More Emergency Teaching Licenses Being Issued in Wisconsin

Wednesday, March 22nd, 2023 -- 10:19 AM

(By Gaby Vinick, Wisconsin Public Radio) -As school districts scramble to fill teacher positions, more are hiring people with emergency licenses, according to a new report.

According to Gaby Vinick with Wisconsin Public Radio, the Wisconsin Policy Forum reported the number of emergency teaching licenses issued has nearly tripled over the last decade. The state Department of Public Instruction issued 3,197 emergency licenses last year, up from 1,125 in 2013. Roughly 100 more school districts across the state have employed teachers with emergency licenses since 2013, jumping from 303 to 406 last year.

"It's indicating that we don't have people that want to become teachers, and if education is important to us, how do we promote our best and brightest in society to want to become educators instead of scrambling to find someone at the last minute that can fill a position?" said Don Cramer, lead author of the report.

The state can issue emergency licenses, one-year licenses with stipulations, to people with a bachelor's degree in any subject area. Those teachers don't have to be fully certified, and the emergency licenses can be renewed for those working to meet the requirements of a full license.

Urban schools employed 42 percent of people with emergency licenses, compared to rural schools at 33 percent, suburban schools at 14 percent and town schools at 7 percent, according to the report. Yet the general increase in their use occurred across the state.

Cramer said the distribution of emergency licenses reflects a long-term trend, and the pandemic didn't play a disproportionate role in the report's findings. He said the report's findings suggest teachers are taking an alternative route to licensure. Instead of going through extra schooling, more are "getting the experience right off the bat."

"It seems like more often people are becoming second career teachers," Cramer said. In a statement to Wisconsin Public Radio, DPI Director of Licensing, Educator Advancement and Development Jennifer Kammerud said a growing number of people are seeking these one-year licenses.

"This flexibility is available to those who meet minimum requirements and is renewable for those who are working on meeting the requirements of a full license," she said in an email.

Kammerud said retention remains an important issue, pointing to data from the Educator Preparation and Workforce Analysis report in 2021. It shows that enrollment in educator preparation programs remains below 2008-09 levels.

And while Wisconsin outpaces neighboring states for the number of students enrolling in teaching degree programs, fewer are completing them. Over the last decade, educator salaries and wages have been falling.

According to data from DPI, the median educator salary in Wisconsin dropped from $61,663 in 2010 to $56,249 in 2021. The Wisconsin Policy Forum found that many educators hold on to their emergency licenses for multiple years.More Emergency 

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