There\u2019s been talk for years of a teacher shortage. This problem could become acute in the aftermath of the pandemic. Can school budgets absorb declining enrollment even while payroll costs creep up? What will happen to technical subjects and special education with fewer certified teachers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the teacher shortage really happens, students who need to catch up<\/a> after long school closures could get even less attention than they did before. Classes might be larger and school weeks shorter. And they may have to endure prolonged remote and hybrid, rather than in-person, learning. Teachers already feel stretched. These measures would make things worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n School enrollment has been declining<\/a> for years. This is mainly the result of a 20% drop in birthrates<\/a> since the 2008 financial crisis. Then 2020 added insult to injury, with students dropping out of school<\/a> at unprecedented levels. More families are seeking alternatives to public schools, such as homeschooling, private school, microschools, learning pods, and private tutors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The declining enrollment worries school district leaders who are trying to balance their budgets. Government ties its funding to enrollment numbers, while personnel costs rise annually due to seniority-based salary<\/a> schedules and union demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n School districts tend to face teacher shortages<\/a> in upper level math and science. High industry demand for graduates with these majors leaves schools with few applicants to choose from. Special education jobs are likewise harder to fill. As the shortage deepens, schools may have to reduce some technical subjects and cut corners with special education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Higher education may provide some lessons for how K-12 schools could solve these problems. Colleges and universities often contract with adjuncts. There are several advantages to this strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, this allows schools to adjust to volatile enrollment numbers. Second, it connects students with enthusiastic experts. And third, these experts put pressure on tenured faculty to provide quality and engaging instruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The same strategy could reduce the teacher shortage and budget shortfalls in K-12 public school. That\u2019s right. Schools could meet their growing need for technical experts and special education staff for less money. After all, adjuncts are often part-time, non-tenured positions that lack the costly perks of full-time counterparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only one thing stands in the way of this fix \u2014 teacher certification laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These laws are meant to make sure public schools have good teachers. But this has not borne out. As a nation, the average student achieves less year after year. Teacher quality surely plays a role. So, it\u2019s time to scrutinize the roadblock of teacher certification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Certification laws may be well-meaning. But according to Donald P. Nielsen\u2019s research outlined in Every School: One Citizen\u2019s Guide to Transforming Education<\/em><\/a>, they hinder K-12 teaching rather than advance it. Nielsen highlights the irony of these laws that give \u201cmonopoly control over the supply of human capital entering our public schools.\u201d He goes on to note that the stringent K-12 certification laws require an aspiring public school teacher to complete a university or non-traditional teacher program for one to two years. The person can be certified by an unaccredited school of education with uncertified faculty. And yet a K-12 public school can\u2019t hire a college math professor with a master\u2019s degree in that subject to teach a high school math course. As a result, many gifted and highly educated experts opt not to enter K-12 public education.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDeclining Public School Enrollment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Technical Subject and Special Education Staffing Needs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Strategic Solution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Teacher Certification Laws<\/h2>\n\n\n\n