Buttars' teaching bill gets nod from Senate

A bill that would make it easier for experts in their field to teach in the classroom cleared the Senate with an amendment Friday.

"This fills a niche that's never been allowed to be," said SB48 sponsor Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan. His bill is now headed for the House.

Buttars isn't too keen, however, on the amendment. The bill now excludes elementary teachers from the proposed certification process.

After Friday's debate, Buttars said he was willing "to give up almost without a fight" because much of what he is talking about would happen in secondary schools anyway. But he did say some people would be angry because they didn't have a chance to teach in elementary schools.

Buttars wants to see the teacher application process streamlined so people don't have to go back to school for years and earn a teaching certificate to share their expertise in the classroom. To teach, a person would only have to apply to the Utah State Office of Education, pass a criminal background check, have certain education or certification and demonstrate competency in their subject area by passing a test or completing coursework or demonstrating skills, talent and ability, according to the bill.

Buttars said "there's no comparison" between someone trained as a teacher in say, chemistry or calculus, and someone with real world experience. "Learning facts is very hard unless you can tie them to something that works," he said.

During Friday's Senate debate, Sen. Brent Goodfellow, D-West Valley, offered the amendment to remove elementary school teachers. He said he could "appreciate the rest of the bill" and could envision it working in high schools.

He said early school years are "tender years," and that he couldn't support bringing someone into the classroom who doesn't understand teaching in that phase.

Right now there are several ways people can enter the teaching field in Utah. They can go the traditional route and earn a teaching degree. They can also show competency in their field and be recommended by a school district.

There is also the state's "Alternative Routes to Licensure" program in which people take some teaching courses and show content knowledge in their field. Buttars said he believes a specialist probably won't go back to take classes for a year and a half.

The State Board of Education briefly discussed Buttars' bill during a meeting Friday. "It's troubling me more and more," said board member Kim Burningham.

Contributing: Lisa Riley Roche. E-mail: astewart@desnews.com; dservatius@desnews.com