PSC tells Senate education committee Georgia faces roughly 5,300 teacher vacancies; recommends pathways and data-sharing

Dr. Jody Barra of the Professional Standards Commission told the Senate Education Committee that the state’s educators are central to Georgia’s economic future and that the PSC’s collaborative report identifies immediate and long-term strategies to address teacher shortages.

Barra, who presented the commission’s findings, said PSC-collected vacancy counts — taken from a December 2 district snapshot — show 5,853 vacancies in 2022, a spike to 6,557 in 2023, 5,295 in 2024 and a most recent count of 5,358. “So it’s around that 5,000 number that we know that we need more teachers in Georgia,” Barra said.

The PSC report, compiled with participation from about 70–80 contributors across 18 entities including the Department of Education, DECAL, TRS, the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia, frames the problem as a strategic economic imperative. Barra said the group identified several priority challenges: creating clearer pathways into the profession, sharpening recruitment and the value proposition of teaching, strengthening leadership pipelines, improving retention, and enabling data sharing across agencies.

Key recommendations Barra highlighted include expanding 2+2 articulation agreements so credits earned in high school and technical colleges transfer into educator preparation programs; promoting apprenticeships and tutor-to-teacher pathways to shorten time to classroom placement; considering stipends or grants for student teachers who cannot afford unpaid placements; protecting teacher planning time; and building data-sharing agreements so the PSC and partner agencies can track vacancy and pipeline trends over time. Barra said some institutions — for example, the University of West Georgia — have indicated willingness to accept certain nontraditional coursework for credit, which could be a model for competency-based pathways.

Barra also discussed compensation and retention measures. He noted that Georgia’s state teacher salary schedule tops out at 21 years of service and suggested exploring an additional step to encourage veteran teachers to remain in the classroom. On retiree return-to-work questions, Barra said PSC staff spoke with TRS and were told that returning teachers who reenter the workforce are not eligible for an additional cost-of-living adjustment under current TRS calculations.

Committee members pressed Barra on several items, including whether stronger school cell-phone restrictions could reduce classroom disruptions and teacher frustration; Barra replied that some districts report classroom phone-management policies helped. Senators also raised experience-based certification proposals to allow qualified nontraditional candidates to enter classrooms; Barra noted existing waivers and some postsecondary institutions’ willingness to accept alternate credits.

The committee will review the PSC’s 40-page executive summary and may use the report to inform several bills anticipated in the coming days; Barra told members he would return for follow-up and make the full report available on the PSC website.

The PSC presentation concluded with an invitation for questions and follow-up; committee leadership encouraged members to study the report and suggested legislative initiatives based on the recommendations could follow in subsequent meetings.