Opponents of Idaho’s tiered teacher licensing proposal are going online to round up allies.
As of Tuesday, close to 1,150 people have signed an online petition opposing the controversial licensure plan, an offshoot of the 20 recommendations from Gov. Butch Otter’s education reform task force. The plan ties teacher licensing, and salary increases, to locally produced evaluations — a point opposed by the Idaho Education Association and some educators.
“We believe that teacher licensure and teacher evaluation are two distinctly separate processes that should not be conflated together,” the petition says.
The petition drive is being headed up by Idaho’s Promise, an education website managed by Levi Cavener, a Vallivue High School special education teacher. Cavener is a frequent contributor to Idaho Education News’ Voices section; here’s a link to his Sept. 24 guest opinion on tiered licensure.
The petition drive comes as the State Board of Education is holding public hearings on the tiered licensure plan. Hearings are scheduled for Tuesday in Lewiston and Oct. 21 in Meridian. Here’s our recap from the first hearing, in Pocatello on Oct. 7.
