Texas schools are majority Hispanic. There’s been a shortage of bilingual teachers since 1990, and the pandemic made it worse.
According to TEA, there are over 1 million English learners in Texas, and Hispanics make up over half of Texas’ student population. Administrators find it difficult to retain and recruit bilingual educators to fill the increasing need, particularly since the onset of the pandemic. 66% of all teachers have said they seriously considered leaving the profession in 2021.