Policymakers recently put the finishing touches on Ohio’s budget for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. The final bill covers a variety of important education issues, but some under-the-radar provisions regarding teacher data are particularly noteworthy. They require DEW to annually collect teacher vacancy data from all public schools, disaggregate it in a variety of ways (like by subject and grade), and then publicly track both teacher supply (via enrollment and completion rates for preparation programs) and demand.
It’s hard to overstate the importance of this policy. Teacher shortages have been making headlines in Ohio for years, but because the state wasn’t collecting detailed data on teacher vacancies, policymakers couldn’t get an accurate picture of the problem. Thanks to the budget, Ohio’s days of flying blind are over. Not only will lawmakers be empowered to make data-driven decisions and investments, education leaders across the Buckeye State will have access to accurate and detailed information about shortages in their communities.
It’s impossible to predict what these data will show. But if they do reveal troubling teacher shortages, lawmakers should be ready to act. Here are six ideas they should consider—three that won’t require state investment and another three that will.
Policy changes that don’t require state funding
1. Exempt out-of-state teachers from reading coursework requirements if they pass the state’s Foundations of Reading licensure exam on the first try.
State law requires most teachers to pass Ohio’s Foundations of Reading exam prior to receiving their teaching license. Ohio Administrative Code also requires the completion of a minimum of twelve semester hours of college coursework covering topics like phonics, phonemic awareness, and reading instruction. Although these expectations also apply to out-of-state teachers, there is some flexibility. Applicants for a one-year, nonrenewable out-of-state teaching license who pass the Foundations of Reading exam on the first try are permitted to work toward meeting the state’s reading coursework requirement while teaching on their temporary license. But the fact that they are required to complete any coursework at all is a significant barrier, considering they’re already licensed. Passing the Foundations of Reading exam should be enough to demonstrate that an out-of-state educator has the knowledge to teach literacy in Ohio. As such, lawmakers should allow teachers with valid out-of-state licenses who pass the exam on their first attempt to be exempt from all reading coursework requirements.
2. Eliminate mandatory step-and-lane teacher-salary schedules.
Ohio law requires districts to adopt salary schedules based on teachers’ seniority and college credits earned. This system has the benefit of simplicity, as teachers can predict with some certainty when and how they will receive a raise. But there are also drawbacks. Mandatory schedules typically prescribe low starting salaries to early career teachers, which means districts pay senior teachers more even when they’re not as effective or are teaching in less demanding subjects. Salary schedules also mandate substantial pay bumps when teachers receive a master’s degree, despite the lack of evidence that master’s degrees enhance effectiveness. In both cases, the system ignores teachers’ individual contributions to student learning, their specialized skills, and their willingness to work in more challenging environments.
Policymakers could address this issue by repealing state salary-schedule requirements. Without mandatory schedules, district leaders could determine how best to pay their staff, including by linking pay to student outcomes or satisfactory evaluations. While school boards may still adopt rigid salary schedules, they would no longer be required to do so.
3. Remove coursework requirements for teacher tenure.
State law outlines several conditions teachers must meet to be eligible for tenure. In addition to holding a license for a minimum of seven years, most teachers must complete thirty semester hours of additional coursework. Like the state’s mandated salary schedule, this incentivizes teachers to sit through more coursework and pursue expensive credentials that don’t clearly benefit students and therefore aren’t a productive use of their time, effort, and money. Rather than tying tenure to coursework, lawmakers should allow districts to create their own requirements, including a demonstration of effectiveness.
Policy changes that will require state funds
1. Increase funding for Ohio’s hugely popular Grow Your Own initiative.
In 2023, Ohio lawmakers established the Grow Your Own Teacher Scholarship Program. As part of this program, eligible high school seniors and school employees who commit to teaching in a qualifying school for at least four years after graduating from a teacher training program can be awarded scholarships of up to $7,500 for up to four years. Thus far, the program has proven to be hugely popular. Two hundred applications were completed during the 2024–25 cycle and a whopping 639 were completed for 2025–26. Clearly, there’s an appetite for this kind of opportunity. Lawmakers should consider increasing the state’s investment in future years so that even more prospective teachers have an affordable pathway into the classroom.
2. Create a new “Ohio Values Teachers” Scholarship to provide $5,000 per year to outstanding students who pursue teaching degrees at an Ohio college or university.
Research indicates that having student debt can motivate graduates to choose substantially higher-salary jobs, and could reduce the likelihood that they choose to work in “low-paid, public interest” jobs like education. Establishing a statewide scholarship program aimed at making college more affordable could help bring high achievers into the classroom. The 2023 state budget already laid some groundwork via the Governor’s Merit Scholarship, which provides up to $5,000 in financial assistance for four years to Ohio seniors who graduate in the top 5 percent of the class. Creating a complementary program for prospective teachers could build on that effort and bolster Ohio’s teacher pipeline. Lawmakers should create the “Ohio Values Teachers” scholarship, which would award an additional $5,000 per year to those who qualify for the Governor’s Merit Scholarship, pursue teaching degrees at Ohio colleges and universities, and pledge to work in Ohio schools for at least five years.
3. Create a refundable tax credit for teachers working in high-poverty schools.
High-poverty schools need effective teachers. But issues such as lower salaries, inadequate support from administration, school culture and student discipline issues, and high turnover rates hinder schools’ ability to recruit and retain talent. Addressing all these problems would require a host of structural reforms, but the state could alleviate concerns about low salaries by creating a tax credit for teachers who work in high-poverty schools. This program would allow state leaders to put more money directly into teachers’ pockets without getting tangled up in salary negotiations with local unions and school boards, while also providing an incentive for teachers to choose to work in high-need schools.
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Collecting and analyzing teacher vacancy data is a huge step forward for Ohio. For the first time, policymakers and advocates will be able to assess teacher shortages based on actual numbers instead of anecdotal reports. Armed with this data, state and local leaders will soon know where to take big steps—like those outlined above—toward bolstering the teacher pipeline.
