Governors Welcome Action to Address Teacher Shortages

Today, National Governors Association Chair New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Vice Chair Utah Governor Spencer Cox released the following statement regarding the administration’s efforts to address teacher shortages and support the educator workforce as schools reopen for the 2022/2023 school year.

“Governors welcome the steps taken by the White House and the Departments of Education and Labor to support states and territories as they invest in their educator workforce. Governors are on the forefront of developing creative strategies to recruit, train and retain qualified teachers.  Governors and legislators across the country are dedicating state and federal American Rescue Plan dollars to increase support for teachers and address school staffing shortages in a myriad of ways.

“We are glad to see federal partners recognizing the teacher shortage and collaborating with the private sector to promote careers in education and strengthen teacher pipelines. We also appreciate the Department of Labor’s increased focus on teacher apprenticeship programs and encourage the Department to be flexible in working with states/ territories as they experiment with and elevate successful models that produce high quality educators.”