The teacher shortage in Pennsylvania has reached critical levels. According to the 2023 Penn State Center for Evaluation and Education Policy Analysis, about 9,500 teachers left the profession in 2022-2023 and another 8,300 in 2023-2024.

In order to address our teacher shortage, the House Education Committee will be considering a package of bills intended to reduce barriers to employment, create flexibility for employers, and expand the pool of those eligible to become professional educators.

Our legislation will help those who wish to return to education complete continuing professional education requirements. It would waive the fees charged by the Pennsylvania Department of Education upon an educator placing their certificate into “voluntary inactive” status. It also allows an educator to satisfy the 30 CPE hours through in-service days provided by the school entity.

With a teacher shortage, it seems counter intuitive to require certified teachers to pay money to put their certification in “voluntary inactive” status just to stop the clock on their CPE hours. By co-sponsoring this bill, you too can play a key role in removing barriers to career re-entry for those who took a step back from the field but wish to return.

We hope you will consider sponsoring this because you listen to our teachers, you act on their concerns, and you do what is necessary to return passionate educators to the classroom.