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SPRINGFIELD Ill. – House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch announced Thursday the Teacher Shortage Working Group, designed to address the issue of vacancies in Illinois schools and exploring ways to recruit and retain qualified educators.
“School districts across the nation have been battling teacher shortages, and Illinois is not immune,” said Speaker Welch. “While we’ve done a lot of work in the legislature that has contributed to teacher workforce growth, we want to continue finding new ways to recruit, retain, and diversify the pool of professionals that will help shape our children’s futures.
“I’m creating the Teacher Shortage Working Group to ensure we’re doing all we can to attract qualified and passionate educators for our Illinois classrooms. I’ve chosen Rep. Katie Stuart to lead this group, not only because she is a former educator, but also because she has a proven record of working collaboratively and finding consensus-building solutions that will be necessary for a topic that is vitally important to our entire state.”
“I want to thank Speaker Welch for shining a light on the topic of teacher shortages in our schools,” said Rep. Stuart (D-Edwardsville). “There is nothing more important than our children’s futures and they all deserve access to quality education; that begins with dynamic, passionate, and skilled educators in every classroom. As a former teacher, I know we have some of the best teachers, administrators, and support staff in the country who care deeply about our children. We need to make sure they stay here, while also finding new ways to bring in more like-minded professionals who help us strengthen our education system.
“I look forward to work ahead and the robust discussions with stakeholders from across the state to ensure we are helping our schools and students succeed.”
Members of the Teacher Shortage Working Group include:
- Rep. Katie Stuart
- Rep. Harry Benton
- Rep. Sharon Chung
- Rep. Fred Crespo
- Rep. Will Davis
- Rep. Laura Faver Dias
- Rep. Michelle Mussman
- Rep. Aaron Ortiz
- Rep. Sue Scherer
In recent years, the legislature has passed initiatives to simplify the licensing process for educators, lower licensing fees, and create more opportunities for future educators. Illinois has raised the minimum wage for teachers to $40,000 per year, while also investing millions into early childhood education workforce development programs and teacher preparation programs. These efforts, coupled with the passage of the Evidence Based Funding model in 2018, have resulted in Illinois’ teacher workforce and paraprofessional growth year-over-year. Still, data shows the educator pipeline has not kept pace with demand in schools. The Teacher Shortage Working Group is designed to build on this progress, while helping to fill the gaps that remain.
The most recent unfilled positions report can be found on the Illinois State Board of Education website.
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