To the Editor,
Imagine showing up to back-to-school night and meeting your child’s new teacher—an 18-year-old who just graduated high school. No teaching degree, no training, no experience — just a background check. This isn’t a joke; it’s the reality House Bill 100 would create.
For years, the legislature has spoken about maximizing educational outcomes and ensuring we get the most “bang for our buck”, insisting that our schools should be yielding better results for the investment the state is making.
Interesting, when our 4th graders rank third in the nation in math and seventh in the nation in reading. It seems to me that our investments are yielding strong returns.
And yet, they are now proposing allowing minimally-qualified individuals into classrooms to take on the serious responsibilities of preparing our next generation for the world and workforce. What could go wrong?
This is being pitched as a way to help schools deal with teacher shortages. This is a real problem, but this bill is the wrong solution.
It insults the profession by suggesting that the expertise educators acquire through years of higher education and professional development is somehow irrelevant, and it ignores the real issue that a major factor in the teacher shortage is burnout, which has been caused in large part by the relentless efforts of some state policy makers to weaken and politicize our public schools and teachers.
We need to care for our teachers, not reduce the standard.
This bill will only burden current teachers more because they will have to train and mentor these inexperienced new hires.
It will create further instability in schools as turnover increases, meaning more work and tougher conditions for classroom teachers, without any discussion of additional compensation or resources.
This will affect our teachers and our children, undoubtedly causing parents like myself, who have children in public school, to wonder if Wyoming is the right place for their education.
I’m not personally willing to gamble their future on unqualified educators. So it also means our chronic issue of brain drain from the state may just begin earlier.
House Bill 100 is a clear example of legislative incompetence and a lack of understanding or care about the complexities and value of a strong education.
Imagine if their solutions aimed to actually support teachers, to offer remedies to burnout and attract even more quality teachers to the profession.
What if they increased the incentives to maintain a strong public education system in Wyoming, something I have always been proud of having been raised in these public schools myself.
But that’s not really what they are aiming for, is it? No. They are cutting costs and cutting corners at the expense of the foundation of our children and our collective future.
This bill reflects poorly, but sadly accurately, on the agenda of many newly elected officials and the Freedom Caucus members who support it.
Their disregard for the expertise and value of well-trained educators shows a dangerous willingness to experiment recklessly with our children’s futures.
As a mom, I know my children and their teachers deserve better. As do all of Wyoming’s students and teachers. I urge our lawmakers to reject House Bill 100, and I urge you to contact them and tell them you agree.
Sincerely,
Jai-Ayla Sutherland, Casper
