Like the rest of the country, Indiana continues to face a teacher shortage. This legislative session, the Indiana General Assembly passed Senate Enrolled Act 387 to combat this problem, ensuring Hoosier students continue to get a top-notch education.
District 48 State Senator Mark Messmer of Jasper says Senate Enrollment Act 387 takes a comprehensive approach to the various problems that contribute to our teacher shortage by making it easier for people with excellent professional backgrounds to enter teaching, giving schools greater flexibility in setting teacher pay and requiring the Indiana Department of Education to look at new license exams for teachers.
Shortages often occur because many new teachers leave the profession rather than waiting years to move up the pay scale.
Messmer says the new law makes it easier for schools to boost the pay of newer teachers by allowing districts to offer larger raises to those at the bottom of the pay scale.
He says another contributing factor to the shortage of teachers is that many individuals with the knowledge to teach in high-need fields like STEM often make a higher income in occupations other than teaching…..
Messmer says lastly, the DOE will be required to look at a new set of licensure exams, since some subjects on the current exam have pass rates as low as 40 percent. He says with a new exam, they’ll be certain that they are not wrongly keeping capable teachers from earning a license…..
As always, feel free to contact Messmer office directly with your questions and concerns by email at Senator.Messmer@iga.in.gov or by phone at 800-382-9467.
