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Bill to help teachers struggling with state exam moves forward for a final vote

Districts could keep highly effective teachers
Posted at 5:43 PM, Apr 18, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-18 17:43:13-04

A bill aimed at letting school districts keep teachers who are struggling to pass the states controversial teacher licensing exam passed it's last major hurdle today before moving on for a final vote.

Today lawmakers from the Senate Appropriations committee approved the bill, SB 7070 , which would give teachers more time to pass the state's test.

The bill also gives school districts the authority to keep teachers who haven't passed the test but have proven to be effective or highly effective teachers by their principals.

The bill is a direct response to our two-year long I-Team investigation that found since the test was revised in 2015 to be more rigorous, failure rates increased, dramatically worsening the states teacher shortage.

The bill needs a final nod from the House and the Senate before it becomes official.