ALLISON MARIE SAWYER
Missouri News Network
School districts could issue teaching permits to people who aren't state certified to teach under a proposal debated by lawmakers this week.
Rep. Bishop Davidson, R-Republic, said the permits could account for 5% of the teaching faculty within a single district and would address a number of Missouri’s K-12 needs.
“One is the immediate teacher recruitment issue of getting teachers and more teachers into our schools,” Davidson said of House Bill 439.
“Two, I think more broadly, ensuring that we can bring in teachers and have an adaptive teaching profession to what is an evolving economic outlook. I think we are moving away from the 40-year, retire at 62, single-career workforce, and more towards a five to 15-year multi-career workforce," he said. "I think this creates a more adaptable teaching profession that's going to be able to take advantage of that multi-career workforce in the future.”