Teacher licenses
proposed

Education Secretary Riley
will propose a national model
for states to follow

By Star-Bulletin staff & wire

WASHINGTON -- In his yearly speech on the state of American schools, Education Secretary Richard Riley will propose a national model for states to follow in licensing teachers and raising the bar on teacher quality.

The model, to be outlined today at California State University, Long Beach, would also urge states to tie teachers' pay to how much they know and how well they know it.

In Hawaii, Danielle Lum, spokeswoman for the Hawaii State Teachers Association, said teachers already have to be certified to be in island classrooms. "If you are not certified," Lum said, "you have to leave in three years.

"Also, that teacher does not get the same pay as a certified teacher. All that came out of a contract that was ratified in 1996."

Greg Knudsen, Hawaii Department of Education spokesman, said Hawaii already has teacher standards board and teachers must be licensed.

Lum said all teachers must be licensed, and the three-year period was to allow a teacher to work toward certification.

Details of state-operated teacher-licensing plan The education secretary's plan for licensing teachers would be state-operated. Here are other details: New teachers would get a three-year maximum initial license after passing a written exam and an evaluation of classroom performance. Teachers who perform poorly could be fired. Other new teachers could get a professional license, provided they meet state standards and win the approval of a panel of teachers and one supervisor. The nation's top-paid teachers would be certified under a voluntary advanced license. Experienced teachers could choose to undergo a tough certification program under the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Sharon Mahoe, executive director of the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board, said Hawaii is among the nearly 30 other states that have teacher standards boards. Hawaii's was created in 1995.

Mahoe said there is a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, but that is a voluntary organization geared towards measuring highly accomplished teachers while state boards generally were set up to measure the competency of teachers on the other end of the spectrum.

Education Department officials said the model is not a "federalization" of teacher licensing, which congressional leaders and teachers' unions oppose.

"Nothing in this is going to be required of the states. We don't expect this to be part of the legislative language," said Riley spokeswoman Julie Green.

In recent testimony before Congress on President Clinton's plan to link federal money to states' school improvement strategies, Riley said proposals this year for the law governing most education programs would include some way of making sure states adopt tougher, more-relevant teacher exams.

Riley offered no specifics about what stick or carrot the federal government might use to encourage states to improve teacher licensing.

Congressional leaders today said they were hoping for a solid proposal for the education law.

"We haven't received a single legislative proposal and there is no indication we are going to receive any, anytime soon," said Joe Karpinsky, a spokesman for the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

In prepared text for his sixth annual speech, Riley mapped out the licensing model to bring states together on the issue of teacher certification.

"This is very much a state and local issue. But I have been thinking a lot about this matter," Riley's remarks read. "So let me try to start a national dialogue about this very important aspect of the teaching profession." Riley's plan suggests states and districts base a teacher's salary on the teacher's type of license, years of teaching experience and demonstrated knowledge and skills valued by the district.