Education is the most important stepping stone for younger generations. It helps kids and young adults build a better future for themselves. By sending kids to school, we hope to expose them to a proper education. But what happens when there’s a teacher shortage and there aren’t any employees to teach the kids? Florida is currently undergoing a teacher shortage. The state has been scrambling to remedy the situation. In efforts to resolve their teaching shortage, they recently came up with a Veteran-to-teacher gateway program. While this temporary solution aids as a quick fix, Florida teachers claim it won’t resolve the deep-rooted issues in the Florida school system. Suggested read:This University in Pennsylvania Is One of the Best Schools for Veterans

Teacher Shortage in Florida

The Florida teacher shortage has been a concern for this current school year. Over the past several months, state legislators have been trying to find a solution to the shortage. According to a report from the Florida Department of Education, these are the following areas that have the largest shortage for the 2022-2023 school year:

• English.
• Exceptional Student Education.
• General Science.
• Physical Science.
• Reading.
• English for Speakers of Other Languages.
• Math.

The Florida Department of Education reports these subjects as shortage areas because they don’t have teachers who are properly certified in the field they’re teaching, there are significant vacancies, or postsecondary institutions aren’t producing enough qualified graduates in these programs who can meet the K-12 population needs.

Military Veterans Certification Pathway

One controversial solution the state came up with was the Military Veterans Certification Pathway. This program allows military Veterans without a bachelor’s degree to earn a five-year temporary teaching certification. Participants must meet the following qualifications to take part in the military Veteran-to-teacher program:

• Completed a minimum of 4 years of service.
• Earned a total of 60 college credits.
• Minimum of 2.5 GPA in their college career.
• They must earn a bachelor’s degree within 5 years of their participation in the program.

The program itself doesn’t require Veteran teachers to have a bachelor’s degree. But it does require they obtain one within five years of their participation. As of right now, 392 Veterans have applied for this program. For Veterans, this program is a great gateway to a new career after their service. For state legislators, it’s a start to resolving the Florida teacher shortage. For educators, it sparked a discussion on what the actual problems with the teaching shortage stem from.

Educator Backlash

While legislators thought this program was an excellent solution, Florida educators didn’t seem convinced. There was backlash to the idea of hiring inexperienced teachers to guide the education of K-12 students. Teachers were not happy with the decision to lower the qualifications for teachers. The military Veteran-to-teacher program was also controversial because it didn’t address the significant issues teachers in Florida face. It’s no secret that teachers are significantly underpaid for all of the hard work they put in. It’s one of the most important jobs, yet they aren’t compensated as well as they should be. But Florida has even greater issues with teacher pay. Florida ranks number 48 in the country for school teacher pay – an issue that could prevent college students from pursuing a career in education and could damage retention rates for teachers in the Florida school system. Teaching jobs for Veterans in this program offer service members a new career. The controversies don’t come from including Veterans in the education system. Rather, it focuses on the lack of attention paid to the fundamental systematic issues that come with compensating Florida teachers. The teacher shortage in Florida is still a prevalent issue legislators are hoping to remedy soon. The Military Veterans Certification Pathway offers former service members the opportunity to aid in the solution to this crisis. While it’s faced significant backlash from current educators, it does provide Veterans an opportunity to obtain the qualifications necessary to teach in the K-12 schooling system. Read next:15 of the Top Work-From-Home Jobs in 2022 for Veterans & Spouses