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State Representative John Benson
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-9934
For more information contact: Ted Modrich 651-296-5809
Column/LTE
Alternative teacher licensure must ensure qualified teachers
To the editor:
The legislative session is well underway and along with the goals of balancing the budget and helping create jobs, education reform is a top priority, with a major push for alternative teacher licensure. The purpose of alternative teacher licensure is to provide a process through which people who are experienced in a field can become teachers, even if they do not meet the traditional state licensing requirements. While a bill proposed by Rep. Garafolo (R — Farmington) is speeding through the process, I’m supporting the bill offered by Rep. Mariani (DFL — St. Paul).
Rep. Mariani’s bill provides a closer connection to our higher education institutions and is far more rigorous in ensuring that the people becoming teachers through this process are qualified. Now, the bill could change as it goes through the process, but I’m concerned that Rep. Garafolo’s bill is far too vague with regards to testing requirements and how we accept teachers from other states. This issue is certainly important; we want the best teachers, regardless of where they come from, but we need them to prove their competency. Fundamentally, the biggest issue is simply assuring that we have the most qualified teachers in our classrooms.
Districts that are struggling to recruit and retain strong and qualified teachers could certainly benefit from having an alternative teacher licensure program in place, but it isn’t worth it if we don’t ensure that these new teachers are qualified to teach their subjects.
Sincerely,
John Benson
State Representative, 43B
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