Story at a glance
- Florida is allowing veterans to apply to become temporary teachers.
- Interested veterans don’t need to have a college degree but must have served at least four years of military service, along with other criteria.
- The Florida Education Association believes recruiting veterans won’t help its teacher shortage, as it doesn’t address low pay and lack of professional respect.
Florida has unveiled a new plan to address the state’s teacher shortage, with a focus on recruiting veterans to become temporary teachers.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is directing the state’s Department of Education (DOE) to allow veterans to receive a temporary five-year teaching certificate while they earn a bachelor’s degree. The certificate will allow veterans to become mentor teachers for a minimum of two years.
In order to be eligible, veterans must have served a minimum of four years of military service with an honorable or medical discharge, earned a minimum of 60 college credits with a 2.5 grade point average, received a passing score on a Florida subject area exam and cleared a background check.
“Our veterans have a wealth of knowledge and experience they can bring to bear in the classroom and with this innovative approach they will be able to do so for five years with a temporary certification as they work towards their degree,” said DeSantis in a video announcing the new initiative.
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Notably, interested veterans do not need to have a college degree to become a temporary teacher —they only need to be enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program at the time of applying.
The legislation, SB 896, was passed unanimously in the Florida House and Senate with the intention of opening opportunities in the education sector and to address Florida’s severe teacher shortage.
The Florida Education Association (FEA) said at the start of 2022 there were more than 9,500 total teaching vacancies in the state. The group cites a variety of reasons, primarily the lack of pay.
FEA said Florida ranks in the bottom five nationally for teacher salaries and education staff professionals earn poverty wages. Staff also face a lack of support and flexibility and overcrowded classrooms.
Andrew Spar, president of FEA, told Changing America that though the group appreciates anyone with the qualities to make a good teacher, including veterans, the new initiative will not solve the biggest issues educators are facing — low pay and lack of professional respect.
“We would not even be having this conversation if we addressed those two issues, nor would we allow this conversation to happen if we were discussing airline pilots or doctors. We need to fill Florida’s vacancies while ensuring we have the best and most qualified teachers and staff working with our students,” said Spar.
It’s a problem not unique to Florida, as teachers around the country are leaving the profession due to burnout. A survey by the National Education Association found that 55 percent of educators — regardless of years of experience — planned to leave teaching earlier than expected due to pandemic-related stress.
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