Arizona state Sen. Kimberly Yee (R-20th) recently began pushing her Senate Bill 1502 to simplify teacher certification for career and technical education (CTE) programs, a measure she said would increase the programs for high schools.

These CTE programs are proven to be more effective than traditional high school programs, with 95 percent graduation rates, versus the statewide average of 75 percent. The benefits of the CTE programs are obvious, but do require educators who have been trained for work in the private sector.

Yee's support of these programs would need more private-sector teachers, but one obstacle standing in the way is the currently required list of skills which these individuals would need to develop and bring with them into their jobs. As it stands, the certification process requires learning skills such as classroom management, pedagogy and final assessments, to name a few. However, Yee is attempting to make the certification process for teachers a more straightforward one by avoiding unnecessary barriers, such as the aforementioned skills, realizing learning these skills is an entirely different thing than enforcing them.

Yee said that through her bill, she hopes that more teachers will come to teach CTE courses, which will in turn increase the graduation rates for students, and give them a brighter future.