Teresa Lundgren is a Senior Policy Analyst at ExcelinEd.
Frustrating. That’s the word that often came to mind when I was working toward my teaching license in New York, because I already was a teacher!
Previously licensed in Colorado, I taught public middle school for one year before traveling and teaching internationally. While overseas I renewed my Colorado license once, and then it expired. When I moved to New York and wanted to teach in the U.S. again, I was unable to transfer my license because it was not current. Further, I could not renew it again without completing a multi-year mentorship program back in Colorado.
But by then, I was married to a New Yorker and had zero intention of moving. So instead of exchanging my initial license in one state for an initial license in another, I had to jump through hoops that took me years to work through. These included re-taking teaching exams, attending multiple workshops and finding a teaching job that did not require a license so I could complete the edTPA and re-earn a teaching license. After three years, I didn’t even finish the requirements because, frankly, I’d had enough.
The good news is that even though I quit teaching altogether, I moved into education policy to help other teachers and prospective teachers pursue their calling.
Because of my own experience, I’ve looked closely at license reciprocity. What exactly is it? Reciprocity allows for a person with a teaching license in one state to apply for a similar license in another state, without needing to take additional assessments or courses. However, because all states have different standards for teachers to receive licenses—and also different levels and types of teaching licenses—reciprocity between states is often piecemeal and difficult to navigate.
Fortunately, the Education Commission of the States took a closer look at the issue and, in 2020, conducted a 50-state analysis of teacher reciprocity policies. It found that 31 states “require some or all [licensed] out-of-state teacher candidates to take additional coursework or training prior to entering a classroom or within a certain number of years.” It also found that 43 states plus DC “require that some or all out-of-state [licensed] teacher candidates take additional assessments.”
Yet in every state, licensed teachers have already earned bachelor’s degrees, completed training programs, passed exams, taught in classrooms and been subject to evaluations. Why are these experiences in one state not good enough for another state? Why shouldn’t these experiences and qualifications be transferrable between states?
A new initiative, the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact, supports the idea that teachers shouldn’t have to jump through additional hoops when they move to another state and want to keep teaching. States that opt into the Compact will allow teachers to transfer their professional license to and from other states within the Compact. As of early May, five states (Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Utah) have enacted the Compact, which will become active when a minimum of ten states do the same.
There are a couple of restrictions: A teacher must hold a current, “unencumbered” license, meaning the license is not “initial,” “provisional” or otherwise temporary. The Compact makes an exception to that rule for one group: military families. Due to the frequency with which they move, military spouses may receive a provisional license or its equivalent when they move to another state within the Compact.
That exception and associated flexibility makes sense for every teacher, not just military spouses—especially when many states are experiencing severe teacher shortages. Currently, teachers in many states must teach for three years before they acquire a professional license. If a new, yet-to-be-licensed teacher needs to move for any reason, why should they have to start from scratch to get back in the classroom?
Data show that most teachers leave the profession within the first three years. Could we succeed in retaining more new teachers nationally if states didn’t arbitrarily limit teacher mobility? And how many potential teachers opt out of teaching in the first place because they know their geographic options might be limited? Some scholars argue that better reciprocity policies could make teaching a more desirable profession. In the middle of an ongoing teacher shortage, this deserves to be addressed.
License reciprocity is an important step forward. The mobility and flexibility it provides may also lead to innovations in school staffing models. Consider how reciprocity has improved the nursing profession. Since 1999, 36 states have signed on to the Nurse Licensure Compact, which allows nurses to practice in other NLC states or territories without obtaining additional licenses.
According to a Brookings Institute report, 33% of nurses who are certified in multiple states reported making use of the compact for travel nursing, while 16% use it to practice telehealth. These nursing options point to potential changes in how we might employ teachers in the future.
For example, teachers might teach or coach in a different state during their summer break. If they live near a state border, teachers might work part-time in two districts on different sides of the state line. Or similar to telehealth, teachers might be able to teach for an online school that serves students in multiple states.
Despite the pandemic’s many negative impacts on education—including a decrease in the number of teachers—it strengthened the collective will to reimagine education. That’s exciting and holds great promise for the future. Rethinking teacher licensure and fully embracing reciprocity are important steps toward strengthening the profession of teaching and exploring every avenue to better serve our students.
