A plan making it harder for teachers to gain tenure in elementary and secondary schools is expected to go from the state senate to the House this week after surviving a senate repeal effort. A compromise has been advanced that doubles the time before teachers can gain tenure — increasing the time of service in a district from five years to ten.
House education committee member Steve Cookson says the proposal puts more pressure on long-term teachers who don’t keep up with the latest and most effective teaching methods.
He says many tenured teachers fall behind and become less effective.
The legislation requires districts to determine the effectiveness of teachers and to act against those who don’t measure up. Cookson says districts are likely to look to the state board of education for help with that definition. But he says student growth has to be a key part of it.
Cookson is a former superintendent in the Naylor School District in southeast Missouri’s Ripley County.
