Untrained Teachers Are Being Hired In Texas

Requirements to become a public school teacher in Texas are being waived all over the lone star state.

Back in 2015, Texas passed legislation allowing public schools to hire teachers with no formal classroom training.

The hope was that this would make teaching more appealing to those who had skills they could teach kids in a hands on fashion but now it seems to apply to anyone.

It wasn't meant to become standard procedure but now the majority of new teachers hired are unlicensed, especially in rural areas.

Some school administrators made it clear they intended to place these so-called uncertified teachers in positions where they could leverage their fields of expertise and keep them away from core areas like math, reading and special education, which would remain under the care of their most seasoned educators. - texastribune

Then COVID happened and schools had to rely on this exemption to restaff, core classes or not. School districts in Texas are now hiring untrained teachers left and right and over 50% of Texas students are taught by uncertified teachers.

In almost a decade since the law was passed, the number of uncertified teachers in the state’s public schools ballooned by 29%, according to a Texas Tribune analysis of state data. Uncertified teachers, many of whom are located in rural school districts, accounted for roughly 38% of newly hired instructors last year. - texastribune

Some school districts are offering untrained folks the chance to teach now while earning their teaching degrees, free of charge, if they stay with the district for a certain amount of time.

Mostly though, districts don't have that kind of money and can't attract certified teachers. Texas is 30th in the nation for average teacher pay and Texas teachers earn $8,828 less than the national average.

Those stadiums though ...