News Release

February 14, 2025

The Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) is pleased to announce encouraging developments in teacher recruitment and retention efforts, as highlighted in the recently released 2024-25 Teacher Vacancy Survey Report. This annual survey provides critical insights into the state’s teacher workforce, and this year’s findings underscore progress in addressing staffing challenges.

Despite persistent national trends of teacher shortages, Nebraska schools are making strides in tackling these issues. The survey, which achieved a 97.33% response rate from public districts and Educational Service Units (ESUs), revealed that more than half of the state’s districts/systems (50.65%) successfully filled all teaching positions with fully qualified personnel at the start of the 2024-25 school year. This marks a significant achievement where shortages have been a consistent challenge.

Highlights from the Report

• Special Education Gains: While Special Education remains one of the most challenging areas to staff, districts have made notable progress by filling more than 99 positions that were previously unfilled, leaving fewer than 51 positions vacant statewide.
• Smaller districts, particularly those with fewer than 500 students, continue to show resilience despite facing unique challenges in recruiting qualified educators. These districts accounted for just 25% of all unfilled positions statewide, demonstrating their commitment to providing access to quality education for all students.
• The survey maintained strong participation from public and nonpublic schools alike, ensuring comprehensive data to inform future strategies.

The report identified key endorsement areas where Nebraska continues to experience shortages, including Special Education, Elementary Education, Career Education Areas, Mathematics, and Speech-Language Pathology. However, the consistent identification of these areas has allowed the state to target resources effectively through initiatives like loan forgiveness programs under the Nebraska Excellence in Teaching Act and federal shortage area designations.

While celebrating these successes, NDE recognizes that there is still work to be done. The department remains committed to supporting districts through innovative recruitment strategies and partnerships with higher education institutions. In addition, the Department has worked to reduce barriers and created alternative pathways to certification. This report highlights not only the challenges we face but also the incredible dedication of our schools to ensure every student has access to a high-quality education.

The Teacher Vacancy Survey is conducted annually by NDE to assess teacher shortages across Nebraska’s PK-12 public school districts, ESUs, and nonpublic school systems. The data collected informs policy decisions and resource allocation aimed at strengthening Nebraska’s educator workforce.

For more information or to access the full 2024-25 Teacher Vacancy Survey Report, visit the Nebraska Department of Education website at education.ne.gov.

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