Pennsylvania introduces legislation to address teacher shortage 

Democratic lawmakers in Pennsylvania have introduced a new package of bills intended to combat serious reductions in the state’s educational workforce. Between 2010 and 2021, the number of new teachers certified annually had plummeted by over 13,000.

The package includes legislation proposed by Rep. Patty Kim that would raise teacher salaries from their current minimum of $18,500 to $50,000. New teachers would then be eligible for raises of $2,500 per year until their salaries reached $60,000.  

Other pieces of legislation would increase wages for paraprofessionals (bus drivers, custodians, etc.), forgive up to $40,000 of teacher loans, and provide scholarships to aspiring educators who enroll in prep programs. The package also includes further investment in the training of new teachers. 

This proposal, entitled Elevating Educators, falls in line with a national trend of states raising teacher salaries to boost recruitment and retention. States like Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, and Maine have already passed similar measures. Read more at PennLive. 

Nova Scotia accepts U.S.-licensed physicians without further accreditation

Nova Scotia has become the first province in Canada to accept certified physicians from the U.S. without requiring additional testing. According to Dr. Gus Grant, CEO of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia, this decision is intended to increase access to care in the province.  

Grant said the new licensure model could be attractive to Nova Scotians who trained in the province but attained licensure in the U.S. These physicians could otherwise be deterred from returning to the province at the prospect of completing exams in the middle of their medical careers. 

Though doctors from outside the U.S. and Canada will still require provisional licensing (pending completion of Royal Exams), Grant said the college may consider offering similar privileges to physicians from countries with similar health care standards. 

Other provinces, too, are anticipated to discuss similar measures in the near future as they attempt to combat medical professional shortages throughout Canada. Read more at CBC. 

Yukon government tables new bill to streamline licensing processes 

The Government of Yukon recently tabled new legislation that would reduce barriers to licensure and create a modern online licensing and registration system in the jurisdiction.  

Bill 27, the Community Services Statutes Law Amendment Act (2023), would amend existing legislation (namely, the Consumer Protection Act, the Insurance Act, and the Private Investigators and Security Guards Act) by removing licensing restrictions and bringing registration provisions up to speed with other jurisdictions.

The new legislation would do away with paper-based filings and require applicants to submit less private information for licensure. Regulators would also be able to approve forms instead of prescribing them, and online declarations would replace affidavits and sworn statements. 

According to Minister of Community Services Richard Mostyn, the bill would streamline licensure for collection agents, insurers, and insurance professionals as well as private investigators and security service providers. Read more at Yukon.ca. 

States take action against fraudulent nursing diplomas

Officials in several U.S. states are taking measures to stop nurses with fraudulent credentials from working in health care. In New York alone, 903 nurses were told in recent weeks to either provide proof of a legitimate education or otherwise surrender their licenses. 

This comes on the heels of Operation Nightingale, which found that several nursing schools in Florida had distributed falsified diplomas and transcripts between 2016 and 2022. About two dozen recruiters and stakeholders from these schools are currently facing criminal charges as a result of the federal investigation. 

Of the students who paid for the false diplomas, about 2,400 took and passed licensing exams to work as R.N.s and L.P.N.s in several different states. Those who passed were often experienced L.P.N.s seeking work as R.N.s or health providers who had been trained in other countries.  

Attorneys for some of these nurses argue their clients are legitimately credentialed professionals who have been mistakenly lumped together with those who sought out phony diplomas. Read more at AP News. 

New Arkansas bill would consolidate real estate licensing boards

A state Senate panel in Arkansas recently approved a controversial piece of legislation that would centralize regulatory bodies for real estate licensing within the state.

Under Senate Bill 354, three licensing boards — the Arkansas Abstracters’ Board, the Home Inspector Registration Board, and the Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board — would be consolidated into one body: the State Board of Appraisers, Abstracters, and Home Inspectors.

Some stakeholders argue the bill sacrifices consumer protection and quality of service in the name of administrative efficiency. Former inspector board chairman Robert Neel said the new board would only have two home inspectors on it, leaving the profession under-represented. 

Inspectors also spoke out against the bill on the grounds that their role in the real estate ecosystem is fundamentally different from that of appraisers and abstracters. While abstracters offer technical property descriptions, inspectors exist to evaluate homes so that consumers are protected in transactions. 

Sen. Kim Hammer, who is sponsoring the bill, said this proposal has been in the works for about two years. The legislation was approved in a 5-2 vote by the State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee and it will now move on to the Senate. Read more at the Magnolia Reporter. 

More news: 

• Constituents in Hawaii gathered for a sit-in at the state Capitol last week in an effort to revive House Bill 955, which would offer traditional birth attendants a new avenue toward licensure to work as midwives in the state. Proponents argue the bill would create opportunities for midwives who learned the practice traditionally, while critics say education from an accredited institution would ensure a higher degree of expertise in the field. 
• One of Barcelona’s largest hospitals suffered a ransomware attack last week that led to the cancellation of 150 non-urgent operations and up to 3,000 patient checkups. With the hospital’s computer system disabled, staff members have been conducting all written work via paper-based processes and urgent new cases have been referred to other local facilities. State officials said no ransom has yet been demanded, but no money would be paid if it were. 
• State legislators in Florida have introduced new universal licensure bills intended to combat the state’s ongoing labor shortage. Under the new legislation, professionals with licensure from other states would be able to keep their licenses upon moving to Florida and practice in their fields without further accreditation. The measures would also maintain licensure for ex-military professionals who were certified in their field during their service. 
• North Carolina’s State Board of Education (SBE) has approved a pilot program intended to reform licensure and pay for teachers across the state. Opponents argue the new model ties educators’ pay to standardized testing scores and subjective teacher evaluations, which could cause salaries to fluctuate on a yearly basis and create problems in the state’s overall effort to recruit and retain educators. 

Also noteworthy: 

Interesting opinion, commentary, and analysis from the web: 

• Leaving no one behind: Eight steps toward an inclusive digital government (Forbes) 
• Physician workforce planning in Canada: The importance of accounting for population aging and changing physician hours of work (Canada Medical Association Journal) 
• Switzerland: New licensing law passed for outpatient service providers and professionals (Lexology) 

 
Disclaimer: The thoughts, opinions, and commentary of the articles we share links to in Week in Brief do not necessarily reflect those of Ascend Magazine or Thentia.