Maya Kaul, Paul Bruno, Desiree Carver-Thomas, Linda Darling-Hammond, Pam Grossman, Brienna Kightlinger, Tara Kini, Mary Laski, Yiwang Li, Melanie Leung-Gagné, Susan K. Patrick, Lydia Rainey, Lucrecia Santibañez, Lucy Sorensen, Thomas M. Smith, Tiffany S. Tan
A diverse, high-quality teacher workforce is foundational to the state’s capacity to equitably serve all students. As the student population grows increasingly linguistically, ethnically, and racially diverse, the teacher workforce must be prepared to meet the needs of all student learners. Preparing a robust teacher workforce requires strong systems of professional preparation, credentialing, and development, backed by coherent policy infrastructure. When schools face shortages of fully credentialed teachers, the state’s capacity to provide all students with a quality education is compromised: class sizes grow, course offerings shrink, teachers are often hired without having been prepared, and teachers are assigned outside their fields (Podolsky & Sutcher, 2016). These consequences fall hardest on schools serving low-income students and students of color, further compounding systemic educational inequities (Lafortune et al., 2025).
This brief draws on the Getting Down to Facts III technical reports to describe the current state of California’s teacher workforce and the systems and policies that support it. In particular, it draws on findings from technical reports focused on the teacher workforce, teacher certification policies, teacher education for English Learners and bilingual education, and strategic staffing models in California schools. Across these reports, the findings point to a system that has made significant progress in some areas while leaving core structural problems unresolved. How California addresses these deeper structural challenges will help determine whether all students have equitable access to high-quality teachers.
Key Findings
1. Teacher production remains far below 2003 levels, even as recent state investments have contributed to rebound. Although state investments in teacher recruitment have helped strengthen the preparation and diversity of the workforce in recent years, the production of new teachers remains significantly below levels from two decades ago.
2. California’s teacher certification system creates barriers to recruitment, preparation, and retention. The state’s credentialing structure limits who can enter the profession, how easily they can do so, and the quality and consistency of preparation teachers receive. High preparation costs, testing requirements, uneven access to programs, and confusing pathway information make the process especially difficult for candidates who cannot afford to stop working while earning a credential. At the same time, California’s reliance on multiple pathways and emergency-style permits helps districts fill vacancies, but can leave some teachers entering classrooms before they have received full preparation.
3. Teacher turnover is a key driver of shortages, especially in high-need schools and regions. Teacher turnover has remained relatively stable over time, but it remains high on average and is most acute in rural districts and schools serving higher proportions of students of color, students from low-income families, and English Learners. These schools then often need to hire individuals without preparation who, in turn, have higher attrition rates, which undermines school stability and student achievement.
