Florida - Monday August 19, 2024: The Florida Department of Education today (Monday) announced that teacher vacancies at the start of this school year are 13.3 percent lower than last year.
This year’s 13.3 percent drop in vacancies follows last year’s drop of over 8 percent, according to a news release from FDOE. 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," states the release.
Last week the Florida Education Association (FEA), the state's largest teacher's union, issued a news release stating that there were "5,007 instructional vacancies, a jump from numbers reported in January of this year, but a decrease from the number reported in August 2023." The release also notes that Florida public schools have reported 1.11 teacher vacancies per school, lower than last year’s average of 1.28 vacancies per school.
“Florida has raised teacher pay, supported teachers in the classroom and created new pathways for qualified individuals to enter the teaching profession,” said Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. “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."
Last year, Florida launched the Teacher Apprenticeship Program, allowing qualified individuals to receive on the job training from veteran teachers while they work towards their teaching certification. More than 100 teacher apprentices will begin this program during the 2024-2025 school year.
Additionally, Florida has helped military veterans enter the teaching profession through the Military Veterans Certification Pathway. This pathway has helped more than 260 veterans begin their teaching career through a temporary teaching certificate while they work towards completing their requirements.