A waiver recently approved by the Educational Professional Standards Board cements the Option 9 Pathway for the 2023-24 school year.
Under the Option 9 Pathway, passed by the legislature last year, classified employees can continue working in a school district while completing their teaching certification and college education in a three-year program. Officials said the approval of this waiver helps finalize certain guidelines and requirements as school districts and university programs evaluate what works; the approval also lets students with some college credit finish their degree while maintaining a full-time job.
Byron Darnall is the Associate Commissioner for The Office of Educator Licensure and Effectiveness. He said student teachers come in with varying interests and levels of experience, so each candidate has different educational needs.
“Option 9 gives the district and the university the ability to cater a program that’s gonna work toward meeting those needs. And ultimately, the goal is that districts are able to build a pipeline within their own districts to fill teaching openings, as opposed to posting positions and then waiting for the candidates,” said Darnell.
He said the waiver lets experts get a better idea of how successful Option 9 will be for teacher recruitment.
“In terms of what university partner that they choose, what that coursework outlook is going to be; so at this point, it’s all still very preliminary and, it’s hard to get a true feel yet of how many individuals are taking advantage of this,” said Darnell.
The EPSB is tasked with determining the regulations of certification options after they have been approved by the Kentucky General Assembly, such as which institutions can be approved to offer the pathway.
Officials said during the school year, the Kentucky Department of Education will receive feedback on the waiver, to see how well the pathway works.