A new Pa. law will make it easier for teachers from N.J. and other states to work here

A change to how the state grants licenses to teachers will make it easier for educators coming from out of state to work in Pennsylvania.

In the past, even veteran certified teachers from just across the river would have to take a test or series of tests — called the Praxis — to be certified to teach in Pennsylvania. Now, teachers credentialed in other states who can demonstrate two or more years of successful teaching won’t have to pay, study for, and pass those additional exams.

The regulation changes, passed in legislation this month, could prove meaningful to local districts amid a nationwide teaching shortage, especially in Philadelphia, where officials had been advocating for the policy shift over the last year.

“This is huge for the school district, and will allow us to attract high-quality educators not only from neighboring states, but also from other states across the country,” Philadelphia school board member Mallory Fix Lopez said at a meeting last week.

» READ MORE: Pa.’s teacher shortage is now a ‘crisis.’ Here’s how the state plans to bring in thousands of educators by 2025

Though there’s no way to tell how many teachers certified in neighboring states might contemplate coming to Philadelphia or any other Pennsylvania districts, it’s clear there are now fewer hurdles.

“If someone’s been teaching for 10 years in New Jersey, [the way the law was previously written was] a barrier — someone might be thinking, ’Do I really need to take a test all over again?’ ” said Larisa Shambaugh, the Philadelphia School District’s chief talent officer. “We know that these tests potentially include some biases. You may also be addressing an issue around recruitment of teachers of color, that we are then presenting another barrier for someone who has successfully been teaching in other states.”

The change comes as Pennsylvania prepares to ramp up teacher-recruitment efforts amid what acting Education Secretary Eric Hagarty called on Monday a teacher shortage “crisis.” Hagarty and others released a wide-ranging three-year plan to recruit thousands more teachers to Pennsylvania classrooms, with strategies from streamlining the state credentialing process to finding ways to increase teacher pay and incentives.

» READ MORE: The declining pipeline of educators-to-be has experts worried the teacher shortage will only get worse.

While the credentialing changes, often referred to as reciprocity, will be meaningful, Shambaugh said Philadelphia is moving on other fronts to get more educators in the classroom. It is about to launch a program to help paraprofessionals become certified teachers, for instance.

“We need 15 different things happening all at the same time to continue to expand the pipeline,” said Shambaugh.

A month before most school-based staff are due to report for the beginning of the 2022-23 school year, the Philadelphia district has 96.5% of teaching jobs and 97.7% of principal jobs staffed, according to the most recent data available.

Of the district’s 200-plus schools, about half have no vacancies, 61 have staffing of 95% or better, 23 are 90% to 94% staffed, 18 have 85% to 90% of positions staffed, and nine schools have staffing rates under 85%, Shambaugh said.

The school system’s staffing rates for other school-based positions vary. The district is 95.3% staffed for counselors, 87% for nurses, 71% for building engineers, 88.7% for general cleaners, 81.7% for food service workers, 88.2% for special education assistants, 72.5% for school climate staff, and 97.5% for school secretaries.

With a tough labor market, the district waived the high school diploma requirement for school climate staff last year and will continue to allow those without diplomas to apply for climate jobs this year.

Job fairs for non-instructional school-based roles are planned for July 27 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at South Philadelphia High School and Aug.10 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Grover Washington Middle School.