Recommendations from teacher task force up to North Dakota Legislature

(The Center Square) - The North Dakota Teacher Retention and Recruitment Task Force is recommending a teacher mentorship program and a study on a health insurance pool, but how and if they are funded will be up to the North Dakota Legislature.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum created the 15-member task force through an executive order last September.

An estimated 33% of teachers leave the profession within five years, according to Burgum's order. And while 9,100 teachers in the North Dakota classrooms, more than 10,000 with a license are not teaching.

Compensation and benefits were among the issues discussed in a series of meetings. One recommendation would fund a study to "study to explore the feasibility, impact, and process of creating a health insurance pool for teachers. This study should include a cost-benefit analysis, plan designs and coverage, administrative structures, an analysis of the impact on educator salaries, and a comparative analysis of similar approaches in other states."

North Dakota United, the state's teachers union, recommended a faster pay scale based on how long a teacher has been in the district.

"There is no incentive to stay longer if teachers earn an additional $200 each year," the organization said.

The task force recommended a state-funded, three-year mentorship program for teachers in its 8-page report . A second suggestion would be to revise a former teacher leadership program.

"When you talk about advancement opportunities for teachers, there isn’t a lot of advancement for regular education teachers unless they go into administration," the North Dakota School Board Association said in the report. "We need to provide leadership opportunities for teachers that allow them to stay in the classroom."

Teaching requirements should be revised and realigned and education courses should be more accessible to students in high school and at higher education institutions, the report said.

"I think we need a faster track into the classroom for people who are qualified," the North Dakota School Board Association said. "We take away a lot of their time in high school and college when we could be giving them more practical experience to prepare them for the classroom."

The report made no specific funding recommendations. The Legislature will consider the items when they convene in 2025.

The task force will deliver its final report to Burgum and the superintendent of public instruction by Sept. 30.