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Committee lays over PELSB operations bill to support licensing pathways, portfolio review and heritage-language educators
Summary
House File 2741, an agency operations bill for the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB), was laid over after testimony describing funding to keep PELSB staffed, sustain the licensure-via-portfolio platform and expand the heritage language educator pathway.
Representative Zev Hill moved House File 2741 as amended (A1) to provide operational funding to the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB). Hill said the bill would maintain staffing to process educator licenses in a timely manner and support two alternative licensure pathways: licensure via portfolio and the Heritage Language Educator pathway.
Dr. Yelena Bailey, executive director of PELSB, described the agency's role licensing roughly 10,000 teachers in Minnesota and overseeing nearly 700 teacher-licensure programs. She said demand for licensure via portfolio has risen substantially and PELSB requires ongoing funds for portfolio review experts, the online portfolio platform (Proserva), portfolio cohorts, and the heritage language pathway. "Thereis a drastic increase in the number of teachers using licensure via portfolio, which is why we're seeking ongoing funding to continue to do the work of keeping that pathway open," Bailey said.
Remote and in-person educators who obtained licenses through the portfolio pathway gave testimony in support. Laurel Webster, an English teacher at Dawson-Boyd High School, described using Proserva and said portfolio review gave her access to culturally relevant resources and programming for students. Virginia Hanson, a voluntary pre-kindergarten teacher, said the portfolio pathway allowed her to complete licensure without leaving her position or creating financial hardship. Board member and teacher Gift Saloka described his own portfolio experience and urged continued investment.
Josh Thelman, founder of Proserva, the platform used by PELSB, told the committee demand is high: over 430 submissions and another 330 teachers who have begun uploading evidence but have not yet submitted. Hill and supporters emphasized the bill responds to teacher shortages and expands pathways for experienced educators to gain licensure. The committee adopted the A1 amendment and laid the bill over for possible inclusion in the education finance omnibus bill.
