The amount of people receiving teaching certifications continues to rise, according to the 2026 Teacher Shortage Report by Michigan State University's Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC). The 2024-25 school year brought the highest number of newly certified teachers than seen in the last decade.
However, the report also shows the amount of new or returning teachers is remaining steady with those leaving the profession. In addition, the amount of teaching roles across the state has grown.
As a result, there are more districts reporting vacancies than in recent history. While some of the numbers may be attributed to a new reporting requirement applied during the 2023-24 school year, they are still at a larger percentage than pre-COVID levels.
FTE stands for "Full Time Equivalent", a metric in which they measure teaching positions around the state.
To help fill the empty positions, districts are able to apply for temporary teaching credentials, allowing people to teach despite not holding an official teaching certificate.
According to the report, the most common of these are full-year substitute permits, with around 5,000 teachers holding these permits. Of the reported teaching positions, around 8% of Michigan's teaching workforce was either temporary or non-certified during the 2024-25 school year.
The highest number of vacancies were reported to be in urban districts and in special education programs.
The full report can be found on the MSU EPIC website.
