TEXAS — Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Education Agency (TEA) released the final report of the Teacher Vacancy Task Force to resolve staffing shortages in the classroom. The report highlights policy recommendations that are supposed help school districts across the state.

“Educating Texas students is crucial for the continued success of our great state, and teachers play a pivotal role in that success,” said Abbott. “I thank the teachers and school leaders on this task force for their work addressing full-time and substitute teacher vacancies in Texas schools. Their recommendations will help ensure that best practices and resources are available for teacher recruitment and retention. Working with the Texas legislature, we will develop and implement strategies that attract, retain, and support highly qualified educators to provide students across the state with even greater opportunities to learn and grow.”

In March 2022, Abbott instructed TEA Commissioner Mike Morath to promptly construct a task force dedicated to supporting school districts with ongoing staffing retention and recruitment challenges.

“Teachers are the single most important in-school factor in the educational outcomes of students, and we must ensure they feel valued, supported, and able to remain in the classroom, if they so choose,” said Commissioner Morath. “The work of the task force has further illuminated critical issues facing Texas public schools and has provided concrete steps to move forward. I am grateful for their thoughtful and insightful approach to developing practical policy recommendations that help address these challenges.”

The policy recommendations that are of priority fall within three primary categories: compensation, working conditions, and training and support. The proposals are as follows:

• Funding an increase to overall teacher salaries through an increase to the basic allotment, an increase in the minimum salary schedule, and expansion of strategic compensation systems, such as the Teacher Incentive Allotment
• Expanding high-quality Grow-Your-Own pathways; teacher apprenticeships; and full-year, paid teacher residencies
• Funding for and increasing the scale of the Mentor Program Allotment (MPA)
• Funding, professional learning, and support for teachers to access and utilize High Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM)
• Conducting teacher time studies and providing technical assistance for districts to develop strategic staffing and scheduling models that respect teacher time  

The task force includes 46 members that consist of teachers and school leaders representing all 20 Education Service Center regions and school systems of diverse sizes and demographics.

View the final report here.