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David
Blount, Editor
Increasing student enrollments, the attraction of potential
teachers to other professions and a predicted flood of coming
teacher retirements have all contributed to widespread concerns
about our public schools having an adequate number of teachers.
As noted in the Supply and Demand issue briefing, the issues
surrounding the pool of available teachers are varied and
complex, and recently, have received increased attention from
state policymakers.
In the mid-1990s, the General Assembly directed the Board
of Education and State Council of Higher Education to study
ways to relieve teacher shortages and to encourage students
to pursue teaching careers, and to examine strengthening teacher
education and supporting experienced teachers as mentors for
beginning teachers. In 1996, the General Assembly approved
HB 327, which directed local school boards to adopt policies
and practices to promote the employment and retention of the
highest quality instructional personnel. The bill had failed
on two previous attempts. Also in 1996, HB
1331 established the Minorities in Teaching Program, whose
goal was to increase the number of minorities pursuing teaching
careers. The following year, HB
2689 incorporated this program into the Virginia Teaching
Scholarship Loan Program, which had been established in the
1996-98 budget. The legislation required loan recipients to
teach in subject areas where there is a shortage of teachers,
in school divisions with high concentrations of at-risk students
or in geographic areas in need of minority and male teachers.
Also in the mid-1990s, statutory and budget action established
a statewide voluntary pupil/teacher ratio and class size reduction
program for grades K–3, initially targeted at schools
with moderate to high percentages of at-risk students. The
program later was expanded to include all schools with K–3
students.
Several studies approved in 1998 directed the Board of Education
to address various issues related to teacher supply and demand.
They included those to examine the feasibility of requiring
a one-year internship as the first year of teaching and of
establishing methods to focus students’ attention on
future education and career plans. Two other studies, one
of minority teacher recruitment and retention and one of the
demand for new teachers, were not approved but referred to
other committees for review.
Legislation in this area gained even more attention in 1999
and 2000. In 1999, HB
2087 established the National Teacher Certification Incentive
Reward Program to provide grants to teachers obtaining certification
from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
Bonuses of $5,000 and a subsequent award of $2,500 each year
for the life of the certificate were stipulated and funded
in the budget. The aforementioned Virginia Teaching Scholarship
Loan Program, previously enacted only in the budget, was codified
through HB
2607, and funds for this program were increased in the
budget. Several resolutions also were approved, including
those to study ways to create additional incentives for teachers
to achieve national certification and alternative teacher
licensure programs. SJ
445 signaled the legislature’s desire to address
teacher shortage and quality issues and to increase teacher
salaries.
In 2000, various measures designed to help attract and retain
teachers were approved. HB
473 and SB
289 made it easier for nationally certified, out-of-state
teachers to be hired. SB 113 allowed school boards to issue
nonrenewable, three-year “local eligibility licenses.”
Nearly a dozen bills were introduced related to the Teaching
Scholarship Loan Program. Five identical bills were approved
(incorporating provisions of the others) that modified the
Program to include scholarships to support critical teacher
shortage disciplines, including special education. Three bills,
HB
251, HB
252 and SB
146 were introduced, but failed to pass, to allow retired
teachers to return to the classroom without sacrificing retirement
benefits. Finally, HJ
159 and SJ
248 directed the Commission on Educational Accountability
to examine the demand for and preparation of classroom teachers,
to include an assessment of recruitment and retention efforts.
The following year, the legislature approved HB
252 and HB
1589, which allow retired VRS members to be hired as teachers
or administrators, under certain conditions, without interrupting
their retirement benefits. Employment must be in a critical
shortage area identified by the State Superintendent and there
must be a break in service, the length of which will be determined
by the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) and the Joint Legislative
Audit and Review Commission (JLARC). These provisions will
expire in 2006. Two other similar bills failed. SB
954 was vetoed, while no action was taken on SB 1248.
Also approved were HB 2629 and SB 843, which provide for a
partial lump-sum payment option for retirement system members
who remain in service at least three years after being eligible
for retirement, thus encouraging such employees (e.g., teachers)
to extend their work careers.
Public school instructional and administrative personnel
will continue to be in demand in the coming years and this
likely will spur future legislative activity. In the next
decade, more and more veteran Virginia teachers will reach
the eligible age to retire, helped along in part by General
Assembly action in 1999, through HB
1542 to lower the retirement age to 50 with 30 years of
service. As other states also are allowing retired teaches
to return to the classroom without having to give up their
retirement benefits, look for increasing pressure for Virginia
to adopt a similar stance.
1994 – HB 1045 and HB 1046 (competency/retention
of qualified teachers)
1995 – HB 2119 (retention of qualified teachers),
HB 2542 (Omnibus Educational Act/class size reduction program),
HJ 596 (goal of national average for teacher salaries), HJ
628 (teacher shortage study), HJ 629 (teacher education and
mentoring)
1996 – HB 327, HB 1331, HJ 196 (Commission on
the Future of Public Education)
1997 – HB 2689
1998 – HB 416 (assistant principal ratios), HJ
117 (study of one-year internship), HJ 148 (study of demand
for new teachers), HJ 243 (study of future education and career
plans), HJ 249 (study of minority teachers)
1999 – HB 1786 (assistant principal ratios),
HB 1895 (information on teaching to students), HB 2087, HB
2607, SB 932 (substitute teacher qualifications), HJ 728 (teacher
education programs), SJ 286 (national certification study),
SJ 384 (study of alternative teacher licensure programs),
SJ 445
2000 – HB 251, HB 252; HB 473 and SB 289; HB
1404, HB 1408, SB 630, SB 652 and SB 737 (Teaching Scholarship
Loan Program), SB 56 (teacher retirement calculations), SB
113, SB 146, HJ 203 (study of peer review/retention), HJ 266
(retirement benefits for part-time teachers).
2001 – HB 252, HB 1589, SB 954 and SB 1248, HB
2085 (increased pay for SOL teachers), HB 2589 (information
on Teaching Scholarship Loan Program), HB 2629 and SB 843,
HB 2857 (recruitment and retention program), SB 866 (teacher/administrator
tuition assistance), SB 1105 (Teaching Scholarship awards),
SB 1239 (teacher reciprocity), HJ 642 (teacher retention study),
HJ 688 (Teaching Scholarship Loan pilot projects).
As Virginia has done in recent years, other states also have
earmarked funding for teacher salary increases. Several states
in the Southeast are funding multi-year salary plans (North
Carolina, Mississippi, West Virginia) while Alabama has established
a plan to achieve the national teacher salary average. Like
Virginia, others states also provide bonuses to teachers earning
national certification (Delaware, West Virginia, Georgia,
South Carolina, Kentucky). Florida has earmarked funds specifically
for recruiting and retaining teachers and provides bonuses
for teachers who remain in low-performing schools. West Virginia
provides bonuses for mentor teachers. Mississippi also provides
scholarships for teachers who teach in “short supply” areas of the state, while Georgia provides salary supplements
for teachers in critical shortage areas. Kentucky legislation
calls for a statewide teacher recruitment plan and alternative
certification plan. Oklahoma repays educational loans of students
who major in math or science and teach in a state high school
for five years. Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee are
among the states that allow retired teachers to return to
the classroom without losing retirement benefits.
Congressional debate over a federal class size reduction
program has garnered much attention the past two years, as
about $2.5 billion has been approved for hiring new teachers
to help reduce class sizes in grades 1–3. Requests were made
this year to increase funding to $1.75 billion. In late September,
the House passed the Quality Teacher Recruitment and Retention
Act which would help school divisions recruit and keep skilled
teachers in the profession by forgiving a maximum of $20,000
in student loans over a five-year period. The bill was referred
to the Senate. Another measure introduced in the House, the
21st Century Teaching Scholarships Act, would provide grants
to successful high school students pursuing a career in teaching.
National
School Boards Association
U.S.
Department of Education
Southern
Regional Education Board
Click here for a policy issue briefing on “Supply
and Demand: Virginia Teachers and Administrators.”
Click cepi@vcu.edu to provide
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