Expanding the Pool of Teachers Policy
Wyoming does not support licensure reciprocity for certified teachers from other states.
Unfortunately, Wyoming requires subject-matter testing only for elementary teachers, and it grants a waiver for its licensing tests to any out-of-state teacher who has passed a similar test in another state.
Teachers with valid out-of-state certificates are eligible for comparable licensure in Wyoming. Applicants are required to complete an approved teacher education program with supervised student teaching or, for alternate route teachers, to have three years of experience within the last six years. Wyoming also requires that incoming teachers complete a course in the Wyoming Constitution and the U.S. constitution. The state offers a test-out option for these courses.
Wyoming is also a participant in the NASDTEC Interstate Agreement; however, the latest iteration of this agreement no longer purports to be a reciprocity agreement among states and thus is no longer included in this analysis.
To uphold standards, require that teachers coming from other states meet testing requirements.
Wyoming should adopt subject-matter testing requirements that require all teachers, without exception, to pass licensing tests within one year of hire. The negative impact on student learning stemming from a teacher's inadequate subject-matter knowledge is not mitigated by the teacher's having attained certification.
Accord the same license to out-of-state alternate route teachers as would be accorded to traditionally prepared teachers.
Wyoming should reconsider its recency requirement regarding experience for alternative route teachers, as it may deter talented teachers from applying for certification, namely those who participate in programs such as Teach For America, an alternate route in which teachers participate for two years.
State policies that discriminate against teachers who were prepared in an alternate route are not supported by evidence. In fact, a substantial body of research has failed to discern differences in effectiveness between alternate and traditional route teachers. Regardless of whether a teacher was prepared through a traditional or alternate route, all certified out-of-state teachers should receive equal treatment.
Wyoming recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.