More school districts have turned to unique ways to combat an ongoing teacher shortage across the country. The Houston Independent School District (ISD) began applying for a state waiver that would allow it to hire hundreds of uncertified teachers.
Under Texas state law, teachers must have a bachelor’s degree, complete an educator preparation program, pass the appropriate certification exams and apply to be certified by the state. A waiver allows districts to hire teachers with no certification, teaching experience or education degree.
“We know we are going to struggle to find certified teachers to fill those gaps, so we are starting a process to find full-time teachers who do not have certification but do have degrees, to ensure parents have what they deserve for their children: a full-time dedicated teacher in every classroom,” a spokesperson for the district said.
The Houston ISD started the 2022-23 school year with more than 600 teaching vacancies. While it hasn’t released an exact number of vacancies for the 2023-24 school year, the district did say it has fewer openings than it did the previous year.
Outside of Houston, there’s a growing reliance on a program aimed giving those already working in school settings a chance to earn an education degree at a low cost. This includes classroom aides, lunchroom workers, after-school staff, custodians and bus drivers.
The program’s “apprenticeship degree” model costs $75 per month. Classes are online and taught by award-winning teachers. School districts looking to combat the teacher shortage must agree to have teaching prospects work in the classroom 15 hours per week as a part of training.
In the past two and a half years, the program has grown from 50 applicants to about 1,000. Most of the applicants came from rural areas of Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama and California.
