Pilot Teaching Program To Get Voted On Tuesday

A measure that would allow some Kansas school districts to hire unlicensed people to fill teaching positions is set to go before the state education board this week.

Supporters of the measure say that it would help address teacher shortages, but opponents say that opening classrooms to unlicensed teachers would be bad for students and a slippery slope for education.

The Kansas State Board of Education is expected to vote on today.

The proposal would apply to the state’s six innovative districts, which are Blue Valley, Concordia, Hugoton, Kansas City, Marysville and McPherson. The coalition was established in 2013 by state lawmakers to allow a small group of districts to work outside some of the state’s educational red tape.