MADISON, Wis. (WRN) — Wisconsin schools are using emergency teaching licenses more than ever.
A Wisconsin Policy Forum report shows that 3,832 Tier I “emergency” licenses were given out by the state in 2023-24, which is almost 20% more than in 2022.
The report says schools are using the emergency licenses because traditional teacher training programs aren’t producing enough educators. An emergency license lets someone with a college degree start teaching right away while they work on getting their full teaching certificate.
In 2019, only 2.5% of Wisconsin’s licensed teachers had emergency licenses. By 2024, that number had grown to 3.6%.