of the content you are teaching, you must understand the basics of teaching, practice and pedagogy,” Spar explained. “These are things that we consider vital for people entering the profession.”

“We’re not getting rid of the exam, we’re just giving them more time,” Simon said of the bill.