Committee advances bill letting superintendents hire adjuncts for pre-K, kindergarten with special‑education restriction

The Education Oversight Committee on an undisclosed date advanced House Bill 21-25, a bill that would allow local superintendents to hire adjunct teachers for prekindergarten and kindergarten positions when a certified teacher is not available.

Representative Stairs, the bill's author, said the change is intended to give superintendents “as many different directions they can go as possible” when filling open early‑childhood teaching posts. He said the measure does not replace certified teachers and is meant for temporary staffing gaps.

The committee adopted, by unanimous consent, an amendment inserted by Vice Chairman Caldwell that clarifies adjunct teachers “shall not be authorized to teach special education classes.” Representative Caldwell explained the change was intended to avoid potential conflicts with federal special‑education law and to make clear the bill does not expand special‑education authority.

Debate centered on staffing data and training. Representative Provazzano asked whether the legislature had current reporting on adjunct teachers; Stairs said a new report required by law became effective Nov. 15 and that he expected members would receive the report the following day. Stairs also told the committee the state currently has “about 1,311” adjunct teachers.

Representative West Tammy and other members pressed for assurances about professional development for adjuncts entering early‑childhood classrooms and urged a structured mentoring or training process aligned with the state’s reading and early‑learning expectations. Stairs said such training conversations are ongoing and that the bill itself does not prescribe a specific professional‑development program.

Representative Waldron argued against the measure, saying it risks normalizing lower‑qualified hires in underfunded districts and called for longer‑term solutions to raise the number of certified teachers. “I urge you to vote no,” Waldron said in floor debate. Representative Stairs and other supporters said the bill preserves local control and simply provides another tool for districts that cannot fill certified positions by other means.

The committee recorded a division vote on the amendment (committee clerk announced “9 aye 0 nay” on the amendment) and later moved the bill out of committee as a due pass. The transcript records the final announcement that the bill will be sent as a due pass; an explicit, unambiguous numeric roll call for the final passage is not fully specified in the transcript.

The bill allows a superintendent to hire an adjunct for pre‑K and kindergarten when a certified teacher is not available; it does not alter pay scales for adjuncts and does not mandate districts to hire adjuncts.

Votes at committee: amendment prohibiting adjuncts from teaching special‑education classes adopted (committee announcement: “9 aye 0 nay”); committee recommendation on the bill announced as due pass (tally not specified in transcript).