House committee approves bill giving teachers more time to pass licensure exams

A bill that would give teachers more time to pass licensure exams passed a House education committee Wednesday. The bill would also allow school systems to give limited licenses to teachers who fail their exams and give three-year transitional licenses to qualified out-of-state teachers.

Posted 4:28 p.m. Jun 5, 2019 — Updated 5:54 p.m. Jun 5, 2019

Kelly Hinchcliffe

, WRAL education reporter

RALEIGH, N.C. — A bill that would give teachers more time to pass licensure exams passed a House education committee Wednesday. The bill would also allow school systems to give limited licenses to teachers who fail their exams and give three-year transitional licenses to qualified out-of-state teachers.

Senate Bill 219, which has undergone some revisions, now heads to the House Rules committee.

"There is a teacher shortage in North Carolina, as we all know, and part of it is by our our making and our own design," Sen. Tom McInnis, R-Richmond, told House K-12 Education committee members.

North Carolina "has created a monster" by allowing licensure tests to put teachers out of the classroom and make money for companies that design the exams, McInnis said. He gave an example of an unnamed teacher who performed well in the classroom and whose students' succeeded but who then lost her job when she couldn't pass the test due to testing anxiety.

"I'm certainly not interested in lowering standards," McInnis said. "[But] why do we let some asinine test get a teacher out of the classroom and be replaced with seven permanent subs?"

Rep. Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke, asked why elementary teachers are required to answer calculus questions on licensure exams when they are not required to teach that level of math.

That isn't the case, according to Tom Tomberlin, director of educator recruitment and support for the state Department of Public Instruction. He told committee members the agency's math experts have determined the tests don't contain calculus questions. But if they did, elementary school teachers have performed well, he said.

"If there is calculus, our elementary teachers are mastering calculus at a 90 percent pass rate," Tomberlin said.

Under Senate Bill 219, if a school system wants to keep a teacher in the classroom who has failed his or her licensing exam, the local board of education can submit an affidavit to the State Board of Education, signed by the principal and local superintendent, stating that the teacher is effective and will be encouraged to continue pursuing a continuing professional license.

The North Carolina Association of School Administrators said Wednesday it supports the amended bill.

“School superintendents, personnel directors and principals appreciate the bi-partisan work that has gone into Senate Bill 219," NCASA executive director Katherine Joyce told WRAL News. "This important and time-sensitive measure is needed to help address North Carolina’s ongoing teacher shortage, and we are encouraging the full General Assembly and the governor to get it signed into law as quickly as possible."

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