New Law Allows One-Year Teaching Permits To Fill Teacher Vacancies
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The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
School has started for most districts across the state, but many of them are still working hard to fill vacant teaching positions as a nationwide teacher shortage continues to plague the nation.
Clarksville Montgomery County School System is just one of the many districts in need of teachers. The system has hire at least 460 new teachers to fill vacancies, but they still have around 50 open positions.
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According to Melissa Izatt, Director of Educator Quality, they have hired a number of those teachers thanks to a new law that allows districts to request one-year teaching permits.
“On July 1 is when that window opens up, so they are able to request those permits if we have a position that’s hard to fill because we have a continued shortage in a certain area,” Izatt explained.
The new law allows individuals who are interested in teaching to be hired without having completed a traditional teacher education program. Those permits can be issued for up to three years for those who have a bachelor’s degree and plan to enroll in a program to obtain full teacher licensure.
“It’s not an easy ticket,” Izatt stated. “The permit is not just a ticket to teach, you still have to do the work that’s required, but it provides us the opportunity to reach some natural teachers that have a passion for students and have a passion for teaching and learning.”
Izatt says the district has around 70 teachers who were hired on a permit this year.
“A permit is temporary. So, for us when we hire someone on a permit, then our expectation is that they’re going to transition to what they need to do to transition to a job-embedded license.”
Governor Lee has recently signed a number of new laws in an attempt to help curb issues related to the teacher shortage. Retired teachers are now able to be rehired as teachers or bus drivers without losing all of their retirement benefits.
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
