Defending the Teacher Prep Regulations: Why They Deserve to be Saved

After any presidential election – and perhaps more so now than after any other election in recent memory – the policy world takes stock of how the results will alter the federal government’s path forward, and what its actions will be on existing policies.

While education experts are focused on the implications of President-Elect Trump’s choices for Secretary of Education and other cabinet positions, we must also keep in mind the important changes that may escape the media’s notice.

Just two months ago, the federal government released new regulations governing the oversight of teacher preparation programs. These regulations had been years in the making and, while not perfect, took a strong step forward toward demanding better training for all future teachers.

Unfortunately, as a piece in The 74 explained, it’s unlikely that states will ever have to put these new regulations into action. The new Congress that takes office in January is likely to nullify them under the Congressional Review Act.

However, if Congress does halt them, its objections are likely rooted in what it perceives as overstepping by the U.S. Department of Education – establishing regulations more properly crafted as law – rather than any inherent objection to greater oversight over teacher preparation programs.

While we would like to see the regulations stay intact, the reality is that this outcome is unlikely. We are hopeful that many groups will work diligently to resurrect them in the course of reauthorizing the Higher Education Act (HEA), which is slated for this spring.

Why are these new regulations – or a version embedded in HEA – a net plus? Here are a few big reasons:

• Program-specific reporting:
  Unlike the existing regulations, which ask for reports at the institution-level, the new regulations will collect program-specific data. Even within an institution, programs vary widely in the training they provide. For example, an undergraduate elementary program at Anonymous State University may provide great training in elementary math, while the graduate program at the same institution may entirely overlook this area. Program-based reporting would allow regulators and the prep program leaders to trace teacher performance back to their prep program and more easily and accurately identify programs’ strengths and shortcomings.

• Useful data on production and retention:
  The discussion around teacher shortages and surpluses has led to a number of questions: Are programs producing enough teachers in high-needs subjects? Are some programs graduating too many elementary teachers who aren’t getting hired? Which programs produce teachers who stick around? Publishing programs’ teacher employment and retention rates will create a more accurate picture of the teacher pipeline and inform efforts to prepare the right number and type of teachers.

• Surveys of new teachers and their principals that can be uniform across the state:
  Principals often know which prep programs to contact first when hiring a new teacher who knows how to teach reading or manage a classroom – but this insider information rarely makes it back to the prep programs themselves, or to aspiring teachers looking for a great training program. By implementing surveys in a format that allows comparison across all programs in a state, future teachers, schools hiring teachers, and the programs themselves can obtain useful feedback from the teachers who recently graduated from each program and from the principals who hired them.

This wealth of information can help (1) consumers make informed decisions about where to go for their training, or where to hire new teachers; (2) teacher prep programs identify areas for improvement; and (3) states provide technical assistance and accountability.

Improved reporting by teacher preparation programs and the states that oversee them offers an enormous opportunity to better understand the teacher workforce and the impact of programs on the talent pipeline. But unless the federal government takes a firm stand, one way or another, this opportunity is going to slip away.

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