Experts in science, math and vocational fields soon will be able to teach in Kansas middle and high schools without first pursuing a teaching degree.

The change is part of House Bill 2506, the controversial education bill that legislators passed in April that folded together a wide range of school finance and policy matters.

The Kansas State Board of Education held a special meeting Tuesday to work on regulations to implement the new law in time for a July 1 deadline.

The changes affect three categories of aspiring teachers — science and math teachers, vocational education teachers, and out-of-state teachers — exempting them of the requirement to complete teaching degrees if they have other qualifications.

This follows close on the heels of similar tweaks passed by the state board this past month for part-time vocational education teachers, including some math and science positions.

Accepting professional experience in lieu of an education degree is a controversial concept that has drawn opposition from some educators, including the state’s main teachers union, the Kansas National Education Association.

However, some school administrators argue the state’s existing licensure rules at times prevent schools from recruiting good teaching candidates.

Under the latest changes, out-of-state teachers don’t need teaching degrees if they are offered a job teaching grades 8-12 and meet the state board’s requirement to pass a professional test for educators.

Schools also can hire professionals to teach science, math, technology, engineering and finance in grades 8-12 if they have a bachelor’s degree in any of those subjects and five years of work experience.

Additionally, they can recruit vocational education teachers who hold an industry-recognized certificate that verifies their skills and who have at least five years of work experience in the profession they would teach.

Interim education commissioner Brad Neuenswander said he expects the changes mostly to affect career and technical classes, where school districts have indicated they sometimes have trouble finding experts who also have education degrees.

As for out-of-state teachers, he said, most who apply to teach in Kansas already have teaching degrees.

KNEA communications director Marcus Baltzell said the licensure changes were one of his organization’s main concerns with HB 2506.

"Our problem with teacher licensure is simply that teachers teach kids," Baltzell said, "and that requires a knowledge of pedagogy."

"When you take that out of the equation," he said, "even though they might have a wealth of knowledge and background in that content area, they will be missing learning theory, missing classroom management strategies, missing pedagogy. All of those things will be missing."

Steve Roberts, a private math tutor who ran for the state board in part to address this issue, said the changes are "a step in the right direction" to putting more math and science experts into Kansas classrooms.

He said he anticipates some problems, citing the example of a math or science professor who decides to teach high school but has difficulty explaining concepts on a high-school level.

But, he added, "we can work through these difficulties" now that the initial obstacle of licensure restrictions is changing.

Mark Tallman, a lobbyist for the Kansas Association of School Boards, which supports the licensure changes, said this places trust in school districts to determine if a job candidate would be a good teacher.

"Remember, a person can't get hired unless they can convince a local board to offer them a contract," Tallman said.

The regulations must pass review by other authorities, including the attorney general’s office but are expected tentatively to take effect in time for July 1.

The state board will hold a public comment period before the regulations take effect permanently.