GOP senators, over the objections of Democrats, approved SB 1042 on Tuesday. The bill aims to address Arizona’s chronic teacher shortage by easing qualifications — and make it easier for people with expertise in a specific subject area but who do not necessarily have teaching certification, to go into the classroom.
Critics say there are already ample avenues — traditional and non-traditional — for people to become teachers in Arizona, and that the bill ignores the main cause of the retention crisis: low teacher pay.
The bill now goes to the House.
So what are the education experts saying about the bill? To talk in depth, we’re now joined by Carole Basile, dean of the Mary Lou Fulton Teacher’s College at ASU.
