NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — When it comes to addressing Tennessee's teacher shortage, Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton (R-Cookeville) believes it's time to "think outside of the box," but his idea to possibly drop the state's bachelor's degree requirement for teachers is drawing some criticism.

During Speaker Sexton's state-of-the-state address last month, he suggested creating a two-year associate degree program for teaching to churn out more educators in Tennessee.

"Can we make it a junior college degree, knowing that the teachers will all go back to get their bachelor's degree; their master's degree," and if you want to be in administration, then yes, you have to have your master's degree," Sexton said.

Sexton compared it to the various levels of nursing, with licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, and nurse practitioners.

"They're all nursing, but they all have different levels of things that they can and cannot do," Sexton said. "Could we not set up our teachers in the same way?"

However JC Bowman, President and CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee, told News 2 dropping the state's bachelor's degree requirement for teachers would be "a huge step backwards."

“I’ve been doing this for 40 years. I’ve never heard anybody that says we need to take a step back and do away with bachelor’s degrees and go to an associate [degree]. That’s the first time I’ve heard anybody even suggest that," Bowman said. “...In Tennessee, it is now possible to graduate high school with an AA [Associate of Arts] degree. Is he saying that a kid that just graduates high school with an AA degree would be capable of going into our public schools and teaching? I think that's something that people would take a hard look at and say, 'No.'"

Bowman estimates the state is short around 2,000 educators. While he believes changes need to be made to address the problem, and he appreciates Sexton starting the conversation, he fears those with associate degrees wouldn't have the qualifications or experience necessary to teach in public schools.

In addition, Bowman told News 2 he doesn't believe Sexton's idea addresses the real reasons behind the teacher shortage in the state, which he said includes challenges many have with passing the Praxis exam, the test prospective teachers are required to pass to get certified to teach.

“People are leaving teaching not because of the qualifications to get into the field. They're leaving because of the workload and the behavior of students..." Bowman said. "The workload is too demanding. Teachers are saying, 'Look, I can do better things.' What we’ve turned teaching into is not a career anymore, but it’s a transitional path where they come in and do three to five years and leave.”

News 2 reached out to Sexton's office for a comment and received the following statement:

"An associate's degree pathway would let more people enter teaching, stay close to home, graduate debt-free, and focus on early education. Bachelor’s degrees certify K–12, while an associate’s could cover K–6 which would help fill elementary classrooms with a highly specialized teacher. Many teachers already pursue advanced degrees while working, and Associates degree teachers would likely continue toward a bachelor’s while gaining classroom experience.”

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-politics/sexton-floats-dropping-bachelors-requirement-teachers/