DPI readying rule changes to provide teacher licensing flexibility during COVID pandemic
Many school districts across the state are facing teacher and staff supply challenges that have been made worse by the pandemic. As we reported in an earlier blog post, the WASB–along with other K-12 advocacy groups–has urged legislative leaders to take up and pass a set of statutory changes to address, among other things, teacher licensing flexibility, and potential revenue losses due to fluctuations in September pupil counts.
In response to calls for greater teacher licensure flexibility amid that challenges posed by the pandemic, the DPI has initiated rulemaking changes to Chapter PI 34, the administrative rules chapter relating to teacher licensing. The department is referring to these changes as “Licensing flexibilities during a pandemic declaration” in its scope statement. (more…)