Teaching Profession News in Brief

Wisconsin Moving to Allow Teachers Without Degrees

By The Associated Press — June 08, 2015 1 min read
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Wisconsin may become the only state to allow people who don’t have bachelor’s degrees to be certified to teach some academic subjects, under a provision put in the state budget. The move has drawn widespread criticism, and Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, has refused to say whether he supports it.

Under the change, people with relevant experience could be licensed to teach noncore academic subjects in grades 6-12. They would not need degrees, and they could even be high school dropouts. Anyone with a bachelor’s degree could be licensed to teach in a core subject: English, math, social studies, or science.

No other state allows teachers who don’t have a bachelor’s degree to be licensed, according to the Wisconsin education department, although Georgia allows certification of career and technical education teachers without a bachelor’s.

A version of this article appeared in the June 10, 2015 edition of Education Week as Wisconsin Moving to Allow Teachers Without Degrees

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