Hoping to address teacher shortages in the classroom, Governor Greg Abbott is trying to take steps to understand the problem through the establishment of the Texas Agency of Education Task Force.

“This task force should work diligently to ensure that best practices and resources for recruitment and retention are provided to districts to ensure the learning environment of Texas students is not interrupted by the absence of a qualified teacher,” Abbott said in a letter to Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath. 

Designed to address a teacher shortage in Texas, the task force was launched with two teachers, but on Tuesday that number was increased to 24. 

“It is imperative that we include the insights and recommendations of current classroom teachers as the task force works to identify strong recommendations that can address the staffing shortages facing school systems across Texas,” Education Commissioner Mike Morath said in an interview with the Dallas Morning News. “This expansion strengthens the Task Force and includes more perspectives as we work to find far-reaching solutions to these challenges.”

Abbott instructed the task force to look into the cause of the shortages as well as possible changes to the teacher certification process.

“The ongoing and increasing shortage of full-time and substitute teachers in schools across the state demand a thoughtful, creative conversation to develop strategies to attract, train and retain the teachers our students need,” Abbott wrote in the letter.

 For science teacher Mattison Cantrell, changes from the Texas Education Agency would help. 

“After the pandemic, everything seemed to matter less,” Cantrell said. “I think that if the task force changed the TEKS to more real-world applicable things and we were able to dig deeper and do projects, I think students, as well as teachers, would love school a lot more.”

If interested in volunteering to help the task force or give an idea, fill out this form