One of the most prominent teachers unions in the Sunshine State and the DeSantis administration are clashing over the number of teachers working in Florida as the school year begins.
The Florida Education Association (FEA) weighed in on the number of teachers at the start of the 2023-2024 school year.
“Thousands of students will show up to their first day of school in Florida this year to find they don’t have a permanent teacher. There are currently nearly 7,000 teaching vacancies statewide, according to a new count of positions advertised on district websites. Advertised vacancies for school support staff stand at over 5,000, bringing the combined total to nearly 12,000 unfilled positions,” the FEA insisted last week. “The sad reality is that Gov. DeSantis and his legislative allies’ anti-education agenda is harming Florida’s children. These politicians hope that by causing sustained chaos in public schools, they can undermine parents’ trust in their child’s neighborhood school with the ultimate goal of having a fully privatized education system.”
The FEA took aim at the DeSantis administration’s policy with AP classes and curriculum.
“Parents and students have scrambled to deal with the latest AP course controversy, this time focused on a popular college-level psychology course thought initially to conflict with Florida’s restrictive new education laws. Book resellers report a steady stream of teachers turning over books from their classroom libraries, uncertain about whether picture books and literature might be judged illegal and banned. Parents have learned that, to meet Florida’s new academic standards, teachers must tell children that slavery was beneficial to Black people,” the FEA maintained.
“Every single one of these situations stems directly from the fact that Gov. DeSantis is more focused on running for president than on being governor,” said FEA President Andrew Spar. “Parents are waking up to the reality that DeSantis’ attempts to appeal to his extremist base are harming their children’s freedom to learn, and they’re fighting back. Far too many children in Florida won’t have the first day of school they deserve. But Gov. DeSantis’ attacks are having an unintended consequence. They’re creating new coalitions to fight against his regressive agenda and for positive change. As students, parents, educators and community members of all races, places and religions come together to demand better for our students, we will make Florida a place where all children can thrive.”
The FEA also offered its take on the number of teacher vacancies in Florida.
“The Florida Education Association counts vacancies posted on district websites twice annually, in August and January. As of Aug. 7, there were 6,920 advertised vacancies for teachers, compared to 6,006 at this time last year. Advertised vacancies for support staff totaled 5,072, with bus driver positions open in almost every county. As with teacher vacancies, the staff number is up from last August, when 4,765 positions were advertised for bus drivers, teacher’s aides and paraprofessionals, custodians, food service personnel, school nurses and other education staff professionals,” the FEA noted as it showcased its findings on the number of students in Florida.
This week, Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz pushed back on those numbers.
Diaz noted that “ Florida schools have 4,776 total teacher vacancies to begin the year, compared to 5,208 vacancies at the start of last school year” which ranks as “an 8 percent decline in teacher vacancies for the first day of school for the 2023-24 school year.” That compares to the 2022-23 school year” with 1.28 vacancies per school, below the national average of 2 percent and an improvement from the 1.4 percent Florida saw last year.
“It has been a top priority of the governor, the Florida Legislature and the Department of Education to recruit high-quality teachers to fill our classrooms,” said Diaz. “It is clear from the nearly 10 percent decline in teacher vacancies reported today that their hard work has paid off.”
The Florida Department of Education offered its findings on teacher vacancies in the Sunshine State.
“Areas across Florida have significantly less teacher vacancies at the start of this school year compared to last school year,” the Department of Education noted. “The counties of Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, and Pinellas have a total of 389 fewer teacher vacancies.
A decrease of 31 percent from last year. The counties of Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Volusia have a total of 108 fewer teacher vacancies. A decrease of 14 percent from last year. The counties of Clay, Duval, Nassau, and St. Johns have a total of 157 fewer teacher vacancies. A decrease of 29 percent from last year. The counties of Bay, Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Walton have a total of 104 fewer teacher vacancies. A decrease of 38 percent from last year.
“The Bureau of Educator Certification (BEC) within the Florida Department of Education has worked extended hours to shorten the time it takes to process an educator certificate to a few days in order to support districts with filling remaining teacher vacancies. Since May of 2023, BEC has processed 23,972 teacher certifications with a focus on proactively working with district school superintendents to address their certification needs. In addition, BEC is sending superintendents a daily communication to indicate individuals who have received a temporary certificate and are still awaiting employment as a teacher in Florida,” the Department of Education continued.
The Department of Education insisted thanks “to Governor DeSantis’ leadership, Florida has prioritized the recruitment and retention of teachers and invested in several initiatives to support this effort.”
