Trouble getting QTS with a US teaching licence! Help!

My husband and I (both us citizens) moved here last May and my husband has been working as a teaching assistant because he can't seem to get QTS here.

He has a BA in History, a Masters in Education, and a license to teach special ed in the US.

According to the UK department of Ed all US licences should transfer (see below). However the issue we are having is that his license was issued in Ohio and is called a "resident educator licence".  Ohio issues this initial license for the first 5 years of teaching and gives teachers a mentor during this time (to keep teachers from dropping out I think), then you apply for another 5 year license called a "professional licence". The UK is viewing the resident educator license as a restricted license. They think it's similar to the 1year newly qualified teacher restricted licence in the UK. Ohio has written a letter saying the licence is not restricted, but refuses yo say that it'd a "professional" licence (because that's the title of their other license). The UK needs it to say the word "professional" or they think it's a restricted licence.  Ahhhh the bureaucracy on both ends!!!!

Help! Has any one had success navigating this sort of thing?


Here's what the UK department of Ed says:

From 1 April 2012, teachers who qualified in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States of America (USA) will be recognised as qualified teachers and awarded Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in England without being required to undertake any further training or assessment. They will still be required to satisfy any UK Border Agency requirements that may apply to them for the purposes of entering or remaining in the UK to work as a teacher. In order to be awarded recognition as a qualified teacher, they will need to have satisfied both of the following conditions in Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA:

(a)   they must have successfully completed a course of initial teacher training (ITT) which is recognised by the competent authority in that country; and

(b)  successfully completed or satisfied any additional conditions, including any period of professional experience comparable to an induction period, which are required for employment on a permanent basis in government schools (schools wholly or mainly government funded) in Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA. 

Teachers who are barred or subject to any restrictions on their eligibility to teach in their country of qualification will not be able to be recognised as qualified teachers in England. To be recognised as a fully qualified teacher in England, you must be able to teach as a fully qualified teacher in the country where you were trained.

Teachers who failed an assessment of the QTS standards as part of an ITT programme in England before 1st April 2012 will not be awarded QTS under these arrangements. They will need to undertake another course of ITT and meet all of the standards before they can be considered for QTS. Teachers who previously commenced but did not complete an ITT programme may still be considered for QTS without further training.
Applying for QTS

Teachers must apply to the Teaching Agency for the award of QTS before they can be recognised as qualified teachers. The downloadable application form should be completed and sent to the Teaching Agency with a letter confirming that that the teacher is both qualified and eligible to teach permanently in the country in question. Only letters from the recognised authority will be accepted for this purpose.

The Teaching Agency will verify that the individual is a fully qualified teacher in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA and has not been barred from teaching. Subject to satisfactory completion of these checks, the teacher will be issued with a letter confirming the award of QTS. Details of fully qualified teachers from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA will be held on the Teaching Agency’s database of teachers with QTS.
Pay

Once QTS has been awarded, teachers employed to teach in a maintained school in England and Wales will be paid under the qualified teachers’ pay scales in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document.

Schools with academy status are able to determine their own salary levels for teachers.
Induction and performance management

Once QTS has been awarded, teachers qualified in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and in USA will not be required to undertake statutory induction. They will be subject to the performance management arrangements in schools in the same way as any other qualified teacher.

Is it possible to contact the university at which you got your teaching degree to write a formal letter explaining the teaching qualification system for your state, indicating that a teaching degree is professional from the point of graduation?

Also, could he possibly use Praxis scores and the syllabus from his education degree to show that it works similarly? Ohio's recent changes, while I think meant to support teachers, are actually just creating a stupid amount of paperwork. The mentor being available for more than one year is helpful and I see their point, but how very annoying for your husband running into this issue Does he have available his portfolio he may have created as part of his degree? The resident educator notebook that is part of getting the professional license may look a lot like what the QTS process would look like.

Is it possible to contact the university at which you got your teaching degree to write a formal letter explaining the teaching qualification system for your state, indicating that a teaching degree is professional from the point of graduation?

We've had the ohio department of Ed write a letter detailing the process. The problem is that they are unwilling to use the word "professional" since their "professional licence" does not get issued until year 6 of teaching, so all they will say is that it's a "fully qualified" licence. The UK department of Ed is insisting that the word "professional" must either be on the licence or in the letter.    It's a real catch 22. I think at this point he may just have to apply for a licence from another state that doesn't have this whole ridiculous "resident educator" process.

Also, could he possibly use Praxis scores and the syllabus from his education degree to show that it works similarly? Ohio's recent changes, while I think meant to support teachers, are actually just creating a stupid amount of paperwork. The mentor being available for more than one year is helpful and I see their point, but how very annoying for your husband running into this issue Does he have available his portfolio he may have created as part of his degree? The resident educator notebook that is part of getting the professional license may look a lot like what the QTS process would look like.

He has taken the UK teaching exams (equivalent to the Praxis) and is trying alternatively to get his licence through what's called the "assessment only route", which includes a portfolio review. They rejected his portfolio. They said that it was the best portfolio anyone had turned in and that clearly he can teach, but they need proof that he can teach the (UK) national curriculum. Since all his lessons in his portfolio are from the US, they don't count. Needless to say this has been extremely frustrating!

Has he looked into Schools Direct?? This is a training route to QTS, but there are *some* salaried places (particularly in 'shortage' subjects), that would allow him to get QTS while working in a school. It's just a thought...

Or he could look into working in an Independent, which does not require QTS.