Based on various Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) reports, including data from the Position and Exits Collection (PEC), the Staffing and Vacancy Report, Board of Education Annual Reports, Educator Preparation Program (EPP) enrollment figures, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), and anecdotal evidence from educators and school leaders across the state, Virginia school divisions continue to address and mitigate localized educator shortages. Statewide VDOE data show a 35.9% decrease in teacher vacancies from 2023-24 to 2025-26 school year, improving from 3.9% to 2.54% vacancy rates during that period. Eighteen school divisions and all Governor’s Schools reported zero teacher vacancies for the 2025-26 school year. This reduction coincides with several targeted strategies, including expanded pathways to licensure and financial investments in teacher preparation and retention, including teacher apprenticeship programs.

Recent data also provide positive indicators related to teacher retention. The 2025 Virginia School Survey of Climate and Working Conditions found that 90.6% of elementary and middle school teachers surveyed intended to continue teaching, and 82.5% planned to continue teaching at their current school, compared with 76.6% who reported an intention to remain at their current school in 2022. While these statewide indicators demonstrate progress, shortages remain concentrated in particular endorsement areas and communities, including Special Education.

Special Education PK-12 is the top critical shortage teaching endorsement area identified for 2026-27, followed by Elementary Education PreK-6, Secondary Science, Middle Education Grades 6-8, Career and Technical Education, Mathematics Grades 6-12, Secondary English, Secondary History and Social Science, World Language K-12, and Health and Physical Education. These rankings are based on an aggregation of staffing and shortage measures reported in the 2024-25 PEC, including unfilled positions and positions filled by licensed teachers teaching outside their area of preparation. All 131 school divisions reported data representing 101,392 full-time equivalent teachers as of October 1, 2024. Since the 2021-22 school year, changes to Standards of Quality (SOQ) staffing ratios for special education students have also increased the number of teachers required to serve Virginia’s students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).

However, Virginia has expanded pathways into the teaching profession, including pathways designed to increase access to preparation in critical shortage areas such as special education. Since its approval as a statewide alternative route in 2023, iteach has provided an additional pathway through which individuals may complete preparation requirements in special education while teaching under a provisional license. In its first year, 137 special education teacher candidates were enrolled in the iteach pipeline. More broadly, Virginia has expanded registered teacher apprenticeships and teacher residency programs and added new educator preparation program options intended to respond to high-demand workforce needs. These investments have increased the number and types of pathways available to prospective educators, although available statewide data do not yet allow the Department to determine the extent to which these expanded pathways have increased the overall supply or retention of fully licensed special education teachers.

Statewide indicators demonstrate meaningful progress in strengthening Virginia’s educator workforce, yet special education continues to present the most significant and persistent staffing challenges. In recognition of these pressures, VDOE is advancing targeted strategies to improve recruitment and retention in special education positions, including expanding and varying pathways into the profession, strengthening professional learning and induction supports, and building division-level capacity to meet regulatory and instructional demands. While these initiatives represent important steps toward stabilizing the special education workforce, sustained policy attention and continued resource investment are necessary to ensure that divisions can fully meet the needs of students with disabilities and maintain a robust pipeline of well-prepared, highly qualified special educators.