Hiring Policy
Emergency License(s) Availability: New Hampshire offers emergency authorizations. The one-year certificate of eligibility is available to those interested in teaching full or part-time but do not have a teaching certificate. In order to obtain a certificate of eligibility, an applicant must have a bachelor's degree and relevant work experience and education.
Districts may employ teachers using an "in process of licensure authorization" (IPLA). This authorization may be used by districts to employ candidates who have met licensure requirements except for passage of licensure tests.
Additionally, if a school district declares that an emergency exists, the local superintendent can request a Emergency Authorization for a particular person to fill the vacancy. There do not appear to be any specific academic or professional requirements necessary for the person for which a local superintendent is seeking an emergency authorization. An emergency authorization is granted to the local superintendent, not the individual teacher.
Emergency License Validity Period: New Hampshire's emergency authorization, one-year certificate of eligibility, and the IPLA are valid for one year and are not renewable.
COVID-19 State Policy: New Hampshire has suspended the non-renewal limit on emergency authorizations. COVID-19 policies do not
affect the state's grade in
Provisional and Emergency Licensure.
Requirements for Out-of-State Teachers: Because licensure requirements for out-of-state teachers are scored in Requirements for Out-of-State Teachers, only the state's policies regarding emergency/provisional license(s) are considered as part of this goal.
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, because it enables adults who may not be able to meet minimal state standards to earn teaching licenses. New Hampshire should ensure that all teachers are required to pass licensing tests — an
important minimum benchmark for entering the profession — before entering the
classroom as the teacher of record.
New Hampshire was helpful in providing NCTQ with facts that enhanced this analysis.
6B: Provisional and Emergency Licensure
Teachers who have not passed content licensing tests place students at risk. While states may need a regulatory basis for filling classroom positions with a few people who do not hold full teaching credentials, many of the regulations permitting this put the instructional needs of children at risk, often year after year.[1] For example, schools can make liberal use of provisional certificates or waivers provided by the state if they fill classroom positions with instructors who have completed a teacher preparation program but have not passed their state licensing tests. These allowances are permitted for up to three years in some states. The unfortunate consequence is that students' needs are neglected in an effort to extend personal consideration to adults who cannot meet minimum state standards.[2]
While some flexibility may be necessary because licensing tests are not always administered with the needed frequency, making provisional certificates and waivers available year after year could signal that the state does not put much value on its licensing standards or what they represent. States accordingly need to ensure that all persons given full charge of children's learning are required to pass the relevant licensing tests in their first year of teaching, ideally before they enter the classroom. Licensing tests are an important minimum benchmark in the profession, and states that allow teachers to postpone passing these tests are abandoning one of the basic responsibilities of licensure.