Ah, yes—The “credentialing” racket.
Further insulating the academy from the real world.
My situation is similar to yours. I hold a Ph.D. in applied psychology (industrial/organizational) and have worked in the private sector for over 25 years; including running my own small business for the last 10+ years. Recently, I applied for a faculty position in management/organizational development at a local junior college. Blew the other candidates away in the practical application of principles phase, which was the most heavily weighted part of the interview process. But, because I didn’t have eighteen hours in Business at the graduate level, I was not selected.
Similar stories here. A close friend has taught pre-school for over 20 years was recently discovered to be missing a couple of hours of some training. Instantly DQ’d from teaching until she got the training.
My sister is an award-winning math teacher with 30 years experience. She teaches junior high school kids. Same situation — found to be missing a couple of hours of training.
In both cases this is the result of constantly changing requirements that are fuzzy on what old training counts and what new training is required. The rules get so Byzantine that they almost guarantee everybody is not fully credentialed.
My sister petitioned the state for exemption and won! But it was a horrendous slog through the education bureaucracy.