Two new state laws aim to draw more teachers into Louisiana classrooms.
Governor John Bel Edwards signed House Bill 546 and Senate Bill 377 into law. HB 546 is now Act 707. It repeals the mandate for prospective teachers to take the Praxis Core Exam. SB 377 is now Act 244. It also repeals that mandate, but it removes even more barriers.
"It removes student evaluation and counseling requirements for students entering the education program," Cynthia Posey, the legislative and political director of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, said. "This is done in hopes that this would encourage people to enter the teaching profession."
Prospective teachers still would have to take the Praxis subject tests to receive certification, but lawmakers and other stakeholders are hopeful the new laws will lead to a rush of new teachers. Rep. Buddy Mincey (R-Denham Springs) told a legislative committee that the previous requirements cost the state around 1,000 new teachers each year.
Posey says the new laws may help bring teachers into the classroom, but they don't solve another problem facing education in Louisiana: teacher retention.
"The issues that we have that have caused teachers to leave are still there," Posey said. "If we get a huge influx of teachers once they get in there, by year five, just as statistics show now, we'll lose about 44 percent of those."
Posey says a lack of respect and being ignored by lawmakers and stakeholders are among the reasons why teachers quit.
"If you look back at the statistics (and) the data that we have from the Department of Education: no, they're not going to stay because they've not made it a profession where teachers want to stay," Posey said. "I think that's really the problem. That's really the question we should ask. Will these teachers stay even though we've done this?"
Cynthia Posey says the state is seeing a major turnover in qualified teachers.
"Over half of the teachers who left the profession from 2016 to 2019 were rated 'effective' or 'highly effective,'" Posey said.
Posey questions if the new laws will fill those gaps.
"What this does is instead of trying to keep the teachers that are already in, that are highly effective, (and) that have the experience to truly teach our children, we are lowering the bar to entering the profession," Posey said. "I don't know if this is the right answer. Maybe it's a partial solution."
