Teacher Shortages

Challenges facing districts in the Tampa Bay area vary, but low pay and the rising cost of living are cited as factors making it harder to fill classrooms. Here's a breakdown by county.

The state added over a thousand jobs in private K-12 education while losing more than 5,000 public school jobs in the last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The FEA mid-school year count found teacher vacancies statewide increased by about 100.

An analysis of data shows teacher vacancies across the state have declined recently, but gaps remain — and limitations in the data make it difficult to compare districts or identify where shortages are most acute and how they are affecting students and classrooms.

A National Council on Teacher Quality report found almost two-thirds of the teacher prep programs need to work on attracting and graduating more diverse teacher candidates.

The Florida Education Association said the Legislature and governor's actions have led to a decline in reading and math scores and a teacher and staff shortage.

The number of courses being taught by teachers who aren’t certified in their assigned subject area has risen by 16% over the last three years.

The comments by Miguel Cardona came during his tour Thursday of NeoCity Academy in Kissimmee.

Both the Florida Department of Education and Florida Education Association find teacher vacancies are down across the state this year.

A judge ruled in favor of the school district, which filed a lawsuit after county commissioners voted to delay the referendum until 2026.

The lawsuit comes after the county commission unexpectedly voted to delay a tax referendum that would fund teacher salaries by two years.

Kelly Services, one of the country’s largest staffing agencies, says Florida doesn’t have enough substitute teachers headed into the new school year.