North Carolina may allow unlicensed teachers in the classroom, ease licensure requirements

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina lawmakers are considering several pieces of legislation that could dramatically alter what it means to be a teacher in a public school.

The state House K-12 Education Committee is scheduled to take up 17 bills over the next weeks, trying to get them passed by the full House before next week’s legislative “crossover” deadline. Bills not passed by either the House or Senate by May 8 are ineligible to become law this year, although there are exceptions.

On Tuesday, the House Education Committee’s agenda will include bills allowing school districts to hire unlicensed teachers, eliminating the requirement to pass standardized tests to get a teaching license and ending K-3 class size limits.

Next week, the committee is scheduled to take up a bill requiring teachers to post detailed lesson plans online within two weeks of their use in class.

Here’s a look at some of the bills on the committee’s agenda.

Drop test requirements for teacher licensure

House Bill 573 eliminates all standardized testing requirements for teacher licensure and prohibits the State Board of Education from requiring passage of a standardized exam to become a teacher.

The legislation would eliminate tests such as the Praxis, edTPA and Pearson exams that prospective teachers must pass to show their knowledge of the profession. In their place, prospective teachers would be expected to meet the requirements of the teacher preparation program they’re attending.

An identical bill was filed in the state Senate. Supporters of the legislation say the currently required tests have little value and only show a person is good at taking a test.

“While I’m sure there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth from the folks who profit from these unnecessary tests, the real winners will be children in our schools who will benefit from a high performance teacher in their classrooms, instead of a permanent substitute teacher,” Sen. Tom McInnis, a Republican from Moore County, previously said of the bill.

States around the country have relaxed their certification rules due to concerns about teacher shortages, according to Education Week.

A state report released in April showed the teacher turnover rate was 9.88%. Nearly one out of every 10 North Carolina teachers left the profession between March 2023 and March 2024.

Allowing unlicensed teachers in classrooms

The proposed elimination of the teacher exam requirements comes as lawmakers could expand who is allowed to become a teacher in a traditional public school.

Currently, school districts are required to have all of their teachers be licensed. They can hire people who have received temporary licenses while they meet their training requirements.

But House Bill 806 would allow school districts to have 50% of their teachers be unlicensed. That’s the same minimum threshold required for teachers at charter schools.

The “Public Schools Operational Relief” bill says unlicensed teachers would need to be college graduates to teach the core subject areas of mathematics, science, social studies, and language arts.

The bill would also require school districts to provide these unlicensed teachers with training in areas such as educating children with disabilities and how to defuse disruptive student behavior.

Ending K-3 class size limits

House Bill 806 also would end K-3 class size limits in traditional public schools, mirroring what’s now allowed in charter schools.

State GOP lawmakers lowered K-3 class size limits in 2017, saying it would help improve instruction. But school districts have complained it’s caused burdens by reducing seating capacity in elementary schools.

Currently, the state funds one teacher for every 18 students in kindergarten, 16 students in first grade and 17 students in second and third grades. Individual classrooms are allowed to have three students above that number.

The bill would make K-3 the same as grades 4-12, with class size limits being recommendations only.

Require schools to post teacher lesson plans online

House Bill 878 would require public schools to post lesson plans online, along with the name of the teacher who used the material in class.

The “Increased Academic Transparency Bill” would require public schools to post all lesson plans online “no later than 10 days after the lesson was given.” The posted lesson plans would include:

—The names of all instructional and supplemental materials, used with an electronic link to the instructional materials website.

—Any other materials used in a course, organized by title, and the author, organization or website associated with each material and activity. This would include materials created by the teacher.

—A brief description of the course materials and a link to the materials, if publicly available on the internet, or information on how to request a copy of the materials.

In 2021, state House Republicans passed an earlier version of the bill that would have required public schools to post all lesson plans used within the past year. The bill died when the Senate turned it into a different bill.

But since then, the General Assembly has passed bills such as the Parents’ Bill of Rights. This session, lawmakers are considering bills banning DEI in public schools and making it easier for parents to challenge books found in school libraries.

In the past, bill supporters say it will provide parents with more transparency about what their children will learn. But teachers have complained that it will add more work onto their already busy schedules.

Publishing central office salaries

Several other bills are on the House Education Committee agenda this week and next week, including:

—Legislation requiring school districts to post online the salaries of all central office employees.

—Legislation allowing people with concealed carry permits to have their handgun on private school property.

—Legislation making various charter school changes, including allowing charter schools to not post class rank on student transcripts.

—Legislation creating open enrollment policies allowing students to attend any school in their district. Rejected enrollment requests could be appealed to the State Board of Education.

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