Alabama lawmakers advanced legislation Wednesday that would open a new route for military veterans to enter K-12 classrooms as the state battles a lingering teacher shortage.
The Senate Education Policy Committee took up SB149, sponsored by Senator Matt Woods, R-Jasper, in its first meeting of the year.
Woods told members the bill targets two urgent needs. “It establishes a military veteran’s temporary certificate to create a pathway for qualified military veterans to teach in K-12 schools in our state,” Woods said. “It not only would strengthen our teacher-recruitment efforts, but also creates a clear pathway for veterans to continue to serve our state by bringing their leadership, discipline and real-world experiences into the classroom.”
Committee members asked how the proposed credential would differ from existing options. State Superintendent Eric Mackey said the certificate would place veterans in classrooms while they work toward permanent certification.
“Technically, they could get an emergency certificate, but that’s kind of a lower standard, so what this does is set a higher certificate,” Mackey said.
Lawmakers also questioned the bill’s effective date. An amendment was offered to delay implementation until the 2027-2028 school year. Mackey said the lag stems from required administrative steps.
“After you all pass it—so it has to go through the Senate, go through the House, be signed by the Governor—we don’t know when that’ll be done, but then it takes us about eight months through the Administrative Procedures Act to actually encode it so that we can offer it,” Mackey said.
Senator Larry Stutts, R-Tuscumbia, voiced frustration with the timeline. “I’m not trying to belabor the point, but we’ve got a teacher shortage and we want to help the veterans, you know, and let them get involved sooner. It just doesn’t seem to me like it ought to take almost two years to get it done,” Stutts said.
The amendment was withdrawn so potential changes to the effective-date language can be addressed later.
Members also asked whether veterans entering through the program would meet the same expectations as traditional educators. Woods said the bill maintains standards while adding flexibility.
“One of the requirements under this program is that they have at least 60 credit hours of college credit with a minimum 2.5 GPA. They have to pass their section of the Praxis exam that they’re planning to be teaching in,” Woods said. “They’d be assigned a mentor for at least the first two years of their employment, so we’re trying to hold their hand and get them up to speed.”
The committee advanced the bill, returning SB149 to the Senate for full consideration.
