LPI/CSBA California Teacher Shortage Legislative Briefing

Throughout California, school districts continue to face shortages of fully prepared and qualified teachers. In a Fall 2016 survey by the Learning Policy Institute (LPI) and the California School Boards Association (CSBA), 75% of districts reported having a shortage of qualified teachers for the 2016–17 school year. Over 80% of these districts say that shortages have gotten worse since the 2013–14 school year. Teacher shortages leave districts with high rates of vacancies and force them to rely on underprepared teachers and substitutes, increase class sizes, and assign teachers outside of their areas of training.

On Thursday, January 26 LPI and CSBA hosted a legislative briefing on the teacher shortage and its implications for California schools and students. The program included a research presentation on a recent LPI-CSBA survey of school districts about the teacher shortage, comments by school district governing board members, and other local stakeholders on how their schools and districts are impacted by the shortage, and recommendations for state-level policies to build a strong and sustainable teacher workforce.

Date: Thursday, January 26, 2017
Time: 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. (PST)
Location: California State Capitol, 1315 10th St., Capitol Room 2040, Sacramento, CA 95814