Licensure Loopholes: Wisconsin

Analysis of Wisconsin's policies

Wisconsin allows teachers who have not passed required licensing tests to teach for more than one year under an emergency license or permit. Both are allowed only when no licensed teacher is available, and renewal is contingent on successful completion of at least six credits toward the completion of an approved program. 

Citation

Wisconsin Administrative Code PI 34.21 http://www.dpi.wi.gov/tepdl/emerg.html Emergency Educator Licenses and Permits http://legis.wisconsin.gov/rsb/code/pi/pi034.pdf

Recommendations for Wisconsin

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. Wisconsin should ensure that all teachers have passed their licensing tests—an important minimum benchmark for entering the profession—prior to 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 licensure tests. However, Wisconsin's current policy puts students at risk by allowing teachers to teach on emergency certificates for more than one year without passing required subject-matter tests.

State response to our analysis

Wisconsin had no comment on this goal.