1/9/2024 • Trenton, NJ • New Jersey ALMOST recognizes Montessori training for state licensure
Update—1/19/2024: In a surprise move, New Jersey governor Phil Murphy declined to sign a bill recognizing Montessori teacher training for state licensure. While this is disappointing to say the least, organizers of the effort are hopeful that the bill can be re-introduced and approved in the next legislative session.
New Jersey’s Montessori Public Works, a key organizer, shared this link to their Action Page, where people can sign up for updates and learn more about how to contact the governors’s office.
The original article appears below.
1/9/2024 • Trenton, NJ • The state of New Jersey will recognize Montessori credentials for teacher licensure under a new bill.
Bills S3172/A4689, which passed unanimously through both chambers and are awaiting the Governor’s signature, will “authorize a route to teacher certification for candidates who possess a Montessori teaching credential” from the Association Montessori International (AMI), the American Montessori Society (AMS), or any training program accredited by the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (MACTE).
This achievement is thanks to the tireless efforts of Montessori Public Works (MPW) over the last 1.5 years, with leadership from State Senator Vin Gopal and support from the Montessori Public Policy Institute (MPPI), Dr. Lisa Gleason, Dr. Semaj Vanzant, Princeton Center for Teacher Education, Megan Trezise, Saloni Mathur and Semaj Vanzant Jr.
Angie Schiavoni from MPW, one of the principal architects of this work, had this to say:
We’re so happy that both chambers of the NJ legislature have now recognized the value of our state’s amazing Montessori teachers in such a decisive and bipartisan way!
This brings the number of states offering a Montessori pathway to state licensure to 11, including Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Ohio, South Carolina, and Wisconsin, as shown below. We’ll update this table with New Jersey when the bill becomes law as expected.
Editor’s Note: The number of states offering a pathway remains at 10, as shown below:
David worked in private Montessori for more than twenty years as a parent, three-to-six year-old and adolescent teacher, administrator, writer, speaker, and advocate. In 2016 he began working with the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector. David lives in Portland, Oregon.