Indiana's Interim Study Committee on Education has recommended that the Indiana Department of Education consider giving school districts the authority to license teachers. Such teachers could be licensed via alternative pathways such as a career specialist permit or alternative training programs and an exam. A lobbyist for the Indiana State Teachers Association indicated that factors such as pay and benefits, working conditions, and professional respect are likely more of a factor contributing to the teacher shortage than is the licensing process itself.
September 29, 2021
Indiana considers letting school districts license teachers
August 25, 2021
Pennsylvania Department of State to develop crosswalk for military-licensure requirements
The Pennsylvania Department of State recently conducted a survey of military members, spouses, and veterans about their experiences with occupational licensing. (For more on the results of the survey and resulting policy recommendations, please view CLEAR's on-demand webinar, "The Effects of Occupational Licensure for Veterans and Military Spouses: Serving the Needs of Those Who Have Served.") The Department has created one-page occupational licensure snapshots to help applicants easily find information on requirements, fees, and reciprocity policies for almost 100 occupations. They have also created a report comparing Pennsylvania's licensure requirements to the other US states, with an aim to evaluate any excessive requirements. Also under development is a military occupational crosswalk to help determine how military experience and training compares to, and could be used toward, occupational licensing requirements.
July 28, 2021
New Hampshire: new pathway to nursing assistant licensure
A new law in New Hampshire will allow EMTs, paramedics, and those with medical experience in the Army or Air Force to apply for a nursing assistant license without going through the required training course. Bill sponsors hope that allowing this alternative path to licensure will help address the shortage of nursing assistants in hospitals and long-term care facilities. The law is based off of an emergency order allowing this pathway to licensure during the pandemic, but only 35 EMTs or military members applied for a nursing assistant license during that time.
July 07, 2021
Oregon task force recommends alternate pathways to attorney licensure
The Oregon State Bar's Alternatives to the Exam task force has issued a formal report recommending alternatives to the traditional bar exam. An experiential learning pathway would allow students to take two years of experiential coursework and present a capstone portfolio to the Board of Bar Examiners. A supervised practice pathway would allow students to work 1,000 to 1,500 hours with a licensed attorney and then submit a portfolio of work to the board. The Oregon Board of Bar Examiners voted to advance the recommendations to the Oregon Supreme Court for possible implementation for the class of 2024 graduates. Last year, Oregon granted diploma privilege to law school graduates who met requirements.
June 16, 2021
New York considers development of own bar exam
The New York State's Bar Association's house of delegates has approved a task force recommendation for the New York State Court of Appeals to adopt its own bar exam to replace the National Conference of Bar Examiners' exam. A report from the task force noted that the NCBE did not scale the exam administered in October 2020, resulting in some jurisdictions not accepting scores from other jurisdictions. Thus, the report claimed that portability of the uniform bar exam is not guaranteed, among other issues with the remote exam. The task force's report also recommends alternatives paths to bar admission: a pathway through study while completing law school and a program combining supervised practice and law school achievements.
March 04, 2021
Illinois: inaugural class graduates from Department of Juvenile Justice cosmetology program
The first class of students has completed the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice's Barber and Cosmetology Training Program and are now eligible to take the state licensing exam. In addition to teaching the required curriculum for barbering and cosmetology, the training program also include life coaching classes, mentorship, and other life skill training. The Department's 21st Century Transformation Model aims to reduce the harm of incarceration and focus on rehabilitation, including preparing youth for the return to the workforce with programs such as this.
February 18, 2021
Bills in Washington consider easing licensing requirements
One bill under consideration in the Washington House would authorize the Department of Licensing to "develop a competency-based assessment that allows individuals to demonstrate proficiency of the knowledge and skills otherwise required by a professional licensing examination." The competency-based licensing requirement could be any combination of training, experience, testing or observation. Another bill would allow a temporary license for out-of-state workers while they complete skills assessments. Another bill would establish evaluation criteria to determine whether currently unlicensed professions should be regulated, for the sole purpose of protecting the public interest.
February 03, 2021
Virginia: bill to allow governor to make licensure decisions fails
A Virginia House of Delegates subcommittee has voted down a potential bill that would have given the governor power to issue licenses to applicants who had been denied by the regulatory body and re-instate licenses that had been suspended or revoked due to discipline actions. The sponsor's stated intent with the bill was to allow governors to help people, especially people of color, who had been unfairly denied licenses. Those in opposition cited the risk of abuse of such a system.
November 18, 2020
Law Society of BC considers expanded access to legal services
The Law Society of British Columbia is inviting proposals to address the unmet legal needs of BC citizens. Accepted proposals will be launched as pilot projects to allow individuals to provide legal services and advice under the supervision of the Law Society. A Law Society task force is also considering options for directly regulating paralegals.
October 07, 2020
US: Questions raised about future of Bar Exam
As several states have now completed administration of an online Bar exam, the future of the exam is being questioned. Concerns raised and studied, even pre-pandemic, include that the exam is too focused on memorization instead of critical thinking and that the exam is biased towards upper-middle class and wealthier applicants. The National Conference of Bar Examiners has a Testing Task Force to consider what reforms are needed. Legal groups and experts have suggested that alternatives to the exam could be considered, such as diploma privilege, remote proctored online tests, open book exams, and provisional licensing.
