The Tulsa Public Schools Board of Supervisors took no action Monday night on a proposed new policy that would allow the employment of more uncertified teacher assistants in classrooms.
Citing staffing difficulties and the impending start of the 2024-25 school year, the recommendation would have allowed the district to hire part-time teachers who are at least 21 years old, hold at least an associate degree or will complete a bachelor’s degree within 36 credit hours, and have at least two years of professional experience working full-time with school-age children in an instructional or supervisory capacity, such as at a summer camp or through a youth organization.
However, after hearing the opposition from numerous parents and teachers, no one on the board was willing to even make a motion to consider the proposal on Monday evening.
“I know we desperately need teachers, but this is not the way to do it,” Shawna Mott-Wright, president of the Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association, told the board. “They’re trying to use a cheap Band-Aid when what we really need is a tourniquet.”
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TPS had 168 teaching positions open as of Monday, with the greatest need in preschool, special education, and secondary math and science. TPS will begin the 2024-25 school year on August 20.
In 2022, the Oklahoma Legislature passed a measure allowing districts to hire adjunct teachers—both educators who teach outside their certification area and those who do not have any certification—on a full-time basis. Previously, adjunct teachers were limited to 270 teaching hours per semester.
However, state law prohibits adjunct teachers from working as teachers in preschool and kindergarten. According to federal law, a person with teaching authorization cannot be appointed as an adjunct teacher in special education.
After the meeting, Superintendent Ebony Johnson said the district is still trying to find teachers and reiterated that the shortage is not unique to TPS. However, the district has not received any new applications from certified teachers in three weeks, prompting the proposal.
Johnson also told reporters after the meeting that the proposal would be resubmitted to the board after further discussions with the Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association, families and departments within the district.
“Our goal is for our students to have an adult,” she said. “We are very grateful to our substitute teachers and thank them for coming in. But we also know that if we can select someone who has an associate’s degree or related degree and has some experience working with youth, we would choose them to be our substitute teacher.”
In other business, the board approved a 73-item agenda without a dissenting vote. Items on that agenda included declaring the former Jones Elementary School, 1515 S. 73rd East Ave., and Gilcrease Elementary School, 5550 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., surplus.
The former closed at the end of the 2019-20 school year, while the latter closed at the end of the 2018-19 school year. No plans have been confirmed for either property, a district spokesperson said.
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