INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana’s union-friendly state Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz recently attempted to kill a controversial pipeline for career professionals to become K-12 public education teachers, but was thankfully unsuccessful.

Ritz, who was elected to office with substantial support from the state’s teachers unions, proposed a motion at a the State Board of Education meeting Wednesday to kill off a plan to “allow college graduates with a B-average in any subject to earn a K-12 teaching license,” the Indianapolis Star reports.

The idea was initially proposed by former Republican state Superintendent Tony Bennett – whom the unions viewed as their mortal enemy – as a way for career professionals to transition into teaching and expand the potential hiring pool for the state’s schools.

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

The state board ultimately voted 6-5 against Ritz’s motion to kill the plan, but also found a way to appease critics who contend those not specifically trained in classroom management and childhood development couldn’t possibly be effective teachers.

The board created a “career specialist certificate” that would allow professionals in technology, arts and other industries to apply to teach in high schools, according to the news site.

“Applicants would need 6,000 hours of real-world experience and would undergo teaching training on the job,” the Indy Star reports.

Ritz voted against that measure, but it passed anyway, 8-3.

Indiana Wesleyan University Dean Brad Oliver griped at the meeting that the career specialist certificates, which are part of a broader package that must still go through a public vetting process, are counter to efforts to track the effectiveness of Indiana teacher training programs.

“But other board members said the flexibility would empower local districts to hire whom they want and to find new talent,” according to the Indy Star.

MORE NEWS: How to prepare for face-to-face classes

“I like opening up the field,” Marian University President Daniel Elsener said. “I think it is opening another option, and no one has to do this. The quality and type of training in a professional growth program is a local option. If they find a new and better mousetrap to develop a teacher, I like that innovation.”