Plan to address teacher shortage draws ire

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Public school teachers are pushing back against a state school board plan intended to address teacher shortages.

The Utah State Board of Education unanimously decided to allow schools to hire people with expertise in subject matter but no teaching license or classroom experience.

"Instead of a fixing a leak in the dam, it's going to be plugging the hole with a stick of dynamite," said Roger Donohoe, a Hyde Park teacher who won a Huntsman Award for Excellence in Education in 2014.

The Academic Pathway to Teaching rule requires applicants to have at least a bachelor's degree and show they mastered their intended course subject.