N.Y. Regents Open Door To Alternative Route to Teaching

By Bess Keller

Pressed into action by the prospect of widespread teacher shortages, New York state's board of regents has opened an alternative route into the profession.

The move, which New York officials have long resisted, comes just as the state's education chief attempts to crack down on unlicensed teachers in troubled New York City schools. Commissioner of Education Richard P. Mills has threatened the city's schools chancellor, Harold O. Levy, with a lawsuit if he continues to allow unlicensed teachers to work in the 99 city schools the state has designated as among the lowest-performing in the state.

Mr. Mills points to the alternative pathway, approved by the regents last month, as a new tool for helping the nation's largest district meet its outsized needs for qualified teachers. One-third of the city's 77,000 teachers are either uncertified or nearing retirement age, compared with about one-fifth for the state as a whole,...