Facilitating a Path to New Teacher Certification Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Unpacking States’ “Unchanged-New Flex” Guidelines

Abstract

In the United States, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and testing centers were forced to close on-site locations. With teacher candidates no longer able to complete clinical teaching or take certification exams in person, states created new recommendations for facilitating a pathway to teacher certification. Specifically, 19 states provided guidelines that allowed educator preparation programs (EPPs) flexibility in how teacher candidates completed existing certification requirements. By analyzing summaries of these states' guidelines, themes of time, technology, flexibility/nonflexibility, and EPPs emerged. Using a comprehensive lens, this brief examines the role and implications of each of these themes in teacher certification during these unprecedented times.

Two Years Later: How COVID-19 Has Shaped the Teacher Workforce

“…These investments of time and money may have insulated the teacher labor market from a mass exodus in the early stages of the pandemic, when uncertainty was high and teachers had less time to obtain training for alternative careers ( Lazear, 2009 ). Third, many states also implemented measures to prevent a pandemic-induced shortage of new teachers, such as waiving licensure exams or student teaching requirements ( Slay et al, 2020 ). 1 For example, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MADESE) created an emergency license with substantial reductions to the minimum requirements needed to teach in Massachusetts ( An Act Relative to Municipal Governance During the COVID-19 Emergency, 2020 ).…”