State School Board Meets To Discuss More Emergency Certifications

With kids around the state getting close to going back to school, hundreds of new teachers may soon be certified to teach in Oklahoma.

The State Board of Education is scheduled to meet today to discuss whether or not the board should allow exceptions to teacher certification regulations and provide provisional emergency certificates for hundreds of teachers.

Since 2015, more than 2,000 emergency certifications have been approved in Oklahoma. The teacher shortage in the state has been well documented. According to the Oklahoma Education Coalition, between 2010 and 2015, more Oklahoma educators left the profession than joined. The coalition also states 17 percent of new teachers in Oklahoma leave the state or the profession after the first year.

The meeting is scheduled to begin this morning at 9:30 a.m.

UPDATE: The board approved all emergency (provisional) teaching certificates at the meeting around 10 a.m.