Governor Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Education Agency to create a task force to examine the state’s teacher shortage problem.
In a letter to TEA Commissioner Mike Morath on Monday, Abbott said the task force should investigate why these shortages exist, recommend policy changes to the state education agency and consider more flexibility in the teacher certification process.
“This task force should work diligently to ensure that best practices and resources for recruitment and retention are provided to districts to ensure the learning environment of Texas students is not interrupted by the absence of a qualified teacher,” the governor wrote.
School districts across Texas have reported growing teacher shortages, amid a tight labor market and low morale within the profession. In a Charles Butt Foundation poll of 919 Texas teachers last year, 68% said they seriously considered leaving the profession in 2021, an increase of 10% points compared to the year before.
In the same poll, teachers said they felt undervalued and underpaid.
