Licensing exams for new teachers aren’t cheap. How NC hopes to save them some money.
North Carolina leaders announced a new effort Thursday to help cover the costs of state-required licensure exams for aspiring and beginning teachers.
Gov. Roy Cooper said he’s directing $3 million from the federal Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund to provide support for educators to become fully licensed teachers. The funding will provide reimbursements for licensing exam costs or study materials for licensing exams, which can average at or above $450.
“Every student deserves to have a qualified teacher and the opportunity to receive a high-quality education,” Cooper, a Democrat, said in a statement. “This funding will help ensure that exam fees don’t deter excellent, diverse talent from reaching — and staying in — the classroom.”
To be fully licensed in North Carolina public schools, most teachers must pass standardized exams specific to their grade span or subject area. The new effort will help aspiring teachers as well as nearly 1,000 current teachers who need to pass an exam to remain in the classroom.
Educators can get reimbursed for their licensure exams and study expenses by creating a TeachNC account and submitting a request at https://ontch.org/TeacherTestPrep.
Call for higher teacher pay
Cooper and State Superintendent Catherine Truitt used the event announcement at Garner High to promote education projects they’re pursuing.
Cooper has been visiting schools around the state as part of a “state of emergency” in public education. He’s speaking out against the Republican-led General Assembly’s efforts to develop a budget that would further cut taxes as well as allow any family to get an Opportunity Scholarship to attend a K-12 private school.
The governor pointed to how the state faces more than 5,000 teacher vacancies, which he said is leaving tens of thousands of students without a qualified educator and putting their success at extreme risk.
“We need the legislature to make meaningful investments in teacher pay raises to help North Carolina fight our high teacher vacancy rate,” Cooper said.
Call for licensure reform
Truitt, a Republican, promoted Thursday an effort to change how teachers are licensed and paid by the state. She and the State Board of Education want state lawmakers to fund a new system that would license and pay teachers based on their performance as opposed to their years of experience.
In a statement Thursday, Truitt cited how many elementary school teachers have been challenged in recent years to pass a required math exam. She said some have had to take and pay for it multiple times.
“We know the current licensure requirements are burdensome for teachers, and this is precisely why we continue to advocate for licensure reform,” Truitt said in a statement. “But while that work is underway, this funding is instrumental to eliminating financial burdens unfairly placed on aspiring educators as they study and prepare to become licensed teachers in North Carolina.
“This funding is just one way we’re working to eliminate barriers to the profession and strengthen the educator pipeline so we can support every student’s access to a high-quality, excellent teacher.”
This story was originally published June 8, 2023 at 5:25 PM.
