Florida Department of Education reports drop in teacher vacancies, critics cite ongoing shortages
Action News Jax | By William Clayton | August 20, 2024
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — As the new school year begins, the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) reported Monday a 13.3% reduction in teacher vacancies.
It’s a figure met with skepticism by the Florida Education Association (FEA), highlighting the ongoing significant shortages and questions about the reliability of the state’s data.
On Monday, the FDOE announced that teacher vacancies for the 2024-2025 school year are lower compared with the previous year, with schools across the state averaging 1.11 teacher vacancies per school, down from 1.28 last year. This decrease follows an 8% reduction in vacancies the prior year, continuing what the state claims is a trend of improvement.
Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. attributed the decline to initiatives like increased teacher pay, new pathways into the profession, and the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis.
“Florida has raised teacher pay, supported teachers in the classroom, and created new pathways for qualified individuals to enter the teaching profession,” Diaz said. “While the naysayers use the same tactics year after year to discredit Florida’s success in Education, once again the numbers speak for themselves. I am proud that Florida’s teacher vacancies continue to decline and I am confident that this is a direct result of the forward-thinking policies that Governor Ron DeSantis has championed.”
The FDOE attributed the vacancy reductions to Governor DeSantis’ commitment to supporting educators, with more than $4.6 billion invested in teacher pay increases since 2019. Florida has also introduced programs such as the Teacher Apprenticeship Program and the Military Veterans Certification Pathway, which have allowed more than 100 apprentices and over 260 veterans to begin their teaching careers during the 2024-2025 school year.
However, the FEA and other critics offer a more critical perspective. Despite the reported decrease, the FEA, which represents over 120,000 union members, notes that 5,007 instructional vacancies still exist statewide—an increase from January 2024, though slightly better than in August 2023.
The disparity between the FDOE’s and FEA’s figures raises questions about data accuracy. The FDOE insists its data comes directly from school districts, contrasting with what it describes as “inaccurate data to report inflated teacher vacancy data” used by other sources. Contrarily, the FEA, which counts vacancies posted on district websites twice a year, argues that the teacher shortage remains severe, driven by inadequate salaries and insufficient support staff.
Florida ranks 16th nationally in starting teacher pay at just over $53,000, yet ranks 50th out of 51 for average teacher pay, according to the National Education Association. The FEA argues these financial issues contribute to larger class sizes and overburdened educators, negatively affecting students statewide.
Last week, the FEA released its latest vacancy data, indicating that nearly every district in Florida still has unfilled positions in key areas such as elementary education, ESE, and speech-language pathology.
The FDOE stated, “Vacancy data is reported to the Department directly from school districts, contrary to other sources which have attempted to use inaccurate data to report inflated teacher vacancy data,” an apparent critique aimed at FEA’s teacher data.
