Hopkins Schools Won't Face Licensing Problems During Shutdown

With only a skeleton crew remaining today at the MDE, many schools will now have to contend with expiring teacher licenses. However, only a small number of Hopkins teachers will be impacted

Teachers must regularly renew their licenses with the Minnesota Board of Teaching, showing that they met certain professional development milestones since their last renewal, among other regulations. Even if a teacher has been in the classroom for many years, they still technically need a license to run a classroom. No current license, no classes.

The same goes for new teachers. And since many school districts across the state do much of their new teacher hiring during summer months, many new teachers may find themselves with a job but without a license to teach.

"We have less than 10 teachers" who need licenses renewed, said Jolene Goldade, spokesperson for Hopkins Public Schools. "The number of teachers this year is really not that different from any other year."

Since Gearin’s ruling, which decided the Board of Teaching was not an essential state function, came after the board’s online license-renewal system was shut down on Tuesday afternoon, districts are now faced with the possibility that some of their summer school teachers may suddenly find themselves technically unable to teach. And if the shutdown drags on, the small number of licensed teachers available for the school year may significantly affect some local school districts.

Following a series of stories in the Star-Tribune highlighted the lack of the enforcement of the state’s licensing rules, the state vowed to crack down on districts flouting the law. Possible sanctions could include the withholding of state aid for districts that don’t correct licensing violations in a timely manner. The Board could not be reached for comment at the time of publication, but in a shutdown-specific list of Frequently Asked Questions posted on its website, it said districts were allowed to apply for special waivers starting today that would keep them out of legal trouble.