Gov. Ron DeSantis has approved a new law to create an alternative temporary teaching certificate for military veterans, saying that their prior military experience will have value in the classroom. But the law would get around a prerequisite expected of thousands of teachers in Florida — a bachelor’s degree.
Instead, the military veteran would be allowed five years to teach in a classroom while finishing a four-year degree.
While supporters of the move suggest it will help with new teacher hires, others worry that military experience may not be adequate training for public school classrooms.
A Thursday press release from the governor’s office states that the Florida Board of Education must consider a new rule that would get the new program in place.
“Our veterans have a wealth of knowledge and experience they can bring to bear in the classroom, and with this innovative approach, they will be able to do so for five years with a temporary certification as they work towards their degree,” DeSantis said in a Rumble video Thursday. Rumble is a fringe video-sharing website, similar to YouTube.
Right now, a typical teaching degree requires a bachelor’s degree or higher, along with other qualifications to be able to obtain a professional teaching certificate.
A temporary teaching certificate also requires a bachelor’s degree. The educator, who can teach in a classroom, is allowed for three years to finish additional requirements to procure the professional teaching certificate.
But in the case of the new law, the “Educator Certification Pathways for Veterans,” certain veterans will be able to bypass the baccalaureate requirement in the temporary teaching certificate, so long as they have served four years of active-duty military service and they were honorably discharged. In addition, those veterans would need 60 college credits and earn a grade point average of at least 2.5. (A four-year degree typically requires 120 college credits.)
Darzell Warren, the president of the Escambia Education Association, previously told the Phoenix that before she was a teacher, she served in the U.S. Air Force for several years.
“There are some military vets who are going to be awesome coming into the profession, but then there are going to be vets who are going to struggle, because the military is different than coming into a classroom,” she told the Phoenix last week. “I’ve been on both sides of that.”
She added: “Yes, they have leadership skills, but you can’t treat students like you might want to treat a military subordinate.”
Teacher mentors
In addition, a veteran seeking this temporary teaching certificate pathway must be assigned a “teacher mentor” for at least two school years. The mentor is required to hold a professional teaching certificate, has at least three years of classroom experience teaching in K-12, and must be deemed “effective” or “highly effective” on aperformance evaluation in the year before.
“We do have mentor programs right now,” Andrew Spar, president of the statewide teacher union called the Florida Education Association, told the Phoenix. “But I can tell you that very often the mentor teacher is overwhelmed. And so, as a mentor teacher, they may not get to spend as much time as they would like, or as the new teacher would like, in really supporting that new teacher.”
During the Thursday Rumble video about the teaching opportunity for veterans, DeSantis blamed unions for “rigid” teaching requirements.
“For too long, the requirements to be a teacher have been too rigid, with union bosses insisting that all educators get certain credentials that often have little impact on teaching performance,” DeSantis claimed.
Spar pushed back on that notion, saying that the union has advocated for relaxing certain requirements set by the state, while still maintaining a standard of teaching quality.
“I think this is just another one of those issues for the governor to try and undermine the profession,” Spar said.
“We have a code of ethics for every teacher right now that we should maintain those ethical standards, and we should be doing everything we can to accommodate teachers once they become teachers, or when their meeting their requirements for testing and the like, in a way that makes sense. We should have that flexibility.”
“But doing away with standards does not make sense. And saying that we do not need highly trained, highly-skilled individuals in the classroom does not make sense,” Spar said.
Does not extend to military spouses
In June, DeSantis held a press conference that went over several new laws from the 2022 legislative session that involved employment opportunities for military members and their spouses, one of which included the temporary teaching pathway for veterans.
At the time, unclear messaging from the governor’s office and the Florida Department of Education led some to believe that the veteran temporary teaching certificate pathway would extend to the spouses of veterans as well.
However, the legislation that creates the temporary certificate for veterans does not include spouses in that manner, only making slight changes to fee waivers that military spouses were already eligible for.
The Florida Department of Education has since updated its webpage on the military temporary teaching certificate pathway to clarify:
“Military spouses and families are not eligible for this program,” according to the DOE, with the emphasis added.
–Danielle J. Brown, Florida Phoenix
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The Voice Of Reason says
The dumbing down of Florida, not that it needs any help.
coyote says
“If at first you don’t succeed ,
Lower your standards “
Jimbo99 says
Military Vets as teachers, can that be any worse than the parents that had the children in the 1st place that are even less qualified to raise & teach their own children ?
ULTRA MAGA says
Many Veterans could HELP end the Teacher shortage but it is NOT the Only Answer! NOTE: The 60 credits needed is 50% of the 120 credits teachers need!
Michael Cocchiola says
Fine. Then retiring teachers should be eligible to lead a platoon through basic training so long as the teacher can walk and chew gum.
Bartholomew says
They should have to teach Kindergarten, in fact all educators should teach kindergarten at least 1 year.
I love teaching says
How .. on Earth.. will anyone be able to lead a classroom with no prior experience.. all while juggling the workload of going through college / 4 year degree at the same time? No amount of military experience will help there. Even if you did not sleep, it’s not going to happen. Good luck and god bless to anyone who walks through that door with high hopes, lol.
Jack Howell says
The folks commenting on vets becoming teachers are correct in their assumptions that vets can’t handle this job. Of course, you solidly understand vets’ training and leadership backgrounds. Believe it or not, when vets were on active duty and were promoted up the ranks, they were responsible for small unit training (teaching)their subordinates. But how would you know this if you never served in the military? You have zero knowledge of the capabilities vets bring to the table. Reading the comments from the astute observations posted, I guess my teaching career in the public schools showed what a failure I was in public education. I don’t even know how I was selected twice as the Teacher of the Year in one of the high schools I taught at. Oh, I don’t see how I also was the recipient of several national teaching awards! Obviously, I did not realize that I was a failure as a teacher as I was a wounded veteran. So, I want to thank you all for your insight and pointing this out about vets’ lack of qualifications, and for giving me pause. Guess I’ll quit teaching.
James says
You mentioned somewhere here that you hold an advanced degree in psychology (among others), in my opinion you’re not a typical veteran. That’s not to say that these brave people that have served don’t deserve a chance at teaching, just that the classroom is not the place to find out.
Just my opinion.
YankeeExPat says
Well, ……I have mastered the ability to drive a Nissan Stanza so the next logical step would be fly a commercial Boeing 737.
Florida is truly the center of the Universe of Stupidity !
Geezer says
Misbehaving children will be court-martialed!
The Voice Of Reason says
Jack, Why are they entitled to a teaching job without qualifications? Go get accredited and come apply for the position. If you need a hiring preference, go deliver packages for the post office. Or work in jails or prisons. I work with vets in my line of work and I’ve seen meltdowns over trivial issues. Mental instability is an issue. This is not a good idea, typical desantis BS.
Deborah Coffey says
Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic. Parents can ban books, tell on REAL teachers for a dozen different things they don’t like, DeSantis more than doubled the school kids’ deaths in 2021 by banning masks when school started and now, he’s putting totally unqualified people in classrooms across the state. THIS is who Floridians want as a governor? Really?
Celia Pugliese says
Why other than bypassing teachers in Florida and replacing them with non qualified professionals that probably excelled in the military. Our schools are not military bases neither the battle front! Replacing teachers… why instead show respect for our FL teachers and pay them what they deserve realistic compensation ? And also show them support by let them do the work they were hired for?
Jesse says
Every other important job requires no experience, just look at what running the country. And since when do we hire the best qualified for the job? You just have to be the right color or sex and your hired!
Bartholomew says
I can see the cafeteria now……if you don’t eat your meat you can,t have any pudding; how can you have any pudding if you don’t eat your meat.
Bartholomew says
The county does try to represent the different races of the students in our schools (but really, it appears they only have two colors in their crayon box). I believe men in elementary schools have a hiring advantage.
Teaching is not as easy as people seem to think. I believe there is the idea that soldiers teaching children will straight en them (students) up.