The educator preparation and certification systems in Connecticut are tangled and intricate. But the barriers in the teacher career pipeline that these systems produce are broad and immediate.
In March of 2023, there were over 1,300 teacher vacancies across Connecticut. 60% of them were located within Connecticut’s Alliance Districts, which educate a majority of the state's underserved students.
We need to update educator preparation and certification so that every Connecticut student has access to highly effective and diverse teachers. H.B. 5436 marks a significant step in the right direction.