Kansas approves interstate teacher licenses pact; 6 more states needed

The Kansas Legislature approved the Interstate Teaching Mobility Compact, which would make teaching licenses portable among member states, when it’s approved by a sufficient number of states.

The compact needs six more signatory states in order to go into effect, reported the Topeka Capital Journal.

“Teacher shortages have been a challenge across the country, but it has been particularly tough on our rural communities,” Kansas’ Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly said in a statement after signing Senate Bill 66. “This bill addresses the teacher shortage here in Kansas by helping to fill vacancies with qualified educators who want to move to our state.”

The Council of State Governments is partnering with the Department of Defense (DoD) and the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification to support the compact, which will create reciprocity among participant states, and reduce barriers to license portability and employment, said the group’s joint website.

The National Education Association (NEA), the nation’s largest labor union, is supporting the compact, while the local Kansas NEA chapter is opposed to it.

The Kansas NEA defended their parochial interest by claiming the agreement would allow under-qualified teachers to serve in Kansas.

Kansas follows Utah, Colorado and Kentucky as approving the measure, which needs 10 states to pass it before going into effect, said the Capital Journal.

The measure is pending in about a half a dozen states, said Kentucky’s Lexington Herald Leader.

The Lexington Herald Leader reports that the DoD wants spouses of military personnel who work as teachers to be able to take their licenses to any state to be able to work.

A sponsor of the compact said that the measure allows streamlining of the approval process while still giving states the power to control the quality of teachers.

“This bill helps relieve the burden of additional testing and administrative fees while still ensuring States have power to ensure the competency of teachers,” said state Sen. Pat Pettey, a Democrat who sponsored the measure.

Teachers applying under the system would have to pass background checks, their license would have to be unencumbered, not suspended or temporary, and a commission of the several states adhering to the compact would share disciplinary information about teachers, ensuring that bad teachers are flagged, said Pettey.

Eight states already have some measure of teaching license reciprocity: Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, and Oklahoma.

But because of variations in each states’ laws, the compact is attempting to create a template for each state to offer seamless mobility in the licensure of teachers.