A new state law will require teachers to pass a basic skills exam in reading, writing and math in order to get a Minnesota teaching license.
Despite vetoing a similar bill last year, Governor Mark Dayton signed a renegotiated version of the bill into law Wednesday.
Under current law, colleges and universities in Minnesota are required to provide remedial assistance and support to teacher candidates that don’t pass the basic skills exam. Teachers from other states would have to pass the test in order to teach in Minnesota.
Bill sponsor, Rep. Andrea Kieffer, R-Woodbury, said the legislation would keep unqualified teachers out of the classroom, the Star Tribune reports.
The bill was passed 60-1 in the Minnesota Senate and unanimously in the House of Representatives.
