Burn out.

Pay respect on student behavior are some of the reasons Kentucky teachers say they're leaving the classroom.

The state legislature is taking some initial steps to address the teacher shortage with House Bill 319 fashion by House Education Committee Chairman James Tipton.

He admitted the measure is not a panacea and failing the more than 1500 teacher vacancies.

More in tonight's legislative update.

We're going to continue to have a problem with this issue, I think, for many years to come.

We didn't just start this problem.

This this has been building up for many years.

We've been seeing fewer and fewer people in are becoming education majors, entering the teacher preparation program.

That's a trend we've been saying for many years.

It's not just in Kentucky.

This is happening all across southeast, all across the country.

But I do believe that House Bill 319 is a good first step to take some positive actions that will remove some of the burden, remove some of the regulation, remove some of the red tape and make it easier and more conducive for individuals to consider going into the teaching profession and to keep them in the teaching profession.

Here's some of what house Bill 319 does.

It allows licensed educators from other states to move to Kentucky and be granted an equivalent license through an interstate compact that began when ten states adopted school districts would have to perform exit interviews on staff as they leave and then report that data to the state Education Department.

It simplifies the job application process by creating a one stop statewide job posting system, expands awards from the teachers scholarship program, which was given $1 million each year of the by and by state lawmakers in the last budget.

Teachers, aides and paraprofessionals could cover classes for teachers suffering from burnout or lacking enough substitute teachers, an experiment that will be tried until 2026.

It creates another alternative teaching pathway, allowing college degree holders with at least four years of work experience in their fields to get an interim certificate, so long as they had a mentor teacher to help them.

The bill does not address teacher salaries.

House Bill 319 cleared the House Education Committee today and now waits for action by the full House.

There are between 1502 thousand teacher vacancies at any one time, according to Kentucky Education Commissioner Jason Glass.

He joined us along with three lawmakers and Kentucky's high school teacher of the year.

Last night on Kentucky tonight.

We discussed what's causing Kentucky's teacher shortage.

Representative Tina Burzynski of Louisville, herself a teacher, told us about the results of a Facebook poll of Kentucky teachers.

Pay was number one, but number two, with 37% of the people mentioning this.

And the question I had asked is, Are you considering leaving the classroom and what would it take to help you stay?

Mm hmm.

And the number two point was respect and respect from your administrators, respect from the General Assembly, respect from parents, respect from your students.

You know, when we have these culture war bills that make teachers out to be, you know, the next witch that needs to be burned, then we're not feeling respected.

So number one was pay.

Number two was respect, and number three was autonomy.

So classroom autonomy.

And what does that mean?

Autonomy means you have some agency in deciding what you're going to do in your classroom.

So whether it's agency and structuring your schedule or how many minutes that you feel like your children need to do on this activity or the other or agency in working through the curricula, are you given a scripted curriculum that everyone has to follow with fidelity, or are you able to be the professionals?

So the question is, are we professionals or are we just a cog in the teaching machine?

Representative James Tipton, Chair of the House Education Committee, talked about the important role parents play and helping teachers do their jobs.

I have a young person make this comment to me recently.

I think it's so true.

Parents are more concerned about being their child's friend than they are their parent.

The young person told me that, and I think it's time for parents to step up.

We have a lot of societal issues out there, but it's time for parents to be parents in the role that they need to be.

Children need discipline.

They need to know that there are boundaries in life.

There are rules in life they have to follow, and it'll make life much easier for them.

And I think it would make life much easier for our classroom teachers in schools if we had that taking place.

See more of our discussion about the teacher shortage online on demand at Katie Dawg slash K-Y tonight.