OPPOSE SB142; VEA SAYS NO TO RELAXING TEACHER LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS
February 5, 2024
February 5, 2024
STOP HURTING STUDENTS BY LOOSENING TEACHER LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS.
There are several bills in the General Assembly to lower requirements of teacher licensure, one of these bills, SB142, drastically loosens requirements and standards for teacher licensure, by allowing local school boards and superintendents the sole authority to approve licensure without state board approval, take away the right of these teachers to earn continuous status (due process protections), reduce teacher quality and diminish teachers’ professional status, and ultimately hurt student learning outcomes. Over the past five years, measures have been established to open up and loosen teacher licensures to a point where the number of applications for provisional licenses in Virginia has grown exponentially, from 117 in 2015 to 2,698 in 2021—a more than 2000% increase. And now, 46 percent of school divisions surveyed by JLARC reported that provisionally licensed teachers are very poorly or poorly prepared to be teachers. SB142 would exacerbate these trends.
The ways for schools to recruit and retain the best and brightest educators are to boost their compensation, focus on the well-being of educators, stop micro-managing them, show them respect, bring more people into the profession by covering the cost of their teacher preparation courses in exchange for a commitment to teaching in a district, and establishing teaching apprenticeships — programs that pay for aspiring teachers’ education and allow them to work and be paid while they earn their degrees. Loosening teacher licensure requirements is not the answer. Providing educators who are not qualified or trained in the pedagogy of teaching is a slap in the face to the profession of teaching.
All teachers should be “profession-ready” from their first day of responsibility for student learning. This means that, before becoming a teacher-of-record, teacher candidates must demonstrate the skills and knowledge needed for effective classroom practice. While teachers continue to learn and grow after entering the profession, no candidate should ever be called a “teacher” without demonstrating the ability to improve student learning. Candidates who are placed in classrooms and expected to learn how to teach on the job are not profession-ready.
Contact members of the Senate Committee on Education and Health today and urge them to OPPOSE SB142.
7:00 a.m. | Sickle Cell Anemia Caucus; House Subcommittee Room 8, General Assembly Building |
CANCELLED | House Privileges and Elections – Constitutional Amendments; House North Subcommittee Room – 200, General Assembly Building – CANCELLED |
7:00 a.m. | Senate Finance and Appropriations General Government Subcommittee; Senate Finance & Appropriations Room, 13th Floor, General Assembly Building |
7:30 a.m. | House Education – K-12 Subcommittee; House Committee Room A – 008, General Assembly Building (Provide Comment) (sub-committee info) |
8:00 a.m. | House Transportation – Department of Motor Vehicles; House Committee Room B – 205, General Assembly Building (Provide Comment) (sub-committee info) |
8:00 a.m. | House Health and Human Services – Social Services; House Committee Room C – 206, General Assembly Building (Provide Comment) (sub-committee info) |
8:00 a.m. | Senate Finance and Appropriations Resources Subcommittee; Committee Room A, 3rd Floor, General Assembly Building |
8:30 a.m. | House Health and Human Services; House Committee Room C-206, General Assembly Building (Provide Comment) (committee info) |
Adj full | House Health and Human Services – Health; House Committee Room C – 206, General Assembly Building – Immediately upon adjournment of full committee (Provide Comment) (sub-committee info) |
9:00 a.m. | House Transportation; House Committee Room B-205, General Assembly Building (Provide Comment) (committee info) |
Adj full | House Transportation – Transportation Infrastructure and Funding; House Committee Room B – 205, General Assembly Building – Immediately upon adjournment of full committee (Provide Comment) (sub-committee info) |
9:15 a.m. | Senate Finance and Appropriations; Senate Committee Room A, 3rd Floor, #305, General Assembly Building |
10:00 a.m. | Press Conference: Virginia House Democratic Caucus; House Briefing Room, General Assembly Building |
11:00 a.m. | House Democratic Caucus; House Room 2, The Capitol |
11:00 a.m. | House Republican Caucus; House Room 2, The Capitol |
11:00 a.m. | Senate Democratic Caucus; Senate Room 1, The Capitol |
11:15 a.m. | Senate Republican Caucus; Senate Room 2, The Capitol |
12:00 p.m. | House Convenes; House Chamber, The Capitol |
15 min aft | Senate Privileges and Elections; Senate Room B, General Assembly Building – 15 minutes after adjournment (View Meeting) (committee info) |
30 min aft | Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources; Senate Room A, General Assembly Building – 30 minutes after adjournment (View Meeting) (committee info) |
1/2 hr aft | House Labor and Commerce; House Committee Room A-008, General Assembly Building – 1/2 hour after adjournment of House (committee info) |
Adj full | House Labor and Commerce – Subcommittee #1; House Committee Room A – 008, General Assembly Building – Immediately upon adjournment of full committee (sub-committee info) |
Adj sub #1 | House Labor and Commerce – Subcommittee #3; House Committee Room A – 008, General Assembly Building – Immediately upon adjournment of Subcommittee #1 (sub-committee info) |
Adj House | House General Laws – ABC/Gaming; House Committee Room B – 205, General Assembly Building -1/2 hour after adjournment of House (Provide Comment) (sub-committee info) |
adj of ABC | House General Laws – Procurement/Open Government; House Committee Room B – 205, General Assembly Building – immediately upon adjournment of ABC/Gaming Subcommittee (Provide Comment) (sub-committee info) |
15 min aft | House General Laws; House Committee Room B-205, General Assembly Building – 15 minutes after adjournment of Procurement/Open Government Subcommittee (committee info) |
3:30 p.m. | Senate Finance and Appropriations Resources Subcommittee; Finance and Appropriations Room, 13th Floor, General Assembly Building |
CANCELLED | Senate Finance and Appropriations Education Subcommittee; Senate Finance & Appropriations Room, 13th Floor, General Assembly Building CANCELLED |
4:00 p.m. | House Education – K-12 Subcommittee; House Committee Room C – 206, General Assembly Building (Provide Comment) (sub-committee info) |
4:00 p.m. | House Finance – Subcommittee #2; House North Subcommittee Room – 200, General Assembly Building (Provide Comment) (sub-committee info) |
4:00 p.m. | Senate Education and Health Subcommittee on Health; Senate Room C, General Assembly Building |
4:30 p.m. | Conservative Caucus; House Subcommittee Room 9, General Assembly Building |
According to a poll conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University, 66% of Virginians say public schools do not have enough funding to meet their needs.
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