School Staff Shortages

Guidance, policy updates and actionable resources for schools & districts experiencing school staff shortages.

  Background

AASA strongly believes federal education policy must address the education staff shortage and acknowledge that schools need a pipeline of high-quality educators to operate, function and provide equitable education to students including support for existing and innovative instructional models. 

In April, the Department of Labor issued its final rule altering the overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The rule includes two-tiered increases to the minimum salary threshold and the threshold for highly compensated employees (HCE) as well as automatic updates to both thresholds. The minimum salary threshold will be increased to $43,888 on July 1, 2024, and then to $58,656 on January 1, 2025. This represents more than a 60% increase over the current threshold of $35,568. The rule does NOT make a change to the professional exemption, continuing the practice of keeping teachers ineligible for overtime pay. Teachers will NOT be eligible for overtime. You can read our write-up here.

AASA has been preparing district leaders for the shift for months. In some cases, districts will have to make the choice about whether to offer newly qualifying employees overtime or to hire additional employees to help lower their workloads.

  AASA's Position & Priorities

AASA is committed to advocating for the following:

• Federal education policy must address the educator shortage and acknowledge that schools need a pipeline of high-quality educators to operate, function and provide equitable education to students including support for existing and innovative instructional models.
• Federal efforts to support local education agencies with their teacher and staffing needs must include establishing a commission to address the long-standing teacher shortage exacerbated by the pandemic.
• Support the preservation and expansion of resources for future and current teachers to address the teacher shortage issue.
• The federal government must take action to address the specific shortages of bus drivers and other pupil transportation service providers. Such policies could include: Delay of Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT rule); allowing for third party administration of the skills and knowledge tests; creating an entry level CDL in school transportation; and a one-year exemption to social security earning limitation.