Review commission identifies barriers to entry for Virginia teachers
A new report from Virginia’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) has found that several factors including high application costs and state-mandated licensure exams could be creating barriers to entry for aspiring teachers. The report arrives amidst a statewide teacher shortage that has seen vacancy rates in various school districts of up to 40.4%. Additional data showed the statewide teacher vacancy rate had increased by nearly 1% over just the past year.
In its report, JLARC advised replacing the current Virginia-exclusive Communication and Literary Assessment, which is currently required for licensure, with a nationally recognized test or otherwise removing this requirement for applicants. The commission also recommended the Virginia Department of Education clarify existing licensure requirements and work with educational colleges to provide clearer pathways to certification in their course offerings.
While JLARC’s report pointed out a handful of licensing process elements that could be hindering recruitment and retention in the profession, it cautioned that the shortage at large could not be addressed without fixing the core issues causing teachers to leave the profession. These factors include low take-home pay, inadequate support from school districts, high workloads, and ineffective school leadership. Read more at The Virginia Mercury.
UK architecture board proposes licensing overhaul
After a three-month internal consultation, the U.K.’s Architects Registration Board (ARB) has put forth a series of recommendations for reforming the nation’s architect licensing regime. The Board now plans to draft amendments based on the consultation’s findings, which include additional suggestions from 672 respondents. A timeline for implementing these suggestions has not yet been made clear.
Most notably, the board has recommended doing away with the requirement that architects receive a Part 1 (Bachelor’s) degree in order to qualify for licensure. It also suggests phasing out the existing Part 2 and Part 3 educational requirements in favor of a new 49-pronged “outcomes” path. The board will create an independent commission to review and suggest revisions to the current professional experience requirements as well.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), though it has not yet responded to the new consultation, expressed opposition to changing the educational requirements for architect licensure in May 2023, saying the five-year academic system “must not be undermined.” RIBA has, however, conceded that some changes must be made to the country’s educational system to make it more accessible and inclusive. Read more at Archinect.
Alabama state senator continues push for regulatory consolidation
Alabama State Sen. Chris Elliott has announced that he will reintroduce legislation to reorganize many of the state’s occupational licensing boards under one state office in the 2024 legislative session. A previous bill with similar provisions had previously passed out of a committee chaired by Elliott but never saw a vote in the full Senate.
The original bill would have created a new Occupational Licensing Board Division under the purview of Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen. When it was introduced during the 2023 legislative session, Allen responded that he did not believe the Secretary of State’s office was an appropriate vehicle for regulatory consolidation. Elliott said next year’s bill would attempt to consolidate occupational licensing boards in the state under three basic umbrellas.
Speaking with 1819 News, Elliott said the state could find “significant cost savings” in particular by combining licensing bodies for professions like locksmithing, cosmetology, and private security. According to Elliott, the state would not necessarily see savings in cost from regulatory consolidation, but applicants may see savings in their license application fees, which can often create barriers to entry. Read more at 1819 News.
Montana governor touts success of TEACH Act
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte recently visited Lockwood High School as part of his administration’s promotion of the Tomorrow’s Educators Are Coming Home (TEACH) Act, for which the state government boosted funding by 40 percent this spring. The act, introduced early on in Gianforte’s governorship and signed into law in 2021, attempts to incentivize school districts to increase starting pay rates for teachers.
During the governor’s trip to Lockwood High School, he met with two teachers recently hired because of the act, including Zach Carleton, who said he had previously been deterred by low teacher salaries from making the jump from hospitality to work in education. The TEACH Act also allows for provisional and emergency licensure, which according to Carleton has allowed him to work in the field while also attending graduate school.
The passage of the TEACH Act is just one of several measures the Gianforte administration is taking in an attempt to address the state’s severe teacher shortage. Speaking at Lockwood High, the governor discussed the launch of a new teacher residency program intended to recruit teachers into hard-to-fill positions, like those in rural or otherwise underserved areas. The program is expected to support 70 undergraduate teachers each year. Read more at Montana.gov and KTVQ.
Report finds sexual assault highly prevalent in NHS workplaces
A recent study conducted by the University of Exeter, the University of Surrey, and the Working Party on Sexual Misconduct in Surgery has found that nearly two-thirds of female surgeons in the U.K. who responded to researchers have suffered sexual harassment in the workplace over the past five years, with a third reporting sexual assault from colleagues. The Royal College of Surgeons described the findings as “truly shocking.”
According to the study, which will be published in the British Journal of Surgery, 11% of female participants reported forced physical contact related to career opportunities, while 90% of women and 80% of men overall reported witnessing some form of sexual misconduct. The report will be published alongside another study that includes recommendations for the government to address the issue.
The data also points to a lack of faith in the health care field that regulatory bodies like the General Medical Council and the country’s Royal Colleges will be able to address the issue. According to Professor Carrie Newlands, consultant surgeon from the University of Surrey, investigation processes will need to be drastically overhauled to ensure higher levels of trust and improve outcomes at large. Read more about the study, including exclusive interviews with affected health care workers, at BBC News.
More news:
- Leaders in G20 countries are calling for the “swift implementation” of the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), which would establish some global cryptocurrency rules and allow for the exchange of information between countries beginning in 2027. Leaders also expressed their approval of recommendations from the Financial Stability Board (FSB) that would create worldwide regulatory standards for crypto-assets activities and markets.
- A report from government software technology company CivicPlus has found that citizens in communities with public digital service technologies are more trusting of their local governments. The report also stated that communities with higher level of user engagement with these services expressed up to five times as much trust in their governments than those with lower levels of engagement.
- A new report from the Ohio Business for Immigration Solutions (OBIS) has found that immigrants account for over 20% of the state’s overall workforce. According to OBIS, a recent period of rapid growth in statewide demand for bilingual workers (106.5 percent from 2017 to 2021) offers further evidence that immigration will continue to play a key role in ensuring Ohio’s workforce needs are met in the future.
Also noteworthy:
Interesting opinion, commentary, and analysis from the web:
- State CIOs have a small, but important to-do list for their federal counterparts (Federal News Network)
- In states’ IT workforce woes, Tech Talent Project sees opportunity (StateScoop)
- The pros and cons of NJ’s professional licensing process (New Jersey Business Magazine)
- Using AI to generate an article about using AI (CLEAR)
- The Online Safety Bill: What is it and why is it so controversial? (ITV News)
- Realising the full potential of data-driven regulation (The Mandarin)
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.
IN BRIEF
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