Houston ISD considering hiring non-certified teachers to fill classroom jobs
Houston ISD to hire non-certified teachers
Houston ISD is looking to fill some classrooms with non-certified teachers. The request must first go through the school board and the Texas Education Agency would grant the final approval. FOX 26's Natalie Hee has more on families heading back to school this month who have mixed opinions.
HOUSTON - Houston ISD is looking to fill some classrooms with non-certified teachers. Families heading back to school this month have mixed opinions.
With school starting in just a few weeks, HISD says Superintendent Mike Miles wants to make sure campuses are fully staffed with educators.
This Thursday before the school board, Miles is expected to discuss waiving certification requirements for some teachers.
In a statement, an HISD spokesperson said, "The Superintendent will share his comprehensive plan to ensure every HISD campus starts the school year fully staffed with qualified, trained educators with the HISD School Board on Thursday at their workshop. As part of that presentation, he will discuss the targeted use of certification waivers for some educators in some circumstances with the Board. The Superintendent will be available to answer any questions from the press on the issue after that Board meeting on August 3, 2023."
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Many parents who spoke with FOX 26 say they worry that’s a bad idea.
"It’s like a red flag, maybe they don’t care about the students anymore," Bubba Harris said.
"I feel like they need to get people in there that know what they’re doing. I don’t feel like just anybody can get up and be a teacher," Daniel Jamison said.
"I actually am against that. I actually am a teacher myself, certified. It’s more than just having knowledge of a subject. The biggest issue is that teachers need to be paid more because it’s not attracting people to the profession that would be good at it, because people who are good at it and want to do it, are burning out," Erica Riback said.
But some said they were okay with the prospect.
"I think for people to work with children, they should be allowed to especially because there’s a shortage on teachers. And I think it should be okay. I don’t see anything wrong with it," said Stacey Casas.
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Jackie Anderson, the head of the Houston Federation of Teachers and an educator for more than 30 years, harshly criticized Superintendent Miles for even considering the idea.
"Those are desperate measures. I find it very offense, very insulting, and it is his attempt to demean the profession. He has an agenda but that agenda is not about equity. It's not about giving disenfranchised students what they need. It's about his agenda, his loyalty to the TEA, his loyalty to Morath, and his loyalty to Abbott. That's what this is about," Anderson said.
HISD did not specify how many teacher vacancies they were trying to fill.
According to the TEA, here are five requirements for becoming a certified teacher in Texas including:
- Obtaining a Bachelor's degree
- Completing an educator preparation program
- Passing certification exams
- Submitting a state application
- Completing fingerprinting for a national criminal background check.
The waiver request must first go through the school board and the Texas Education Agency would grant the final approval.
The TEA says certification waivers are approved on an individual, case-by-case basis and can be granted for up to three school years.
A spokesperson with the TEA adds that teacher certification waivers cannot be used for assignments to teach special education, bilingual education, English as a Second Language, and pre-kindergarten.
The TEA says certification waiver types could include:
- Allowing a person to teach without the necessary certification requirements.
- Allowing qualified individuals to teach outside their areas of certification in Career and Technical Education (CTE).
- Allowing qualified individuals to teach outside their areas of certification in a subject or course for which no state assessment has been developed.
- Allowing qualified individuals to teach outside their areas of certification in Alternative Education.
- Allowing qualified individuals to teach ROTC classes outside their areas of certification.
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