Opinion: Some NC lawmakers want to let school districts hire unlicensed teachers. That’s a bad idea.

A veteran North Carolina teacher on why a new proposal in the NC General Assembly would be disastrous for our public schools.

I’ve spent 30 years in classrooms, teaching generations of students to read and write, and based on what I’ve learned over the years, I can confidently say that a new proposal in the North Carolina General Assembly would be disastrous for our public schools.

House bill 806, entitled “Public School Operational Relief,” would eliminate a requirement in state law that all teachers in North Carolina public schools hold teaching licenses. The legislation would also remove class size limits for grades K-3.

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Under the law, only 50% of teachers in a given public school would have to be licensed, and class size limits for our youngest elementary grades, currently set at 16-18 students, would become just recommendations, meaning school districts could put as many children in those classrooms as they have to.  

The sponsors of HB 806 have ostensibly filed it because they’re aware of the teacher shortage in our public schools. However, the changes proposed would dilute teacher quality, make it harder to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers, and harm students’ academic achievement.

In fact, I would humbly suggest that any North Carolina lawmaker considering a “yes” on this bill first see what the experts have to say by surveying elementary teachers in their districts. I suspect those with the clearest view on how this policy change would play out would be happy to provide feedback on the idea.  

Better yet, perhaps those legislators should conduct some even deeper research by spending a week in a classroom themselves with 35 wiggly first graders and no teaching assistant before casting their vote. It would surely be an enlightening experience.

But a broader discussion over the merits of HB 806, which is on the House K-12 Education Committee calendar for Wednesday, needs to involve honest reflection on why our schools need “operational relief” to begin with and how the proposed relief would impact our children.

The teacher pipeline in North Carolina has slowed to a trickle. Our state universities, which used to be a reliable source of new teacher talent, now can’t find enough people who are willing to enter the profession. According to recent Department of Public Instruction data, 2024 saw an 18% decline in students enrolling in educator preparation programs, and only half of those who enroll go on to graduate and teach in a North Carolina public school.  

In addition, those already teaching in North Carolina classrooms continue to head for the exits at an alarming rate. Although the exodus ticked down a bit from where it was just after the pandemic, 1 in 10 still chose to leave the classroom last school year. North Carolina’s public schools are definitely in need of “operational relief.” 

At the same time, we need to ask whether increasing elementary class sizes and diluting teacher quality in our schools constitutes the relief our students deserve. After all, the North Carolina Supreme Court has ruled twice that every child in our state has the fundamental right to a sound basic education, and research is clear that the number one factor in student achievement is access to good teachers.  

We won’t fulfill our students’ right to a sound education by opening our schools to people who lack sufficient training and preparation to do the extremely challenging work of teaching children in 2025.

So how do we attract excellent teachers to North Carolina’s classrooms and get them to stay?  Fair compensation and decent benefits need to be part of that conversation. Superintendent Mo Green and the State Board of Education have proposed raising educator pay and restoring the master’s degree supplement, Governor Josh Stein is advocating for double digit raises over the biennium, and a House bill with bipartisan support would also increase teacher salaries.  

However, our state treasurer has promised that sizable increases in health insurance premiums are on the way. Any proposed salary adjustments need to be weighed carefully against changes in benefits and the skyrocketing cost of living in our state to ensure they are actually raises.

Recruitment and retention of teachers also depends on whether or not we provide them with decent working conditions and the resources they need to get the job done. In the Education Law Center’s most recent report on nationwide school funding, North Carolina ranks near the bottom, spending nearly $5,000 less per student than the national average despite the state’s booming economy. 

Our most recent Facility Needs Survey, from way back in August 2021, identified nearly $13 billion in infrastructure needs, and you can bet those needs have grown substantially in the years since.

The truth of the matter is there is no shortcut to “operational relief” for North Carolina’s schools.  Providing our children with a sound basic education and the excellent teachers they deserve requires both thoughtful policy crafted with stakeholder input and substantial long term investment.  

Supporters of this bill claim it will provide schools relief amid the state’s teacher shortage. But removing licensure requirements and increasing class sizes will worsen the problem, relieving us of the thing we can least afford to lose: the teachers who stick it out, day after day, and continue to educate our kids.