Hugoton School District Could Hire Unlicensed Teachers Under New Law

Kansas could allow five public school districts designated as innovative districts to hire unlicensed teachers.

The State Board of Education plans to vote Thursday on a proposal drafted by the districts.

The plan would permit unlicensed personnel to teach in classrooms or to teach subjects for which they are not licensed.

Supporters say the plan would foster innovation and allow the districts to tailor their staffs to teaching needs. But the state’s largest teachers’ union says the plan would lessen professionalism in education.

The affected districts would be Concordia; Hugoton; McPherson; Kansas City, Kansas, and Blue Valley in Johnson County.

But a 2013 law allows the state board to designate up to 29 innovative districts and lessen regulation to foster new education approaches.