Kimberly Baker’s fight to get a permanent teaching license may soon be over.
For years, Baker has been trying to get the Minnesota Board of Teaching to issue her a license that reflects her training and the work she did in Iowa before relocating to Minnesota. So far, even after Baker won the backing of an administrative law judge, the board has turned her down.
If Gov. Mark Dayton signs a bill overhauling the way Minnesota credentials educators that was sent to him Tuesday by the Legislature, Baker might have a better chance.
“I appreciate the high standards in this state. I take my profession very seriously,” Baker said Tuesday while on a break from the classroom at Riverview Elementary in Farmington where she teaches on a temporary license. “I think (Dayton) needs to consider the out-of-state teachers who have the coursework and past licenses and make it more accessible for them.”
With a 76-54 vote in the House followed by a 36-31 vote in the Senate, the Legislature approved a bill Tuesday that supporters say will do just that — calling it the biggest update to teacher licensing rules in decades. It would consolidate work now done by the Board of Teaching and the state Department of Education that many critics call confusing and unfair.
The bill would create a Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board that would credential teachers in a four-tiered system based on their qualifications and experience. It would also streamline the licensing process for educators trained out of state and in unconventional ways while increasing the transparency around decisions to deny a license application.
Education advocates hope overhauling the licensing system will make it easier for school officials to fill a growing number of vacancies in key fields such as science, math and special education and for career and technical high school courses.
“This proposal raises the bar for our teachers and candidates for the classroom,” Rep. Sondra Erickson, R-Princeton, who co-chaired the committee that finalized the bill, said before the vote. “It is innovative and it is reform.”
Erickson, a former educator who once served on the Board of Teaching, noted the bill went through 45 different iterations and was the subject of more than 25 meetings and a thousand hours of discussion and debate.
Dayton’s signature is not guaranteed.
Erickson and Sen Eric Pratt, R-Prior Lake, chief sponsor of the bill in the Senate, said state Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius told them Monday she would recommend that Dayton sign the bill. But on Tuesday Democrats and Cassellius’ spokesman said the commissioner couldn’t give the legislation her full support because it lacked the money to implement the changes.
Republicans countered that the estimated $3 million needed for the new licensing system would be included in the education funding bill legislative leaders are still negotiating.
Some Democrats also raised concerns that the new system makes it too easy for people without professional training to get a teaching license. They worry inexpensive, underqualified teachers will be placed in hard-to-staff schools that serve students facing the biggest challenges.
Democrats argue Minnesota schools struggle to fill some positions because of low pay and other challenges, not just because of a shortage of licensed educators.
“I believe it really dilutes the overall quality that parents expect, that fellow teachers expect,” said Sen. Chuck Wiger, DFL-Maplewood, who was part of a working group that recommended ways to fix the licensing system. “It will undermine our ability to get at the root cause of the teacher shortage.”
It’s an argument Republicans have rejected, saying they trust local school leaders to hire the best teachers available.
Sen. Pratt noted that the bill has support from a broad variety of groups that advocate on behalf of public schools. One exception is Education Minnesota, the state teachers union, that has called for Dayton to veto the bill.
“This was truly a compromise bill and I hope they will get on board,” Pratt said of the teachers union opposition to the legislation.
Once Dayton receives the bill, which could happen as soon as Wednesday, he has three days to sign or veto it. The governor can also let it become law without his signature.