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.
