Ford bill to remove unpopular teacher licensing requirements

INDIANAPOLIS – On Monday, State Senator J.D. Ford (D-Indianapolis) announced an important education bill he plans to file for the 2020 legislative session. Sen. Ford’s bill would repeal a piece of legislation passed in the 2019 session that requires teachers to complete 15 hours of externships or other types of professional development to renew their teaching license. 

“We need to let teachers do what they do best: teach our students,” Sen. Ford said. “It has been made abundantly clear what teachers think of these new licensing requirements since the bill’s passage in the spring. They feel like the state is imposing more ridiculous regulations on them that they must carve even more of their limited time outside of the classroom to complete.”

“Our teachers already spend much of their mornings, evenings and weekends prepping lessons plans, grading papers and mentoring students,” Sen. Ford said. “It is asking too much to then force our educators to find the time to complete externships in lieu of allowing them the ability to focus on educating children.

“If we truly want our students to succeed in school and after graduation, we should be empowering our teachers. Let’s raise their pay. Let’s make sure our public schools are fully funded. Let’s make sure teachers don’t have to use their own money to buy classroom supplies. If we give our teachers the resources they need to educate our youth, our students would truly thrive.”