Workforce Development

By mid-2025 over 410,000 teaching positions in K-12 will either be vacant or not consistently filled, representing about 1 in 8 of all national teaching positions.

Thirty-one states plus the District of Columbia published data on teacher vacancies, showing 45,582 unfilled teacher positions. (Learning Policy Institute)
Teacher pipeline. Interest in teaching among high school and college students is at the lowest level it has been in decades. (Learning Policy Institute)
Between 2016–17 and 2020–21, 27 states have seen ongoing enrollment declines of 5% or more, seven states had relatively flat enrollment numbers, and 17 states plus the District of Columbia saw increases of 5% or more. (Learning Policy Institute)
The numbers of shortage positions were deepest in special education, elementary education, language arts, and career and technical education. (Learning Policy Institute)
Rural districts are particularly impacted by teacher shortages, which can be a result of smaller tax bases that prevent rural districts from offering competitive salaries, greater distance from educator preparation programs, and difficulty in filling vacancies. (Learning Policy Institute)

Students from lower-income backgrounds and students of color often have the most limited access to highly qualified teachers and are disproportionately impacted by teacher shortages. (Learning Policy Institute)
National research indicates that roughly one in five paraprofessionals leave the workforce annually, with attrition rates increasing since the pandemic. (National Center on Teacher Quality)
Federal labor projections show that most paraprofessional openings are driven by replacement needs rather than growth, underscoring the fiscal and operational burden of constant churn. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Public educator diversity does not match public students diversity in regard to race, ethnicity, or gender. (Learning Policy Institute)

VISION FOR THE FUTURE