Beware the Class B (conditional) teaching license

by Jay Hammond, ISEA staff counsel

Hopefully, most of you are aware that the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners offers a Class B license. 282  I.A.C. 14.116.  This level of licensure (commonly referred to as a "conditional" license) allows a teacher to teach outside his or her current endorsement areas. For instance, if you are licensed as a K-6 elementary teacher and would like to teach special education, you can apply for a Class B license that will allow you to do so.  You must first file an application with the BEE. The employer must also sign off on the application in which you represent you will secure the additional college credits needed to obtain full licensure in special education within two years of your application. Once the Class B license is issued you can then start teaching the subject matter while you concurrently obtain the necessary credits for that endorsement.

If your true intent is to obtain an additional endorsement, there is nothing wrong with seeking a Class B license, but there are also abuses that occur with regard to Class B licenses of which you should be aware. An administrator might ask you to seek a Class B license in order to teach a class in a shortage area within the district while the district continues to look for someone who is licensed for that class. In this example (which is not uncommon) the teacher does not really intend to take the classes necessary to procure the endorsement because he or she is just "filling in" (for a year or two) until a licensed teacher can be found. While it may be okay to "take one for team" on occasion, it is not recommended you do so in the area of licensure. Applying for a Class B license with no intent to procure the endorsement within the two-year period allowed by the rule is tantamount to fraud. The distinction between that process and simply teaching in an area for which you are not licensed is somewhat elusive.

Another substantial concern involves beginning teachers who seek Class B licenses. This occurs generally in small districts. Because small rural districts are finding it increasingly difficult to attract beginning teachers, some districts go to great lengths to facilitate the hiring of any applicant. If a beginning teacher applies to the district, but there is no current opening consistent with that teacher's area of licensure, the district will encourage the teacher to seek a Class B license and teach in some other subject area for which the teacher is not licensed. The caveat here is that the law currently imposes on the beginning teacher, during the first two years of employment, the obligation to demonstrate competency in the eight Iowa teaching standards. Failure to do so results in the permanent loss of the Iowa license.  Beginning teachers are highly discouraged from placing themselves in a position where they are attempting to complete the mentoring program and demonstrate these competencies, while concurrently returning to school for additional college credits. The demands of pursuing both these objectives at the same time can quickly become overwhelming, and produce disastrous results. It is far more advisable to wait until there is a job offered in your area of licensure, than to begin your career with the deck stacked against you.