Sen. Tim Kaine has filed legislation to increase the number of people working as schoolteachers in career and technical education, a move he says is designed to reduce a nationwide shortage of teachers in those fields.
The bill would allow recent college graduates, military veterans and career professionals in technical areas to apply for three-year grants to teach career and technical courses at high schools that are in need of such instructors.
Though the federal government already has grant programs for teacher residency programs, Kaine’s bill would expand that into career and technical education.
The new teachers would train students in the trades — such as electrical, welding, and heating and air conditioning work — as well as career fields that would include nursing, culinary arts and cosmetology, among other areas.
“In my conversations with educators and students across Virginia, I hear time and again that high-quality (career and technical education) courses open up pathways to good, high-paying career fields,” Kaine, D-Virginia, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, I also hear about the shortage of teachers with experience in technical fields.”
Kaine’s bill does not allocate any new money for the residency grants.
That means that unless any more money is added to the budget for it later, the new grant program would draw on the same pot of money already set aside for teacher residency grants. It could not be immediately determined Wednesday how much that is this fiscal year.
The legislation — Senate Bill 2174 — is based on a partnership between Virginia Commonwealth University and Richmond Public Schools. The bill is co-sponsored by Kaine; Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio; Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.
Under the bill, the grants would be open to people with bachelor’s degrees; career professionals holding an “industry-recognized credential” in a technical profession; or military members with a “recognized active technical credential.”
Grants would also be available to current teachers who want to move their focus to career and technical education focus. Many of the new hires would undergo a one-year “pre-classroom training program,” for which they’d get a one-year stipend.
This is Kaine’s second time filing this legislation.
He submitted a nearly identical bill a year ago, but it never came up for a vote. That’s because the Higher Education Act, which the bill amends, was simply extended for a year rather than going through its regular reauthorization process.
That reauthorization, done every five years or so, is what allows amendments such as Kaine’s bill to be considered.
“This is a common sense, bipartisan bill,” Kaine said in the statement. It “would ensure students across the country receive the high-quality training they need — in fields ranging from computer science to agriculture to welding — to succeed in the 21st-century workforce.”
School administrators said the legislation could alleviate teacher shortages, calling the idea important for aspiring teachers, schools, students, and the work force.
Brian Nichols, the chief academic officer for Newport News Public Schools, said his school system “is excited about the possibilities this legislation could bring,” and that courses in career and technical education “open up pathways to good, high-paying career fields.”
“These pathways need specialized instructors with a combination of workplace experience and instructional knowledge,” Nichols said. “This legislation could add additional highly qualified people into the candidate pool.”
Diana Gulotta, a spokeswoman for Hampton City Schools, said Kaine’s bill “would provide a great advantage in our future recruiting efforts by providing our industry professionals with a high quality training program.”
“We support efforts to expand the pool of highly qualified (career and technical education) teachers and increase our capacity to prepare our students for good jobs in high-paying fields,” she said.
The “prior life experiences” that career professionals bring to the classroom “can spark creativity in the minds of students,” added Chuck Thompson, Principal of Carroll County High School, in the statement provided by Kaine.
Dujardin can be reached at 757-247-4749
