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WFSU | By Margie Menzel
State leaders are concerned about running out of teachers in Florida. Now, a bill intended to address that shortage has passed the House. It would begin the process of aligning the core principles, standards and content of Florida’s different types of teacher preparation programs.
“This bill is designed to help train the next generation of educators,” said Zephyrhills Republican Senator Danny Burgess, the bill’s Senate sponsor.
“I believe this bill is necessary because 1 in 10 Florida courses lacks a properly trained and certified teacher,” Burgess said. “Fifteen percent of courses in low-performing schools are taught by out-of-field teachers, and Florida needs 9.7 percent more teachers by 2031. But fewer college graduates are choosing the educational pathway through the traditional four-year degree program.”
Teacher preparation programs are accountable for producing teachers with the competencies and skills to achieve Florida’s education goals. They’re offered by public and private postsecondary institutions, public school districts and private providers.
At the same time, Burgess says, alternate paths to becoming a teacher are growing more popular.
“While this is a good thing, it also shows that the current system is considered a bit cumbersome, maybe not what those are seeking to pursue,” he said. “So, we want to look at ways to grow the desire to become an educator. Because we believe that it’s one of the most noble professions in public service.”
The bill requires the state Department of Education to develop a new Florida Teacher Excellence Examination. It also puts new core-curricula in place for teacher certification programs.
And it would create the competency-based Coaching for Educator Readiness and Teaching Program, known as CERT, as an alternative path to certification through on-the-job mentorship and evaluation.
And after the CERT program is implemented — which won’t happen until 2029 — it will replace two other professional competency programs.
“The implementation date for this new program is July 1st, 2029.”
Hialeah Republican Representative Alex Rizo, the bill’s House co-sponsor, says it’ll take years to do everything the bill requires.
“…and so we have lots of time to go ahead and make sure that everything is right before this plane that we’re creating in the hanger that we’re building from the ground up takes off and we land the current certification plane on July 30th of 2029,” Rizo said.
While the measure has bipartisan backing, some language in the bill sparked passionate debate on the House floor. It bans teacher preparation courses from teaching that systemic racism, sexism or other forms of oppression are inherent in the institutions of the United States.
Port Orange Republican Representative Chase Tramont [TRAY mont] taught history for 10 years and is now a pastor. He says he doesn’t think teacher training courses should include discussions of issues like systemic racism.
“And I remember the ideological training that I received when I was a schoolteacher in one of our mandated teaching training seminars. And if I didn’t have enough life experience under my belt and a rock-solid education and a true unfiltered and unbiased understanding of our history, I may have succumbed to some of those beliefs that were forced upon us.”
Miami Democratic Representative Ashley Gantt, an attorney, is also certified to teach history and English.
“And history was my favorite because you can’t change what happened,” she said.
She argues discussions on systemic racism, sexism and oppression have a place both in teacher training materials and in the classroom.
“You can’t. You can teach students how to look at it critically and how to make decisions based on what kind of person that they want to be going forward based on what has happened. And look at our country — Listen, I believe in the American Dream even though my people were once currency in this country.”
Despite concerns about that portion of the bill, the House passed the measure 84-27 on Tuesday. The Senate companion is on the special order calendar.
This story was originally produced by WLRN, South Florida’s only public radio station at 91.3 FM, as part of a content sharing partnership with Miami’s Community News. Read more at WLRN.org.
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