Kansas State Board of Education to vote on ‘innovative’ districts to hire unlicensed teachers
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2015/apr/14/state-board-education-vote-allowing-innovative-dis/The Kansas State Board of Education on Thursday will vote on whether to allow designated school districts to hire unlicensed individuals for teaching positions.
Kansas passed a law in 2013 that allows up to 29 schools in the state to receive an "Innovative District" designation, which enables them to be exempted from certain state laws in the pursuit of innovation in education.
Five districts currently hold that status and make up the Coalition of Innovative School Districts. Together they are asking the board to create a Specialized Teaching Certificate that would permit unlicensed personnel to teach in the classroom — or teach a subject that they are not licensed in.
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However, Mark Desetti, a lobbyist for the Kansas National Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, said the "deprofessionalization" of education is a "slippery slope."
"This is unraveling the quality of teaching we put in our schools," he said. "We're going to be experimenting on our kids with untrained, unlicensed people."
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Brownbackistan - coming to a state near you.
= new reply since forum marked as read
I live in KS, not happily, but here I am. For years I've fought against the tide of absurdity that permeates the state's governance, but I am ready to throw in the towel. It's hopeless. Just when you think surely people will stand up and demand change, they cave and settle for this crap.
I have spent my entire professional life in education, first as a public school teacher and later as a professor of education. I cannot tell you how upsetting this is to me. School districts are dismissing early for summer because there is not enough money to remain open, and now this.
I have tried to defend the state and uphold those valiant souls who have tried to fight the good fight, but I'm done. I give up. You can't fix willful stupidity. The brain drain in the state is complete.
