Florida is Looking for Teachers!
Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced that he is introducing legislation that would allow an avenue for retired law enforcement, fire fighters, and emergency services (EMS) personnel to become teachers. DeSantis stated that after serving for 20 years that these individuals who have lived a life of service are going to be looking for new opportunities, and he would like them to consider teaching.
If you have a bachelor’s degree DeSantis wants to wave the State’s teaching certification exam fees and is also offering a $4,000 bonus. If the retiree is willing to teach in an area of need, science, reading, and special education DeSantis wants to give an additional $1,000 bonus. DeSantis also stated he would rather people with “…real world experience and academic proficiency in the core subjects…” teach from personal experience rather than solely relying on academic experience, i.e., drug overdoses and school shootings.
Taking it a step further, if you have an associate degree DeSantis wants to create an apprenticeship program that will allow you to be mentored for 2 years so that you can become a teacher. And if you already have the bachelor’s degree, DeSantis is also looking to allow high school teachers to earn a master’s degree and then bring in an opportunity for students to earn college credit while still in high school.
Florida has a history of this as the program that was created to get military veterans into the classroom took effect this academic year. To meet the requirements veterans must have been honorably discharged and have at least 60 hours of college credit.