Wyoming Senate Education Committee approves alternative teaching certification bill after amendment

Senator Larson, sponsor of Senate File 86, told the Senate Education Committee on Jan. 27 that the bill would require the Professional Teaching Standards Board to promulgate rules allowing alternative teacher certification programs that meet requirements set in statute.

The bill’s sponsor said the goal was to ensure alternative certification pathways are available across Wyoming after an effort to secure the same result through board rule-making did not succeed. “This is the alternative teaching certificate,” Senator Larson said, describing alternative programs as a way to expand the pool of qualified teachers without replacing traditional pathways.

The committee heard extended testimony from school-district and education stakeholders who urged caution. Brian Farmer, Executive Director of the Wyoming School Boards Association, said the bill as drafted read like it was written for a single provider and expressed concern about creating a de facto monopoly for one program. Nick Belak of the Wyoming School Boards Association and former national testing expert said many states that adopted similar drafts later narrowed or rejected them because of concerns about pedagogy, student teaching and measurement of test validity.

Brendan O’Connor, executive director of the Wyoming Professional Teaching Standards Board (PTSB), told the committee the PTSB already provides flexibility and has nearly 300 active professional industry/career permits that place experienced nontraditional candidates in classrooms. O’Connor said the American Board program discussed by the sponsor is primarily a test-preparation pathway and does not include a traditional student-teaching component; he cautioned that candidates licensed through that pathway often require intensive in‑district supports and mentorship.

Isabel Welch, Director of Government Affairs for American Board, described the program as a nationally used pathway for career changers, veterans, paraprofessionals and substitutes. She said American Board’s program costs about $1,900 and is typically completed in about a year; the board’s pedagogy exam is aligned to the InTASC standards, she said.

Committee debate focused on quality controls and whether the statute should name or effectively privilege one provider. Senator Olson offered an amendment that removed the earlier, narrowly tailored provider criteria and instead made approval permissive: the board would approve programs, and approved programs would, at a minimum, require passage of a subject-area examination, a pedagogy examination, a U.S. Constitution examination and a Wyoming Constitution examination; issuance of the alternative certificate would be limited to the subject areas and grade levels successfully completed by the applicant. The amendment incorporated language similar to a streamlined 2023 engrossed version previously passed by the Senate.

The committee voted to advance the bill as amended. On a roll call the committee recorded five ayes — Senator Brennan, Senator Olson, Senator Rothfuss, Senator Scott and Chairwoman Schueller — and the bill was reported do pass as amended. Chairwoman Schueller invited Senator Larson to take the legislation to the floor and continue work on any further amendments.

What this means: if enacted in the form approved by the committee, the statute would require the PTSB to promulgate rules allowing alternative certification programs approved by the board and conditioning issuance on passage of the listed examinations and limiting certification to the subject areas completed by the applicant. The committee record shows concern about student-teaching, classroom management preparation, data on candidate outcomes, and the risk of privileging a single provider; the PTSB told the committee it already works with districts and accredited alternative providers and would be able to approve programs that meet board standards.

Votes at a glance: Senate File 86 — Do pass as amended; Committee roll call: Brennan Aye; Olson Aye; Rothfuss Aye; Scott Aye; Schueller Aye. Outcome: passed committee and reported do pass as amended.

Next steps: The bill will be scheduled for floor consideration; the sponsor and committee members indicated they expect additional amendment work before floor debate.