Local Licensure Worth Watching, or Half Baked?

Moving is hard. Change is hard too. The Denver Post reports on Douglas County Schools in Colorado who are currently experimenting with licensure changes. The state has allowed the local school system to license for tough-to-fill positions like special education. Another component, the "Professionals in Residence" program, will train architects, military personnel, engineers and other skilled workers for part-time instructor positions.

So maybe the county will be more efficient in preparing teachers or, more likely, will get teachers into a classroom prepared or not. But I still haven't seen a compelling argument to localize certification and licensure, especially since the curriculum is largely a function of the state vis-a-vis the Colorado Student Assessment Program. But this is what pilots are for. It just seems like this is another experiment in education without a lay to a claim for improvement or even a strong argument for improvement. We'll see.