Minnesota educators, principals tell Senate committee licensure rules and pay worsen teacher and substitute shortages

Members of the Minnesota Senate Education Policy Committee heard detailed testimony Feb. 29 from principals, superintendents, special‑education leaders and teacher‑pipeline advocates linking teacher and substitute shortages to licensure barriers, compensation and workload.

The committee’s listening session aimed to surface policy options affecting teacher recruitment and retention. Angela Charbonneau Folch, principal at the Integrated Arts Academy and state coordinator for the Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals, told the committee that Department of Employment and Economic Development projections show “over 30,000 teacher vacancies within the next 10 years” and that first‑year teacher pay in Minnesota averages $45,630 as of January 2025. “For a 4‑year college student thinking about going into education, these numbers matter,” she said.

Why it matters: Lawmakers heard multiple, concrete barriers that districts say keep qualified people out of classrooms — rigid paths from Tier 1 to Tier 2 licensure, extra paperwork and slow licensing for out‑of‑state candidates, unpaid student teaching that deters diverse candidates, and compensation and benefits that lag comparable public safety retirement timelines.

Committee testimony and examples

Sharon Johnson, community education director for Worthington Public Schools, described the tiered licensure process as a central problem for early childhood staffing. She said recent changes require Minnesota‑based college enrollment to…