Teachers may find out this week whether the Bermuda Educators Council (BEC) will insist upon regulations that could keep some educators from getting their licences renewed.

The BEC requires teachers to have a minimum of 40 professional development (PD) hours under their belt by August 31 in order to teach this coming school year.

The council has said the regulations are intended to make sure teachers are continually developing.

The Bermuda Union of Teachers (BUT) has argued that the demanded 40 hours are more than what's required elsewhere.

The BUT has also expressed concern that the hours must be completed by the end of this month.

A recent meeting between the BEC and the BUT provided some hope, according to BUT general secretary Mike Charles.

He said: "We put forward our concerns and our arguments, and I think they listened. We're all looking for a win-win solution.

"I believe the council may have had a meeting on Friday, so we're hoping we might get to find out what happens soon.

"I'm an eternal optimist. We all want our teachers to be on the cutting edge so that we can see the results in the classroom."

An exact number of teachers possibly affected by the regulations is unknown. The BEC has said three-quarters of teachers had either completed or exceeded the required 40 hours.

"We don't know how many teachers would be affected right now," said Mr. Charles. "In fact, when we met with the council, they didn't know."

Public school teachers undergo 35 hours of mandatory PD every September, November and February, leaving them only additional five hours to meet the BEC licence requirement.

On Tuesday the Bermuda Autism Support and Education Society announced it would offer a free workshop which would help teachers meet their deadline.

Should the BEC uphold the regulations and schools find themselves short-staffed, substitute teachers could fill some positions — if they meet the requirements, Mr. Charles said.

"The thing is, they would also have to be licensed, so there would be the same problems. It's an issue across-the-board.

"Those that are licensed would have to be able to step into a full-time position, and that's not easy."