Teacher shortages have been affecting school districts across the country for years. While some schools struggle more than others, the overall effect of prolonged vacancies touches everyone in the public school system — and often the hardest positions to fill serve the students who need help the most.
The Metro Nashville Public Schools system currently has around 170 open teacher positions. Positions teaching English learners, pre-K and science are among those with the most vacancies, but vacancies in what’s known as exceptional education far exceed other categories, with 47 open positions. Per state law, maximum class sizes range from 20 to 30 students, depending on grade level — this means thousands of students are left without a full-time teacher.
Vanderbilt University professor Douglas Fuchs researches special education. He was a co-lead author on a 2018 study finding that students with disabilities are, on average, more than three years behind their peers.
“There are too few special educators with appropriate licensure or certification,” Fuchs tells the Scene. “So schools have no recourse but to hire others who are not nearly adequately trained.”
The educator shortage is the result of myriad accumulating factors. School-staff labor union the National Education Association dates the start of this national phenomenon to around 2009. The NEA found that inadequate compensation, underfunded school systems and a general lack of respect toward teachers are among the contributing factors.
Alongside difficulties finding and retaining qualified full-time teachers, districts also struggle to find enough substitute teachers.
MNPS teacher Hallie Trauger says she’s asked to fill in for other teachers on average once a week. She prefers not to, but fills in when the need is “desperate.” Trauger and other teachers are paid extra when they fill in, but they lose time to get other work done, resulting in hours spent outside of school doing unpaid makeup work.
“Our school consistently has vacancies,” says Trauger. “From the start of the year, I have students who have classes where they don’t have a teacher, which has, of course, implications for their education.”
Laura Leonard, another MNPS teacher, says she feels “horribly guilty” when she has to take time off to go to doctors’ appointments or care for her family. When she leaves, she says, students aren’t learning or doing the work they need to.
Nashville School of the Arts student Thomais Moshopoulos
This was the case for Nashville School of the Arts student Thomais Moshopoulos, whose mother Yadira Calderon says she’s had to be in classes led by substitute teachers for prolonged periods.
“We’re promised we’re gonna learn something, but then we don’t,” Thomais tells the Scene. “I want to be exposed to things that’ll help me grow up and thrive in a world where I can be understood and respected and given support, and that they can accept who I am and learn to better help me without putting pressure on me.”
Thomais is on the autism spectrum, which means she has what’s known as an individualized education plan. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires students with disabilities receive mechanisms like IEPs to receive a free appropriate public education. Even with these guidelines in place, it can be hard for students with IEPs to receive proper education, especially when schools lack special education teachers and rely on substitutes.
Emily Whitson is the mother of a student with Down syndrome in Williamson County.
“You have to stay on top of what is happening at school, because otherwise it will fall through the cracks,” says Whitson.
Students and their families can file complaints, use mediation to address concerns with schools or follow a legal process to address IDEA violations. These options can be time-consuming, intimidating and costly, requiring resources that many families don’t have. Whitson has been through programs to learn how to advocate for her daughter, like the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center’s Volunteer Advocacy Project. As an exceptional education mentor with The Arc Tennessee, Whitson now helps other families advocate for themselves. Other resources like the Tennessee Technical Assistance Network help schools and families better support students with disabilities.
Whitson tells the Scene that two of her daughter’s special education teachers quit within the same school year. “She didn’t enjoy school — she didn’t want to go at all,” Whitson says. “I don’t feel like we made a lot of progress … toward her IEP goals.”
Eleese Meschery is the parent of a neurodivergent student, and she tells the Scene why substitute teachers present difficulties. “Transitions are hard for him,” Meschery says of her son. “Changes in schedule — any changes — can disrupt his emotional regulation.”
So what’s the solution to address these shortages and provide students with the education they deserve? There isn’t a quick and easy approach, but most experts agree that raising teacher pay would help. Though MNPS touts having the highest-paid educators in the state, the city’s higher cost of living means many Nashville educators still can’t afford to live here. Leonard says she sees raises “in tiny, insulting increments.” Likewise, the Tennessee General Assembly passed a law last year raising teacher salaries to a minimum of $50,000 by the 2026-27 school year. Baked into the law, however, is an anti-union stipulation. The state also has a “Grow Your Own” program that allows people to train to become teachers at no cost.
Trauger suggests raising teacher salaries and rates for subs. Though she says “it’s a decent place to work if you have a Ph.D. … we’re not necessarily especially well-paid toward the beginning parts of that spectrum.” She also thinks making teachers feel more respected and creating more sustainable working conditions — like less paperwork and more autonomy — would help.
“A challenge of being a teacher is that we feel we’re the last ones for the students,” says Trauger. “So we feel the need to try to absorb all of the limitations of the school system in ourselves. … But we’re human. And so: One, we shouldn’t be asked to do that, and two, we can’t prevent it from having an impact on students.”
