An Overview of Teacher Shortages: 2026

How are teacher shortages tracked?

The Learning Policy Institute (LPI) tracks teacher shortages by reviewing the most recent state-specific data on the number of teachers not fully certified for their teaching assignments as well as the number of unfilled teaching positions. State laws typically specify that teachers who are not fully certified can be hired or assigned only if a fully certified teacher is not available. Therefore, both data points provide a strong indicator of the severity of shortages.

What is the state of teacher shortages?

According to the most recent 2026 scan, 50 states plus the District of Columbia employed an estimated 387,843 teachers who were not fully certified for their teaching assignments. Twenty-nine states plus the District of Columbia published data on vacancies, showing 37,569 unfilled teaching positions. Together, these estimates indicate that, at a minimum, 425,412 positions were either unfilled or filled by teachers not fully certified for their assignments, representing about 1 in 8 of all teaching positions nationally. These estimates represent an undercount of unfilled positions and teachers not fully certified for their assignments, both because some states did not report these data at all and because data from some states represented only a subset of schools or teaching positions.

Compared with LPI’s 2025 scan, these estimates represent an increase in teaching positions that were either unfilled or filled with teachers not fully certified for their assignments, among states that reported data. Looking across the 4 years in which LPI conducted these scans, this is the third consecutive year of increases—particularly in the estimated number of positions filled by teachers who are not fully certified.

What are the root causes of teacher shortages?

Teacher shortages stem from two main factors: fewer people entering the profession and high rates of teachers leaving the profession.

• Teacher pipeline. Interest in teaching among college students has been declining since the turn of the century, and in the past decade, interest has fallen to its lowest level in 50 years. Correspondingly, nationally, enrollment in teacher preparation programs in institutions of higher education dropped sharply by about 100,000 candidates between 2012–13 and 2014–15 and has been relatively stable since then.
   
• Teacher attrition. Attrition comprises about 90% of annual new teacher demand and drives many of the shortages we see today. Nearly 3 in 4 teachers (74%) who moved schools or left teaching did so voluntarily for reasons other than retirement. Among those who left teaching, cited reasons included pursuing other careers, seeking higher salaries, and dissatisfaction with teaching as a career.

Which subjects have the most widespread shortages?

Every year, states report data to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) on teacher shortage areas. In the 2024–25 school year, these national data show:

• Every state and the District of Columbia reported shortages in more than one teaching area. Shortages ranged from general elementary teachers to career and technical education teachers in secondary schools.
   
• States most commonly reported shortage areas in special education (45 states), science (41 states), and math (40 states). Collectively, 48 states reported shortages in at least one of these three teaching areas—areas that have had shortages since at least 1990, when the ED began collecting these data.
   
• The number of shortage positions was deepest in special education, elementary education, language arts, and career and technical education. These teaching areas account for the highest numbers of teacher shortages nationwide, as measured by the number of positions that are vacant, filled by temporarily certified teachers, or filled by out-of-field teachers.

How do teacher shortages impact students and school districts?

Persistent teacher shortages affect all types of districts, from rural to urban, and all states, small to large. Shortages have particularly negative consequences for:

• Student learning. When districts and schools face shortages, they often hire underprepared teachers or those not fully certified for their assignments; staff classrooms with substitute teachers; increase class sizes; cancel courses; and add responsibilities to existing teachers, all of which affect student achievement.
   
• Students from lower-income backgrounds and students of color. These students often have the most limited access to certified and experienced teachers and are disproportionately impacted by teacher shortages. Turnover rates are higher in schools serving larger concentrations of students of color and those from low-income backgrounds. Turnover rates were 35%–37% higher in schools with the largest concentrations of these students than in schools with the smallest concentrations of these students.
   
• District budgets. Districts incur costs totaling about $12,000 to $25,000 for every teacher who leaves, depending on district size. These include the costs to separate from teachers who leave, as well as costs to recruit, hire, and onboard new teachers.
   
• Rural districts. Rural districts are particularly impacted by teacher shortages, which can be a result of lower salaries, greater distance from educator preparation programs, and greater difficulty in filling vacancies, which can result in higher reliance on out-of-field teachers.

What can policymakers do to end teacher shortages?

Local, state, and federal education leaders and policymakers all play important roles in reducing pervasive teacher shortages. Research suggests the following strategies are key to building a strong and stable teacher workforce:

• Invest in high-quality, widely accessible, financially supported pathways into teaching. Teachers who receive affordable, high-quality, comprehensive preparation, such as that offered by teacher residencies, tend to be more effective and stay in teaching longer. Expanding and improving loan forgiveness and service scholarship programs can lessen the amount of student loans teacher candidates take on, increasing the likelihood of individuals choosing to enter and stay in the profession by reducing their financial burden.
   
• Provide beginning teachers with mentoring and induction supports. New teachers who are mentored and well supported become effective sooner and stay in teaching longer than those who lack mentoring and support.
   
• Provide competitive compensation and improve working conditions. Turnover is one of the key causes of teacher shortages because most open positions are created by teachers leaving the profession before retirement. Teachers with higher salaries and better working conditions, like effective school leaders and greater job and workplace satisfaction, are less likely to leave their schools.
   
• Strengthen data accessibility and data system infrastructure. Access to data that is consistent, accurate, transparent, timely, and routinely updated enables policymakers and stakeholders to better understand teacher shortages and devise informed policy solutions.