California has earmarked nearly $200 million over the last four years to address the state’s persistent teacher shortage, but it is not enough, according to new studies that are part of “Getting Down to Facts II,” a research project focused on a wide array of statewide education issues. The teacher shortage has worsened in recent years as state funding for education improved and districts began lowering class sizes and bringing back programs like summer school and the arts, which were frequently eliminated during the recession, increasing the need for more teachers.

California schools have had persistent difficulties filling special education vacancies, but in the past two years, these shortages have skyrocketed, as evidenced by the growth of substandard special education authorizations. When schools struggle to fill a position with a qualified teacher, they often hire teachers who are still in training or who hold emergency-type permits without training.

This document outlines evidence-based principles that should be included in legislation regarding state-level teacher residency programs.

This brief describes how teacher residency programs in California help meet critical hiring needs in both urban and rural areas.

This brief describes how the teacher shortage in California has worsened, with severe consequences for special education, math, science, and bilingual education. It includes recommendations for state-level policies that would provide near-term solutions for strengthening the teacher pipeline.

This research report examines how and why teacher quality is so inequitably distributed and the impact of that distribution on student achievement. The authors discuss successful strategies for recruiting qualified and effective teachers to high-need schools, and the implications for federal policy to resolve the issue.

This article describes the successful efforts of California and North Carolina in the 1990’s to strengthen the profession and build coherent systems of teacher development through policy solutions to teacher shortages. The article also describes how those efforts were dismantled and the impact of that dismantling.