When Minnesota parents send their children off to school, they expect them to have qualified teachers.
In fact, state law clearly says that teachers must have state-issued licenses to teach certain subject areas or grade levels.
Despite those rules, hundreds of state instructors do their jobs without those credentials, according to a Star Tribune story published Sunday. And the state does little about it.
As long as the laws are on the books, they should be followed and enforced. School administrators and the state's Board of Teaching and Department of Education must take more responsibility to either get required waivers or employ instructors with proper credentials.
The Sunday story reported that more than 900 Minnesota educators violated licensing laws over the past five years -- including 62 who taught with no licenses at all. Reporters analyzed the staffing data that schools are required to submit to the state twice per year.
They found that as many as many as 57,000 students in 300 public school districts and charter schools could have been taught by educators without proper licenses.
Licensing problems can have a devastating impact on students. An alternative school in Minneapolis recently found that some of its students may not graduate this year because several teachers weren't properly licensed.
It's unknown whether any additional current students could be similarly affected. It's ridiculous that a teenager should miss out on getting a diploma based on staffing mistakes made by teachers and administrators.
Most of the violations were for teaching the wrong subject or grade level -- in some cases for only an hour or two out of the school day. Some years, according to records filed with the state, more than half of the classes at some charter schools were taught by unlicensed or improperly licensed teachers.
In fairness, it's important to note that the vast majority of Minnesota teachers and schools do follow the rules. Some 56,000 teachers are licensed in this state, so those in violation represent less than 1 percent.
Still, the out-of-license educators touch thousands of students -- all of whom deserve qualified teachers. Individual teachers bear some responsibility, too.
When the state Board of Teaching receives staff data from schools each spring and fall, it automatically sends letters to teachers who are in violation and their school districts. At that point, teachers can renew their licenses, start the process to get the proper credential or inquire about a waiver.
But more of the blame for the problem falls on the school administrators and the state. Principals and superintendents make staffing assignments and know when they direct, for example, an English instructor to teach math.
When they are forced to make those assignments, they should apply to the Teaching Board for an exemption. Under state rules, districts can receive waivers or special or temporary permission to fill a teaching position.
Or they can hire teachers without licenses as "community experts" with second-language or other special skills.
According to Teaching Board records, the total number of waivers and other exceptions more than doubled over the past five years, reaching 9,785 in 2009-10.
Yet even with that range of available exemptions, too many teachers and schools ignore the rules. And the state has further eroded public confidence by failing to follow through with enforcement.
Researchers agree that, next to family, effective teaching is the most important factor for academic achievement.
For the sake of children, districts and the state must do a better job of enforcing their own licensing rules.
* * *
To offer an opinion considered for publication as a letter to the editor, please fill out this form. Follow us on Twitter @StribOpinion and Facebook at facebook.com/StribOpinion.
