Bad for Kids and Bad for Business: Texas Prosperity Is at Risk
by Dr. Michael Marder, Professor of Physics and Executive Director of UTeach, The University of Texas at Austin
Contact Dr. Marder at marder@chaos.utexas.edu.
Download a one-page version of this article.
BAD FOR KIDS
In the fall of 2023, Texas education passed an unfortunate milestone.
Half of our new teachers are not certified. They are not alternatively certified. They have not completed or enrolled in a teacher certification program and they do not have to obtain a teaching certificate.
Certification is the Texas seal of quality: a promise from the State that teachers know their subject and meet basic professional standards. Without certified teachers, the Texas constitutional right to an efficient system of public free schools is at risk.
BAD FOR BUSINESS
Every Texas kid deserves a high-quality STEM education, and Texas needs a world-class STEM workforce.
In 2022, Congress appropriated $52.7 billion to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the U.S. Texas will be one of the greatest beneficiaries, and passed its own $1.5 billion CHIPS Act in 2023. Yet from 2017 to 2022 the percentage of Texas students who graduated high school without taking physics tripled — from 13% to 40%. Texas needs certified STEM teachers more than ever before to provide opportunity and build its workforce. As teacher shortages force public schools to choose in desperation between hiring uncertified teachers or canceling key classes the future of Texas prosperity is at risk.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Policymakers
- Increase scholarship and loan forgiveness support for students pursuing STEM teaching.
- Target Teacher Incentive Allotment to certified teachers.
- Reverse recent changes to TAC 19.228 that create new barriers to teacher certification.
- Increase teacher salary and benefits.
State Agencies
- Incentivize all high-quality educator pathways with evidence of effectiveness: both traditional student teaching and residencies.
- Work with universities as partners to prepare and support teachers.
- Reduce regulations and restrictions imposed on traditional certification pathways.
Universities
- Waive tuition and fees for traditional teacher candidates in their student teaching semester.
- Create new pathways into teaching, exploring all available mechanisms permitted by the state.
