School Staff Shortages

Guidance, policy updates and actionable resources for schools & districts experiencing school staff shortages.

  Background

As millions of students return to classrooms for the 2022-23 school year, much thought and attention has been given to the educator shortage. The COVID pandemic did not create the educator and education staff shortage. Our nation’s schools had been dealing with an increasingly intense teacher shortage prior to the 2019-20 school year. AASA is focused on identifying where school staffing shortages have been hitting districts the most and advocating for sustainable solutions.

In September of 2022, AASA conducted a survey with superintendents to understand the nature of school staffing shortages our members were facing. AASA’s educator shortage survey reflects real-time nationwide feedback from those doing the hiring and aimed to look at the vacancy rates of both instructional and non-instructional positions. In addition, the survey provides context of these reported vacancy rates compared to the previous school year.

AASA sought to find out:

• What percentage of your district’s instructional positions for the 2022-23 school year remain unfilled?
• What percentage of your district’s non-instructional positions for the 2022-23 school year remain unfilled?
• How would you describe the total share of vacancies (overall) for 2022-23 to the start of the 2021-22 school year?
• What are the factors contributing to your district’s 2022-23 educator shortages?

View Survey Results

  AASA's Position & Priorities

AASA is committed to advocating for the following:

• Federal education policy must address the educator shortage and acknowledge that schools need a pipeline of high-quality educators to operate, function and provide equitable education to students including support for existing and innovative instructional models.
• Federal efforts to support local education agencies with their teacher and staffing needs must include establishing a commission to address the long-standing teacher shortage exacerbated by the pandemic.
• Support the preservation and expansion of resources for future and current teachers to address the teacher shortage issue.
• The federal government must take action to address the specific shortages of bus drivers and other pupil transportation service providers. Such policies could include: Delay of Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT rule); allowing for third party administration of the skills and knowledge tests; creating an entry level CDL in school transportation; and a one-year exemption to social security earning limitation.