Slossberg Leads Passage of Minority Teacher Recruitment Bill

From the Office of Senator Gale Slossberg: Senator Gayle Slossberg (D- Milford) today led the passage of a bill that will help diversify classrooms across Connecticut by codifying the work of the Minority Teacher Recruitment Task Force to enhance minority teacher recruitment and retention throughout the state.

“Ensuring that we have a qualified diverse workforce in our schools must be a priority in our state. Both research and common sense show that having educators of color makes a significant difference for our students, especially for students of color,” Sen. Slossberg said. “This bill will help move Connecticut forward to recruit and retain more qualified minority educators. This is an important issue across the country, and Connecticut is a leader in addressing it.”

The bill allows the Department of Education, in consultation with the Minority Teacher Recruitment Policy Oversight Council, to:

• identify relevant research and successful practices to enhance minority teacher recruitment throughout the state;
• identify and establish public, private and philanthropic partnerships to increase minority teacher recruitment;
• utilize innovative methods to attract minority candidates to the teaching profession, particularly in subject areas in which a teacher shortage exists;
• support new and existing educator preparation programs that commit to enrolling greater numbers of minority teacher candidates in a manner that supports interstate reciprocity;
• and advise and support local and regional boards of education to prioritize minority teacher recruitment and develop innovative strategies to attract and retain minority teachers within their districts.

Senate Bill 455 focuses efforts to grow the ranks of minority teachers from within Connecticut by increasing the number of alternative routes to certification available to certain groups of people with significant experience in our schools and with children. For example, a large number of Para-educators are already working in our schools. With a streamlined program that maintains our high standards, para-educators will have a shorter route to certification than the traditional educator preparation program. This is significant because many para-educators are minority educators.

Similarly, college professors cannot currently teach in our schools without going back to college for a traditional educator preparation program. This bill will facilitate a shorter path to increase minority teachers in the classroom while maintaining the highest standards we have come to expect from our Connecticut educators. The other alternative route programs that are encouraged are for veterans, people holding a master’s degree in social work and charter school permit holders. Everyone must have at least a bachelor’s degree to be considered.

This bill will constitute the most significant steps forward in Connecticut’s efforts in increase the number of high-quality minority educators in our schools in many years.

Senate Bill 455 passed in the Senate and the House and is now headed to the governor.

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