Among the lesser-publicized (but still disconcerting) provisions tucked into the 2015-17 state budget is a Republican backed provision that would deregulate licensing standards for middle and high school teachers across Wisconsin.
Adopted as a K-12 omnibus motion by the Joint Committee on Finance (JFC), the education package deregulates licensing standards for middle and high school teachers across the state. The legislation being rolled into the biennial budget would require the Department of Public Instruction to license anyone with a bachelor’s degree in any subject to teach English, social studies, mathematics, and science. The only requirement is that a public school or school district or a private choice school determines that the individual is proficient and has relevant experience in each subject they teach. Traditional licensure requires educators in middle and high school to have a bachelor’s degree and a major or minor in the subject they teach, plus completion of intensive training on skills required to be a teacher, and successful passage of skills and subject content assessments.
Additionally, the JFC motion would require the DPI to issue a teaching permit for individuals who have not earned a bachelor’s degree, or potentially a high school diploma, to teach in any subject area, excluding the core subjects of mathematics, English, science, and social studies.
It’s worth noting the DPI’s press release also indicated both deregulation provisions in the JFC motion might also prevent the fingerprinting and background checks required of all other licensed school staff.
Poorly educated staff who’ve not had proper background checks? Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me, but apparently Wisconsin’s Republicans think it’s a fine idea!
The GOP legislators have certainly fashioned themselves experts in education. They come up with the proposals that are so off the wall that the only way they become reality is to slip them into the budget under the cover of darkness. Why on earth has the budget become the dumping ground for all bad policy? These legislators are proving that they should be part time as they dump most of these non fiscal items into the budget rather than having them be stand alone bills that require floor debate and heaven forbid “public hearings!” The way the legislature now operates they would only have to meet during the budget finalization every two years.
If the public schools keep getting lower standards legislated upon them but maintain the high regulatory expectations, it will be prime real estate for the unregulated charter privateers to overcome. Seems like it fits right in to ALECs agenda and that of the others looking to capitalize on what they hope to be the charter boom.
What are Walker, the college dropout, and his fellow GOP un-educators up to?
The obvious or direct answer is to lower the quality of teachers. Indirectly, Walker’s budgetary actions can only lower the quality of our children’s or grand children’s education which will limit their future ability to compete for jobs in the adult world.
Less obvious is a cost reducing effect for the private school profiteers who will be able to hire a teaching staff without a degree, or a non-applicable degree, and/or unlicensed at a much lower salary.
An unintended result will be a furthering of the “income disparity” as a less educated population graduate and become a cheap labor source for the 1% and their all consuming greed.
As I have stated elsewhere, Walker et al are immoral. They are “killing” our kids future economic life. If employment is unattainable or is not well-paying because of a limiting education, one does not have much of a life. Also the Department of Public Instruction and the elected supervisor’s authority and role in such matters is being illegally usurped and in violation of our State Constitution in my opinion.
To say it another way: Walker and his GOP legislators are guilty of child education molestation.
“Oh, the humanity!” http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Oh+the+humanity
I’m having a wee problem with the hyperbole on this issue. The legislation, which is terrible, “would require the Department of Public Instruction to license anyone with a bachelor’s degree in any subject to teach English, social studies, mathematics, and science.” If we want to be taken seriously, why can’t we just explain why that is a no good and vary bad thing? Why do we risk being dismissed because we are inflating the issue and saying “anyone” or “high school dropouts” etc.? I know I had plenty of TAs in college with bachelor’s degrees in their subject, but no training in education and most of them weren’t very good at teaching. That’s the sort of message we should be repeating–that good teachers are those taught to teach.
Perhaps you didn’t read my post fully, so I’ll clear something up for you.
Read that a couple of times, let it sink in, then tell me how my original entry was hyperbolic.
So to sum up my argument, this provision is a no good and very bad thing because it would potentially allow individuals who do not have high school diplomas to teach middle and high school students. I think that’s a terrible idea, but then again, that’s what I wrote in my original entry.
@tanyaoe, thank you. Here are a few hyperbolic questions that I seek answers to in no order of priority:
1. What relevant educational experience, college courses, or competent advisory sources does Governor Walker have or sought to make such drastic changes to Wisconsin’s educational system?
2. Ditto for the GOP legislators?
3. Why is the elected State Superintendent of Public Education not been consulted and his budgetary submission ignored and omitted by Governor Walker according to one source?
4. Is this one more GOP Alec political trick to limit or eliminate the citizen’s voice in the education of our children and convert Wisconsin’s Constitutional guaranteed public education to one of a private for-profit with no citizen input or oversight?
5. What is the justification or need for these far reaching changes, budgetary and to the law, affecting every Wisconsin student and their family?
6. Why are the Governor and our legislators relaxing or lowering the competence and educational standards required for Wisconsin teachers?
So many questions, but no answers!
I don’t see anyone connecting the dots on this proposal. This proposal is a win-win for Walker and the Wisconsin Republican Party as they solve 2 problems: the increasing teacher shortage in Wisconsin caused by Act 10 and the $300 million dollar cut to the UW system
By removing ALL requirements to obtain a Wisconsin teaching license, Walker and his Republican legislative allies give the UW system an easy way to make $300 million in cuts. Close EVERY School of Education in the UW system. No need for them anymore b/c this budget provision means anyone can be a teacher in Wisconsin public schools-no training or education necessary.
In fact, if you go to the UW system budget and look at funding for the Schools of Education in Wisconsin, if you add up all the funding, you get almost exactly $300 million dollars. Two problems solved. Thank you Governor Walker. On Wisconsin!!!!!
Justin, okay “two problems” are solved for Walker and the Republican party, but major problems remain for having competent elementary and high school teacher’s for Wisconsin’s youth and affordable education for college aspirants.
The budget is lose-lose proposal for the education and future success of ALL students under the incompetence, political expediency, blind ideology, and moral cowardice of Walker and his co-conspirators in the legislature.
In a recent release, Senator Vinehout decries the effect of past decisions on public education and the proposals in his new budget: “Local public schools are at a breaking point. These new private school proposals will hasten their demise.”
http://legis.wisconsin.gov/senate/vinehout/Pages/default.aspx
Using his words, she challenges Walker, “Governor,it’s time to stand by your promise and make our public schools ‘whole’.”
If Walker’s Public School promise to make them whole is anything like his “jobs” promise, I foresee instead a vast funding hole for the operation of public schools.
Walker and the Wisconsin Republicans are far right-wing lunatics, but if the bill requires an applicant to have a bachelors degree how does that translate into high school dropouts teaching our kids? What am I missing?
Taken from my original post:
Thanks, Zach. The actions of Walker and the JFC or the legislature on this and other education issues must continue to be exposed and given the widest possible dissemination.
I suggest that commenters or readers here forward, as I do, their reaction to these hare-brained and harmful proposals affecting our children to their representatives and local media. It is so easy to forward a link.
The education of our children, or having a “healthy” mind, is equal in priority to having a “healthy” body in my opinion. To be silent is being enabling or complicit.
“Change the rules!”
As one UW employee stated recently “Academic freedom will be so stunted by the changes to tenure and shared governance at UW System campuses passed by the joint Legislature’s Finance Committee last week that UW Madison professor Sara Goldrick-Rab says she’s looking for a new job .”
And further, “They changed the conditions of our employment overnight.”
http://host.madison.com/news/local/writers/pat_schneider/sara-goldrick-rab-tenure-changes-would-signal-it-s-time/article_f8a3c9ad-8cdb-5361-9d1d-
82f08821c6b5.html#utm_source=host.madison&utm_campaign=/email/captimes_news/&utm_medium=email&utm_content=featured_headline
Are not Oligarchs, Dictators, Cheaters famous for the unfair tactic of “change the rules” in the middle of a contest or event to ensure winning or when they are loosing?
Why am I not surprised that Walker and his goose-stepping GOP legislators would employ the same tactics in Education that were used in Act10, redistricting., WEDC, Voucher schools, voter registration, and on and on?