Lawmakers in the Kentucky House Education Committee have greenlighted a bill aimed at addressing the state's widespread teacher shortage. It is estimated there are thousands of teacher vacancies in school districts across the state.
House Bill 319 would allow someone with at least a bachelor's degree and at least four years of experience in their field to teach, under the supervision of a certified teacher. The bill would also streamline the pathway to state certification for military spouses who are certified to teach in other states.
Sara Green, a Fayette County Middle School teacher and member of the American Federation of Teachers-Kentucky 120 United, said the bill is a good start.
"However, the bigger problem, that our legislature refuses to deal with, is the issue of making sure that we retain our teachers that we already have in the profession," Green contended.
The legislation would also create an online statewide job-posting system, loosen requirements for teacher scholarships, and -- if funding is available -- expand the "GoTeachKY" ambassador program. The House Education Committee approved the measure by an 18-0 vote. It now heads to the full House for consideration.
Green pointed out schools are also grappling with shortages of bus drivers, care professionals and cafeteria employees, and said educators are taking on more responsibilities every day because schools are not fully staffed. Green believes the problem will be fixed if Kentucky fails to address teacher pay and benefits, noting there is little incentive for college graduates to enter the field.
"I feel like because we've become political pawns, our ideas -- and just our objective story about what's going on right now -- has been completely dismissed," Green asserted.
A 2021 Rand Corporation Survey found almost half of experienced teachers who voluntarily stopped teaching in public schools after March 2020 left because of the pandemic, citing stress and insufficient pay as the main factors driving their early retirement.
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Idaho students still have not caught up to pre-pandemic levels in education, according to a new report.
The third annual Education Recovery Scorecard finds Idaho students are half a grade level behind 2019 marks in math, and 60% behind in reading.
One of the biggest issues in the state is chronic absenteeism.
Professor Tom Kane - lead author of the study and faculty director at the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University - said the pandemic was the earthquake, but absenteeism is the tsunami that keeps rolling through schools.
"Fewer than 5% of students in Idaho were chronically absent before the pandemic," said Kane, "but right after the pandemic in 2022, more than 20% of students were chronically absent - so missing more than 10% of the school year."
The scorecard says Idaho ranks 30th in math recovery and 38th in reading recovery between 2019 and 2024.
However, the report also points to bright spots - such as in Lewiston, Kuna, and Idaho Falls, where students are approaching or exceeding full recovery.
The report finds the gaps between high-income and low-income districts nationally has widened, with the richest districts nearly four times more likely to recover in math and reading when compared to the poorest districts.
Kane said the country is failing some students.
"School closures were a public health measure that was taken on behalf of all of us," said Kane. "But, at this point, the people who are paying the biggest price for those school closures are not adults. They're children, especially poor children."
Federal relief dollars expired last year. However, Kane said there still are ways states can help students.
He urged teachers to tell parents when students fall behind. Kane also noted that states have Title I funds - grants to improve academic performance especially in high-poverty schools.
"States do have some flexibility in how they administer federal Title I dollars," said Kane, "and we encourage states to use that flexibility and continue funding academic catch-up efforts like tutoring and summer learning."
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A New York bill would require schools to teach about the Jan. 6 insurrection.
The bill calls for all K-12 students to be taught about the event, with the state determining how best to incorporate the events into history classes. Since 2021, public opinion on the U.S. Capitol attack has dulled because President Donald Trump and his supporters have downplayed it since then
Asm. Charles Lavine, D-Glen Cove, the bill's sponsor, said it is important not to whitewash the facts.
"The problem with whitewashing history is that students in those states are not going to learn to be the critical thinkers that we really need in order to confront the great dilemmas that will face us in the future," Lavine contended.
Though initial polls found people equated the Capitol attack with an attack on democracy, some polls show people approve of Trump's actions. Many groups have teaching tools so educators can accurately answer students' questions about Jan. 6.
While the bill is relatively new, it has garnered positive feedback. It is under review by the Assembly's Education Committee.
The bill comes several weeks after President Donald Trump pardoned everyone prosecuted for participating in the Jan. 6 attack. Polls show most people disapprove of the pardons.
Lavine acknowledged one challenge for the bill is finding an impartial way to teach about a politically polarizing event, adding it will be left to the state's education experts.
"Those are the members of the Board of Regents, in consultation with the state's Education Department, to make the determination about what is taught particularly in subject matters," Lavine outlined. "What this bill simply does is add to a list of major subject areas that should be instructed in our public schools."
Along with the Capitol attack, the bill also calls on teachers to educate students about patriotism, citizenship, civic education, values and America's history with diversity and religious tolerance. Lavine noted one goal of the bill is to ensure children learn about good and bad parts of history, from slavery and the Holocaust to the Irish potato famine.
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With cost at the forefront of prospective students' minds, higher education institutions in North Carolina are rethinking how to overcome one of the biggest barriers to enrollment.
William Peace University in Raleigh has launched its "Peace Pledge," a program offering 100% tuition coverage for qualifying students.
Damon Wade, vice president for enrollment management and marketing at the university, said school officials took a hard look at the enrollment challenges students faced.
"Cost was a major factor in their decision-making for them and their families," Wade observed. "We wanted to do our level best to try to mitigate that and remove cost as a barrier to their education as reasonably as we possibly could."
Qualifying students must be first-time, traditional undergraduate students who reside in North Carolina. They also must come from households with incomes of $75,000 or less, be eligible for federal Pell Grants and have a high school grade-point average of 3.25 or higher.
Other colleges in North Carolina are also offering free tuition, including Duke University, which covers tuition for families with incomes less than $150,000. Wade pointed out colleges are closely considering the cost students face.
"A lot of institutions around the country and then particularly in North Carolina have given thought to the cost associated with education and have come up with different pathways for students to enroll," Wade explained.
Wade added students want to enroll in programs to prepare them for the workforce or graduate school.
"But they want to do it in as cost-effective as possible," Wade emphasized. "We hear that from them and their parents, and they understand that mom and dad or their guardians don't always have the capacity to cover the cost."
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