First-term State Representative Brenda Shields said some of her priorities include workforce development and teacher externships.

Along with serving on the budget committee, Shields, who represents Buchanan County and parts of Platte County, is Vice Chair of the Education Appropriations Committee. Shields said the committee is responsible for the K-12 and higher education budgets.

Shields has introduced House Bill 462 to create certified teacher externships through the Department of Economic Development and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education working together. Shields explains the difference between an internship and an externship is that an internship is typically for college students looking for experience in their desired field while an externship gives qualified teachers the opportunity to go out and learn about jobs and bring that experience back to their classroom.

“These are not teacher externships where a teacher goes into the business for a day, interviews a few people and writes a paper. These are going to be externships that are going to be equal to college credit,” Shields said. “It’s going to be about a four week externship for these teachers that they’re going to actually go in and spend time in these businesses. When I say they are certified, DESE and the Department of Economic Development are going to create the guidelines, businesses are going to create the externships, they’re going to be approved by DESE once they’re made.”

Shields adds, as part of the bill, teachers who complete an externship would be able to receive those hours of credit on the teacher’s salary schedule to receive additional pay for completing a teacher externship.

Shields said House Bill 462 will be third read on Monday and before being sent to the Senate.