Groups are pushing for alternatives to the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL), which they say can be a barrier to greater teacher diversity. As demographics across the Commonwealth change, the educator workforce continues to be majority white, and the MTEL has been identified as discriminatory against educators of color and those for whom English is not their native language. Merrie Najimy, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, said a bill before the Legislature would address alternatives to the licensure test and provide support for districts to build recruitment and retention structures. .
A workforce development program in Missouri is set to expire in August, but the state Senate passed a bill to make it permanent. The bill is now in the state House. The Fast Track Workforce Incentive Grant Program provides full-tuition scholarships to adults 25 and older who want to get a short-term credential or a degree in an area designated as high need, such as allied health, computer science, business, accounting or education. .
One year ago, President Joe Biden signed into law the nearly $2 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and New York teachers unions said the measure continues to benefit both educators and students in the state. Kara McCormick-Lyons, president of the White Plains Teachers Association in Westchester, said the money her district received from the plan has allowed it to, among many other things, update school facilities and create new programs to help address student learning loss during the pandemic. "The rescue plan has, in fact, rescued us," McCormick-Lyons asserted. " .