The Learning Policy Institute has tracked the shortage for four years, and 2026 marks the third consecutive year it has grown. Nationally, schools reported 387,843 teachers working without full certification for their assignments and 37,569 unfilled positions in the states that reported vacancy data. Special education, elementary education, language arts, and career and technical education carry the most shortages of any teaching areas, according to the institute.
Arizona offers a clear picture of what the shortage looks like up close. The Arizona Department of Education's 2025 Teacher Survey, as reported by The Arizona Republic, found more than 4,200 teaching positions, about 7% of the state's total, filled by long-term substitutes, student teachers, outside vendors or teachers covering extra classes during their own planning periods. Another 1,400 positions, 2.4% of the total, sat completely unfilled, though that's down from 2.8% the year before.
Retention tells a similar story. About 20% of Arizona's nearly 60,000 public school and charter teachers left their positions or switched schools during the 2024-25 school year. The state's retention rate sits six percentage points below the national average, based on the most recent national data available from the 2021-22 school year.
How does the shortage affect student outcomes?
When a district can't find a certified teacher, it usually has four options:
- Hire someone who isn't fully trained.
- Increase class sizes.
- Lean on a rotating lineup of substitutes.
- Cancel subjects altogether.
More than 40% of U.S. schools have taken the first path and hired underqualified teachers to fill vacancies, and close to 30% have increased class sizes, according to Forbes reporting on the national shortage.
The stakes run highest for the youngest students. Elementary school is when children build the foundational reading and math skills that support every grade that follows, and early gaps tend to compound as students age. An inexperienced or inconsistent teacher at this stage can set back a child's education trajectory for years, not just a semester.
Superintendents feel the tension between filling a seat and filling it well.
"It's not a question of subs not taking these jobs, they're taking them on a daily basis, weekly basis, on a multi-day basis," Gabriel Trujillo, superintendent of Tucson Unified School District, said at a September 2024 school board meeting, as reported by AZ Big Media. "That is not what the students need. They need a full-time, highly qualified teacher to take it for the year."
Why becoming a teacher is still worth it
A shortage this size creates real demand, and demand creates opportunity for people willing to step into the classroom. Elementary teachers shape how a child sees learning for the rest of their life, and that impact shows up in the adults those students become.
The job also offers something the private sector increasingly can't promise: stability. Pension systems, a schedule built around the school calendar and health coverage remain standard in public education, even as the shortage itself signals how much districts need qualified people in these roles.
What's changing about how people become teachers?
The traditional path into teaching, a four-year, in-person education degree, doesn't fit everyone who wants to teach. Working adults, parents and career changers often can't pause their income or relocate near a campus to go back to school, and that mismatch has kept qualified people out of classrooms that need them.
Some states and universities are responding by shortening the path into the classroom. Arizona State University not only offers accelerated master’s programs in education but also goes a step further by rethinking what a teacher walks into once they get there.
ASU focuses its curriculum on preparing teachers to meet the needs of tomorrow’s classrooms. Students engage in a curriculum that not only provides them with practical learning experience for the classrooms they'll teach in, but also introduces new approaches that have proven effective.
For instance, ASU's Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation leads the Next Education Workforce™ initiative, which retires the traditional one-teacher, one-classroom setup in favor of teams that split instructional duties and lean into each educator's strengths.
"Teams create healthier professional environments by providing support, perspective and shared accountability,” said Carole Basile, dean of Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation. “They reduce burnout by distributing responsibility and creating space for collective problem solving. They allow educators to learn from one another and to build a culture of continuous improvement."
Arizona schools are already piloting the model with encouraging results across teacher retention, job satisfaction, student performance and more. This new teaching method shapes how ASU programs, both online and in person, prepare future teachers to succeed once they’ve earned certification.
How ASU's online education programs help close the gap
The goal isn’t just to fill a vacancy. ASU’s online education programs combine a modern approach, flexible coursework and hands-on clinical experience to cultivate educators who strengthen the schools and communities they serve for years to come.
Whether you're just discovering a love for teaching or switching careers to follow your passion, ASU has a next step already mapped out for you. Explore the pathways to becoming a certified teacher for young learners in Arizona:
- Online Bachelor of Arts in Education in elementary education
- Online Master of Education in elementary education – teacher certification
- Online Master of Education in early childhood education – teacher certification
- Online Master of Education in early childhood special education – teacher certification
Ready to take the next step? Request more information by filling out the form below.