Licensure Loopholes: Maryland

Analysis of Maryland's policies

Maryland allows teachers who have not met the state's licensure requirements to teach under a conditional certificate. A local school system may request a conditional certificate if it is unable to fill the position with a qualified person who holds a professional certificate. The conditional certificate is valid for two years. 

Citation

Maryland State Department of Education: Certification Types http://www.msde.maryland.gov/MSDE/divisions/certification/certification_branch/certification_inf/types/overview COMAR 13A.12.01.08 http://www.dsd.state.md.us/comar/comarhtml/13a/13a.12.01.08.htm

Recommendations for Maryland

Ensure that all teachers pass required subject-matter licensing tests before they enter the classroom.
All students are entitled to teachers who know the subject matter they are teaching. Permitting individuals who have not yet passed state licensing tests to teach neglects the needs of students, instead extending personal consideration to adults who may not be able to meet minimal state standards. Maryland should ensure that all teachers pass licensing tests—an important minimum benchmark for entering the profession—before entering the classroom.

Limit exceptions to one year.
There might be limited and exceptional circumstances under which conditional or emergency licenses need to be granted. In these instances, it is reasonable for a state to give teachers up to one year to pass required licensing tests. Maryland's current policy puts students at risk by allowing teachers to teach on conditional certificates for two years without passing required licensing tests.

State response to our analysis

Maryland asserted that it requires licensing tests for certification. Maryland added that as an "import state," many teachers moving to Maryland do not fully meet Maryland licensure requirements. Thus, a conditional certificate is sometimes given while the teacher is fulfilling the requirements. The state noted that "the teacher may be lacking test scores, but it is also possible that they are lacking some pedagogical coursework. The state believes that two years is an appropriate amount of time to complete certification requirements while teaching on a conditional certificate, since it is important to avoid overburdening teachers in the initial year of an assignment."

Maryland added that the state percentage of teachers using the conditional certification (3/2011) is 1.12% (out of 60,207 teachers). This number has dropped every year since the conditional regulation was adopted; it was 3.9% in 2009.  The conditional chart showing conditional teachers by local school system is found in the Maryland Teacher Staffing Report.

Last word

Maryland should require that all teachers, even those previously licensed in other states, meet all of its testing requirements before entering the classroom. Some states set extremely low standards for passing their licensure tests. Maryland takes considerable risk by granting licenses to all teachers without ensuring that they meet the state's standards. If a conditional license is necessary to put a teacher in the classroom, then the state is urged to allow only one additional year to meet testing requirements. While the state may feel that additional time is warranted to fulfill coursework requirements without overburdening the new teacher, two years is too long to allow an individual to remain in the classroom without proving that he or she has the requisite subject-matter knowledge.