By Jay Waagmeester, Florida Phoenix
According to the Department of Education, teacher vacancies in Florida’s public schools are down 17.7% for the 2025-2026 school year.
The department did not provide additional data or information in its news release announcing the stat, nor did it respond to a request from the Phoenix for additional information.
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Combining this year’s calculation with last year’s, vacancies are down nearly 30% over the last two years, according to the department. Two years ago, the department reported 4,776 vacancies statewide.
“Florida continues to attract the best teaching talent because we have raised teacher pay, empowered our teachers in the classroom, and created new pathways for Floridians to enter the teaching profession,” Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas said in a news release.
The department credits a focus on increasing teacher salaries, a statistic the Sunshine State ranks last in nationwide, and the state’s teacher apprenticeship program for its reported decrease in vacancies.
The department calls out “other sources” that “attempt to use inaccurate data from third-party sources to inflate teacher vacancy data.”
Last year, the department and the Florida Education Association disagreed on vacancy data, standing about 900 vacancies apart from each other. The FEA estimated more vacancies than the state.
The union said it gathers its data by counting advertised vacancies on school district websites, while the department said it gathers its data directly from districts.
The FEA has not released its data for the coming year. However, it told the Phoenix that its report will be released in the coming weeks.
