As 2025 closes, the national conversation around teacher shortages has shifted from concern to urgency. What once appeared to be a temporary disruption following the pandemic has become a persistent workforce challenge, reshaping classrooms, district budgets, and policy priorities nationwide.
Data released throughout 2025 paints a clear picture: teacher shortages are widespread, deeply rooted, and unlikely to resolve without sustained, systemic action. As education leaders look ahead to 2026, understanding how shortages are measured, what drives them, and how they affect students will be essential to moving forward.
How Teacher Shortages Are Tracked
Teacher shortages are most commonly measured using two key indicators:
- Unfilled teaching positions, and
- Positions filled by teachers who are not fully certified for their assignments.
The Learning Policy Institute (LPI) compiles state-level data to track both measures. State law generally allows districts to hire under-certified teachers only when fully certified candidates are unavailable. Taken together, these figures provide a reliable snapshot of staffing challenges across the country.
The State of Teacher Shortages in 2025
By mid-2025, the scale of the shortage was unmistakable. According to LPI’s most recent analysis:
- 48 states and the District of Columbia employed approximately 366,000 teachers who were not fully certified for their teaching assignments.
- 31 states and the District of Columbia reported data on teacher vacancies, identifying more than 45,000 unfilled positions.
Combined, these figures show that over 411,000 teaching positions nationwide were either vacant or staffed by under-certified educators, representing roughly one in eight teaching positions in the United States.
Compared to 2024, this marks a continued upward trend, with several thousand additional classrooms affected. While the pace of increase has slowed in some states, the overall problem remains heading into 2026.
Why Teacher Shortages Persist
The data points to two key drivers of the shortage: a weakened teacher pipeline and high rates of attrition.
A Shrinking Pipeline
Interest in teaching among young adults remains near historic lows. Enrollment in educator preparation programs declined sharply following the Great Recession and, despite modest stabilization in recent years, has not recovered evenly across states. Between 2016–2017 and 2020–2021, more than half of states continued to experience notable declines in teacher preparation enrollment. This severely limited the supply of new educators entering the profession.
Attrition Drives Demand
Teacher attrition accounts for approximately 90% of annual demand for new teachers. Importantly, most educators who leave are not retiring. Instead, they cite factors such as inadequate pay, limited professional support, challenging working conditions, and dissatisfaction with their roles. This revolving door continues to strain districts, particularly those already facing staffing challenges.
Subjects and Classrooms Most Affected
Teacher shortages are not evenly distributed. Federal data submitted by states for the 2024–2025 school year show that:
- Every state and the District of Columbia reported shortages in multiple subject areas.
- The most commonly cited shortages were in special education, science, and mathematics, fields that have faced persistent shortages for decades.
- The largest concentrations of shortage positions were in special education, elementary education, language arts, and career and technical education, measured by vacancies, temporary certifications, and out-of-field assignments.
These patterns show little sign of changing as districts prepare staffing plans for 2026.
The Impact on Students and Districts
The consequences of teacher shortages extend far beyond staffing spreadsheets.
Student Learning
When districts cannot fill classrooms with fully prepared teachers, they often resort to larger class sizes, long-term substitutes, or course cancellations. These stopgap measures weaken teaching and student learning, especially when they become routine rather than temporary.
Equity Gaps
Teacher shortages disproportionately affect students from low-income backgrounds and students of color. Schools serving the highest concentrations of students of color are significantly more likely to employ under-certified teachers, compounding existing inequities.
Financial Strain
Replacing a single teacher can cost districts between $12,000 and $25,000, depending on district size. High turnover not only disrupts school communities but also diverts resources away from instruction and student services.
Rural Challenges
Rural districts face unique obstacles, including smaller tax bases, geographic isolation from preparation programs, and fewer local recruitment options. These factors contribute to higher vacancy rates and greater reliance on out-of-field teaching.
What 2026 Will Require
If 2025 confirmed the depth of the teacher shortage, 2026 will test whether policymakers are prepared to respond. Research points to several priorities:
- Expand affordable, high-quality pathways into teaching, including residencies and “grow-your-own” programs that reduce financial barriers and improve retention.
- Strengthen mentoring and induction systems so new teachers receive sustained support during their early years.
- Improve compensation and working conditions, addressing the core reasons educators leave the profession.
- Invest in stronger data systems, ensuring timely, transparent, and consistent reporting that enables smarter policy decisions.
Absent these investments, shortages are likely to persist—or worsen—in the years ahead.
Looking Ahead
Teacher shortages are no longer a short-term problem. They are a long-term challenge that will shape education policy in 2026 and beyond. However, with focused investments and strong, coordinated leadership, the coming year can be a turning point, moving the conversation from managing shortages to rebuilding the teaching profession.
References
- Learning Policy Institute. (2025). Understanding Teacher Shortages in the United States.
https://learningpolicyinstitute.org
- U.S. Department of Education. (2024–2025). Teacher Shortage Areas Nationwide Listing.
https://www.ed.gov
- Ingersoll, R., Merrill, L., & Stuckey, D. (2018). Seven Trends: The Transformation of the Teaching Force. Consortium for Policy Research in Education.
- Carver-Thomas, D., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2019). The Costs of Teacher Turnover. Learning Policy Institute.