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House approves bill to certify teachers for life

February 25, 2003
By: Megan Murphy
State Capital Bureau

Some lawmakers in the Missouri House voted to reduce the hoops teachers must jump through in order to get certification.

The House gave first round approval to a bill that grants teachers certification good for the rest of their lives. The new process elimates the need for renewal every 10 years.

Proponents of the bill, such as Representative Brian Baker, say it will allow beginning teachers to focus on instruction instead of reacting to the pressure of keeping on top of their certification requirements.

Actuality:
RunTime: 16
OutCue: "retain teachers"


Contents: "As a former education major, seeing those obstacles seeing the things that you had to accomplish to maintain your certification, looking and talking to students who see that as an obstacle. I think this is a piece of legislation that is going to allow us to retain teachers.

Opponents of the bill say it could make teachers lackadaisical in their pursuit of continuing higher education.

In Jefferson City, Megan Murphy, for Missouri Capitol Caucus

The House gave overwhelming first round approval to a bill that reduces the hoops Missouri teachers must jump through to receive certification.

Some Missouri lawmakers say the bill will reduce pressure on beginning teachers. The bill would give them certification for life after a four year mentoring period.

The bill's sponsor - Representative Danielle Moore, says the new certification process will make the profession more desirable to young teachers.

Actuality:
RunTime: 17
OutCue: "teacher becomes"


Contents: "One of our biggest goals for this bill is to encourage new teachers to really want to pursue it as a profession, a life-long profession because we all would agree that the more experience a teacher has, the better the teacher becomes."

Opponents of the bill say the comfort of lifetime certification may make teachers less driven to continue their education.

In Jefferson City, Megan Murphy, KMOX News

Some lawmakers in the Missouri House say the certification process for teachers should be less complicated.

The House gave first round approval to a bill that grants Missouri teachers lifetime certification after a four year mentoring period.

Democratic Representative Rick Johnson opposed parts of the bill that would remove the option to obtain a higher certificate of learning.

Actuality:
RunTime: 13
OutCue: "of certification"


Contents: "By removing that, removing the acknowledgement of additional certification, you actually diminish the encouragement of the teachers to do that, and obtain that higher level of certification."

Proponents of the bill say it will alleviate some of the pressure on newcomers and will allow them to focus on teaching.

In Jefferson City, Megan Murphy, KMOX News

The House gave overwhelming first round approval to a bill that reduces some of the hoops Missouri teachers must jump through to be certified.

The bill would allow teachers to be certified for life after four years of mentoring and contact with other professionals.

Opponents of the bill say the new process removes the option to receive a higher level of certification if teachers want more education. Representative Rick Johnson

Actuality:
RunTime: 13
OutCue: "of certification"


Contents: "By removing that, removing the acknowledgement of additional certification, you actually diminish the encouragement of the teachers to do that, and obtain that higher level of certification."

Supporters of the bill say the new process will relieve some of the stress felt by new teachers. They say newcomers no longer have to worry about immediately entering a graduate program when they begin teaching, and can focus more on instructing.

In Jefferson City, Megan Murphy, for Missouri Capital Caucus.