The state board of education is changing course on alternative licensure.

Like many other states, Utah has attempted to provide fast tracks in teaching licensure to those with degrees in certain subject areas. According to the Utah State Board of Education website, the Alternative Route to Licensure (ARL) and Academic Pathway to Teaching (APT) will not be accepting additional applications.

The changes are prompted by the Utah Office of Administrative Rule R277-303: Educator Preparation Programs, according to Kathleen Webb, ARL Education specialist at the BOE.

The rule goes into effect July 1, 2020 and essentially has a superintendent approving alternative licensure. APT and ARL candidates who are already hired have clear paths before them described on the BOE site. Those who haven’t been hired, at this time, don’t.

Webb says candidates from both programs can apply through a new licensure program they call APPEL — pronounced like the fruit. It is expected to be announced by April 2020 on the BOE website and the extent to which previous candidates are grandfathered in if they haven’t been hired yet remains to be seen.

Both of the alternative programs were three-year commitments, according to the site, so months and years of attempting to fulfill all of the requirements — expensive tests, coursework in the case of the ARL and often teaching in positions not quite meeting criteria — may not amount to certification.

The board’s website says post-hire APT candidates can apply for the Local Education Agency (LEA) Specific Competency-based License. ARL candidates who were hired by Dec. 31, 2019, filled out a form confirming such and had a Personal Growth Plan (PGP) that does not expire on or after July 1, 2020 can finish the original program.

Those who were not hired will be able to apply for the APPEL program that has an associate license component — with ethical and “module” training — in addition to the previous requirements such as hire and coursework. Those who have a degree in their subject area will probably be able to opt out of the national PRAXIS exam required in most traditional certification programs, according to Webb.

Non-traditional licensure is considered by many to be a controversial risk for candidates in Utah. When the APT was passed in 2016, the Salt Lake Tribune headlined with “Utah teachers say new licensing option will further erode profession.” APT subject experts had no teaching courses to take. ARL candidates did take classes along with the testing. The program was made to help accommodate growth of the student population and compensating for many teachers who begin teaching in Utah moving to other states, according to the Tribune.

There was no alternative route before the ARL originated 16 years ago, according to Webb. She said a little over 2% of contracted teachers at the end of 2019 were ARL candidates. The current figure of how many teachers were ARL candidates at one time is unknown. It was 6% in 2016, according to the Tribune.

The low rate in hiring ARL candidates may be about the abundance of competition. Those who have taught and worked in Utah schools know that a teacher shortage in Utah is not a shortage of traditionally qualified applicants. It is a shortage of schools that will hire enough teachers to keep class sizes small and the fact that hiring candidates for licensure at reduced pay can fill a school’s need at a lower cost.

Schools that pride themselves on a low teacher-student ratio, such as Freedom Preparatory Academy, average 18-25 students per class. Many Utah classrooms have more than 30.

“A student coming right out of UVU is more likely to get hired than an engineer with a master’s degree wanting to teach math,” said Emily B., a Provo resident who has had more than one close acquaintance not survive the alternative programs.

She recalls one alternative route teacher who, after two years at a school, was given a class of 42 students by school administration and then not recommended for certification based on classroom management skills.

Alternative route teachers are not alone in spending years teaching, taking courses and passing tests only to have a near impossible task or bad personality fit put an end to a career in public education. Unlike education school graduates who benefit from their school’s placement programs and the incentive colleges have to shepherd students in a way that reflects well on their universities, alternative candidates have no one invested in their advancement.

“If a mentor’s career is under the direction of an administrator who doesn’t want to pass someone there’s no incentive to help [the candidate] appeal, ” Emily B. said.

Utah ranks 22 out of the 50 states in US News and World Report’s Education Rankings for grades pre-K-12. The metric includes percentage of children enrolled in pre-school, eighth grade achievement in math and reading, graduation rates and “readiness for college.” The same source has Utah High Schools as 15 in the nation. Utah also ranks high in postsecondary education, though associate degrees are part of the data pool and ability to find a job after college is not included in that metric.

How the state BOE and local hiring will move forward with finding subject-expert teachers is still in development. According to Webb, there are some known aspects of what ARL and APT have accomplished that will help with the initial application for associate licensure, which will be followed with ethics training, online learning “modules” and then the Professional Licensure Path and APPEL.