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Board discussion on teacher supply, rising special education shortages and need for better exit data
Summary
After a presentation of the teacher workforce supply-and-demand report, board members raised concerns about a growing special education teacher shortage, the limits of current exit surveys, and the need for statewide, standardized data collection and retention strategies including stay interviews, district‑level analysis, and Grow‑Your‑Own partnerships.
MSDE staff presented a teacher workforce supply‑and‑demand and diversity report; board members widely praised the data product but used the presentation to highlight an escalating shortage of special education teachers and gaps in current data collection.
Members cited recent trends — including a reported 10.7% statewide non‑return rate in the most recent year — and described local patterns such as a 14% special education population increase in one county over two years. Board members said many special education positions are filled with conditionally certified or underprepared teachers, which raises workload and budget pressures for districts. One member warned that special education costs are consuming local budgets.
A recurring recommendation was that the board and MSDE should pursue better, standardized exit and stay instruments to learn why teachers leave and why others stay. Members suggested partnering with neutral research entities (for example, MLDS or university centers) to create anonymous, validated instruments and to analyze retention at the school level. Other proposed responses included: clarifying induction and support for conditionally certified teachers, exploring tuition reimbursement/ Grow‑Your‑Own and career‑ladder incentives, and sharing low‑cost, evidence‑based retention practices across LEAs.
The board did not take formal policy action but asked staff to place continued supply‑and‑demand discussion on the November agenda and invited Southern Maryland districts to present local recruitment/retention initiatives.
