Late last week, Janelle Stecklein with CNHI Oklahoma filed a report about the efforts of Oklahoma lawmakers to allow people without college degrees to teach in Oklahoma classrooms – a key component of the legislature’s 2021 “Make Oklahoma Even Dumber” Act.
Via the Enid News Eagle:
In response to Oklahoma’s continued teacher shortage, lawmakers passed a measure that no longer requires educators to have a college degree in order to teach permanently in public schools.
All a prospective educator needs now is a high school diploma and “distinguished qualifications” in their field to make them eligible to teach full time in K-12 classrooms. Those people don’t have to work toward a teaching certificate or take college classes, and legislators gave local districts latitude to determine what meets the “distinguished qualifications” threshold.
Supporters claim the law will make it easier for doctors, lawyers and other trained professionals to enter the teacher pipeline, but critics say those aren’t the people applying to teach. Public school watchdogs say they’re hearing of superintendents and school boards so desperate that they’re hiring people with high school diplomas.
Not surprisingly, the article made the rounds in the Oklahoma education social media echo chamber.