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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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The largest school district in Texas has informed more than 400 uncertified teachers that they will not be allowed to return for the 2025-26 school year despite staffing shortages, the Houston Chronicle reported.
On Monday, the Houston Independent School District told the affected employees that they could not return because they had not made "adequate progress" toward earning their certification, according to the newspaper.
Newsweek has contacted Houston ISD for comment via email.
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Why It Matters
School districts in Texas have increasingly relied on uncertified teachers to fill classroom vacancies after teachers left the profession in droves following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Houston ISD saw the percentage of uncertified teachers grow from 12 percent in October 2023 to 19 percent in October 2024. Almost 11 percent of all teachers in Texas were uncertified in the 2023-24 school year, up from 3.2 percent in the 2018-19 school year, state data showed. The rise in uncertified teachers has sparked concern about teacher retention and student achievement.
What to Know
Houston ISD hires uncertified teachers with the expectation that they earn certification within two years.
A district spokesperson told the Chronicle that the teachers had regular progress checks and prior warnings about the consequences of failing to get certified.
Separately, Houston ISD announced in April that 733 teachers—about 7 percent of the district's teacher workforce—would be recommended for contract nonrenewal because of their performance.
All in all, 1,139 teachers are not expected to return to their roles next year: the 406 uncertified teachers and the 733 recommended for contract nonrenewal.
Hundreds of teaching jobs have also been cut elsewhere in the state ahead of the 2025-26 school year, with some districts citing budget deficits.
What People Are Saying
A Houston Independent School District spokesperson told the Chronicle: "While some of these employees are eligible to move to other roles in the district, including as apprentice teachers, there is not currently an estimate of how many will choose to apply and how many will be hired into other roles."
Raise Your Hand Texas, an education advocacy group, said on its website: "Students with uncertified teachers lose four months of learning in reading and three months in math unless the teacher has previous experience working in a public school. And while subject matter expertise is important, teaching is both a science and an art. The kind of thorough preparation and mastery of concepts that certification signifies is essential to an outstanding teacher workforce."
What Happens Next
Houston ISD is set to hold hiring fairs over the summer in a bid to fill teacher vacancies.
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