Florida schools concerned about shortage of substitute teachers

The big story: Many schools in the Tampa Bay region and state have had fewer problems finding teachers this year than in recent years.

About 400 new teachers attended the Pasco County New Teacher Orientation on Monday.

But even in districts where classes fill more easily, vacancies remain, and finding substitute teachers appears to be a growing concern.

“When I started 15 years ago, I had a hard time getting jobs at the schools I wanted. Now it’s the other way around. There just aren’t enough of us to fill those positions,” Karen Potter, a substitute teacher in the Bay Area, told Fox 13. Read more here.

Current subjects

Default: Duval County School District officials are looking for ways to get students back to school after 34% were absent for 20 or more days last year, WJXT reports.

Budgets: The Florida State University board has approved a $219 million state budget request for 2025-2026, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.

Code of Conduct: Flagler County students will have more choices in shoes under their new dress code, but stricter rules will apply to cell phone use, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports.

Elections: An Alachua County school board member seeking re-election has removed nine endorsements from her website after the officials named said they did not support her, the Gainesville Sun reports. • LGTBQ+ activists have launched a campaign to help Democrats gain control of Broward County’s nonpartisan school board, Florida Politics reports. • A University of North Florida poll shows little support for a proposal to make school board elections nonpartisan, the Sun-Sentinel reports.

Project 2025: The controversial proposal to reform the U.S. government contains several ideas that align with Florida’s education agenda, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.

Teacher Discipline: Months before he was arrested for inappropriate sexual contact with students, a Palm Beach County high school teacher was investigated for other questionable interactions with students, the Palm Beach Post reports.

Labor unions: A federal judge has dismissed most aspects of a challenge to Florida’s 2023 law that would impose additional restrictions on public-sector unions, including teachers, the News Service of Florida reports. Judge Mark Walker allowed the case to proceed with questions about deductions from salaries to collect dues.

Voucher costs: A Flagler County school board member questioned why the district’s proposed budget did not include information about the $10 million that would be passed on to voucher recipients, Flagler Live reports. • The Sarasota County School District’s budget predicts a drop in enrollment as more students accept taxpayer-funded vouchers, the Herald-Tribune reports.