14-05-2025
DE state rep working with expired teaching license removed from House Education Committee
Rep. Sherae'a "Rae" Moore has been removed as vice-chair of the state House Education Committee, according to a statement issued by Delaware House Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown.
Moore's removal comes a little over three weeks after Delaware Online/The News Journal published an investigation that found her among more than 400 public school educators who were working with expired or missing licenses in March. The Middletown Democrat had also not disclosed this while her committee considered legislation surrounding the same subject, as previously reported and noted by Minor-Brown.
Moore could not be immediately reached for comment on May 14.
READ THE FULL INVESTIGATION: Hundreds of Delaware teachers found to be working on expired licenses in public schools
Minor-Brown, in her statement issued late May 13, said it was her responsibility to uphold the integrity of the state's legislative process, especially in areas that impact the lives of children, families and educators. Her decision to remove Moore from this committee came after consulting with House leadership.
"Representative Moore has held a leadership role on a committee that plays a critical part in shaping the policies that affect Delaware's students and educators," she said in her statement. "With that role comes the duty to uphold transparency and serve as a model of accountability."
Moore's actions did not reflect those shared values, Minor-Brown said, adding no one should be shaping state education standards if they are not willing "to hold themselves to those same standards."
Moore's teaching experience began as a second career about seven years ago, but she came to Appoquinimink School District last school year. She was elected to her house seat for the first time in 2020.
As Delaware Online/The News Journal's reporting began in March, the lawmaker appeared to be working as a special education teacher at Louis L. Redding Middle School on a paraeducator permit and a teaching license that had expired in 2020. She also did not appear to have achieved an active certification to teach students with disabilities at any point, according to the state database tracking this information.
In an interview on March 28, Moore told Delaware Online/The News Journal she was accepted and enrolled in a Wilmington University ARTC program in August 2024, to begin satisfying state teacher licensing requirements. She shared a Student Enrollment Services email thanking her for her application.
Some seven months into this school year, the Department of Education had no record of Moore starting a program, which should have resulted in updates to the state database. Then, on April 7, Appoquinimink uploaded a "Welcome Letter" from Wilmington University's Special Education Teacher program, dated April 2, 2025. The letter showed all upcoming courses and requirements unmet.
As this developed, House Education Committee chair Rep. Kim Williams drafted legislation to tighten measures that any public school employee must have a valid permit or license to work unsupervised with students, with certain exceptions for support staff.
Because the state provides 70% of a licensed public school teacher's salary, the proposal also gives the state the power to claw back money from districts and charters if they intentionally retain an employee for more than 90 days after hire without a valid, required credential.
During an April 9 House Education Committee hearing discussing House Bill 97, Moore shared concerns about teachers caught up in delays on the part of universities. During that discussion, all of her questions surrounded this concern.
But when prompted, she directly denied the issue being about her.
"If she believed there were flaws or inequities, she could have used her position to advocate for changes," Minor-Brown said. "Instead, she remained silent until she proposed an amendment to an education bill that would have personally benefited her own certification status. That action undermined the integrity of our committee process."
The bill is now on track to head to the full Senate floor, having already passed in the House.
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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware representative booted from state House Education Committee
