District responses to content-area teacher shortages could hamstring learning for low-income and minority students in special education, math, science, and bilingual education, according to a report by the Learning Policy Institute.
The California-based think tank analyzed state data, finding districts have responded to content-area teacher shortages by hiring teachers on emergency credentials, relying on substitute teachers, and assigning teachers out of their fields of preparation.
Teachers hired with so-called “substandard credentials” are twice as likely to teach in high-poverty than in low-poverty schools and three times more likely to teach in high-minority than in low-minority schools, the study found.
