Colorado teacher shortage threatens economic growth

This article appears in the Summer 2026 issue of ColoradoBiz titled, Colorado teacher shortage threatens long-term economic growth.

Colorado has struggled with a teacher shortage for years, and the repercussions extend beyond crowded classrooms. A lack of educators could have a long-term effect on the economy, as students who fail to learn today might later lack the skills they need to succeed in the workforce in the future. Education leaders are developing innovative solutions to recruit and retain teachers.

According to the Colorado Department of Education‘s Educator Shortage Survey data, for the 2024-2025 school year, there were 6,447 FTE (full-time equivalent) teacher openings statewide. Schools were able to hire approximately 68%, or 4,385 FTEs, through regular hiring, and 1,791 through shortage-hiring mechanisms, such as long-term substitutes, retired educators, alternative licensure program candidates, and emergency authorization holders. Still, 271.5 FTE openings were left unfilled, up from 254.6 unfilled the previous school year.

In rural areas, the shortage has a particular effect. “In small towns, oftentimes your teachers are some of the few highly educated people in the community,” says Frank Reeves, director of operations and strategic partnerships for Colorado Rural Schools Alliance. “If kids aren’t exposed to that, it’s a lot less likely they will pursue higher education on their own.”

Recent legislation might help. Senate Bill 26-126, passed this year, makes it easier for out-of-state teachers to gain licensure in Colorado. Previously, the requirement was three years of teaching experience within the past seven years; the law changed that to three years without a timeframe. Also, teachers working in any of the 14 states participating in the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact can obtain a Colorado teaching license.

“The whole idea was to get more opportunity to get qualified teachers in rural areas,” Reeves says. “It’s going to help, but it’s not going to move the needle to we don’t have a shortage anymore.”

Another piece of legislation is SB26-135, which was passed by the Colorado legislature in May and will appear on the November ballot. The issue is whether to allow the state to keep more revenue, increase school funding appropriations, and decrease the amount of money returned to taxpayers in TABOR refunds.

Training qualified teachers

Many of the solutions to the teacher shortage focus on enabling competent, trained individuals to earn licensure.

“The issue is not just the lack of teachers, it is also the lack of qualified teachers that hurts the talent pipeline and the citizenry overall,” says Elizabeth R. Hinde, Ph.D., dean and professor in the School of Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver. “We know, for instance, that many classrooms are being staffed with people who are not qualified to teach the areas in which they are teaching, have not been through a teacher preparation program, or are simply there to watch the children and ensure their safety without teaching them much.”

Students taught by unqualified teachers or in overcrowded classrooms, Dr. Hinde cautions, are not being prepared adequately for higher education or the workforce. The students risk lacking math, literacy, social studies, science, and interpersonal skills.

As a result, businesses will face shrinking pools of qualified job applicants and entry-level employees with the necessary knowledge, skills, and disposition. That smaller pool of qualified candidates will create intense competition for workers, who will demand higher pay, driving up costs.

MSU Denver has a variety of undergraduate, post-baccalaureate and graduate programs to prepare teachers. Students can take a traditional route and major in education, add teacher licensure to their major, attend graduate school to prepare for teaching licensure, or return to a university as a career changer for the teacher preparation program.

Innovative solutions

The University of Colorado Colorado Springs has several initiatives to train teachers. One is the Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) apprenticeship program, where individuals with qualifications such as an Associate of Arts (AA) degree or college credits can gain on-the-job training and ECSE licensure. “They can secure a place in the district they may already be working in,” says Monica Yoo, Ph.D., associate dean for the College of Education. UCCS will roll out an Elementary Education apprenticeship in the fall.

There is also a High School Dual Credit program for students who are interested in a teaching career. “It allows students to explore the career earlier on,” Dr. Yoo says. “They work in a teacher’s classroom and earn some hours of real experience.”

UCCS also offers Accelerated Careers in Teaching (ACT), a low-cost, online, competency-based program for career changers and others who have an undergraduate degree. Launched in 2025, ACT might be attractive to professionals who are displaced by AI or other workplace shifts. “They can teach math, science, history, depending on what they did before,” Dr. Yoo says. “They are closely supervised and work with a faculty member.”

Another factor driving the teacher shortage is people leaving the field. Denver-based Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) works with districts to provide professional development and increase retention. “Teachers are leaving education, and it’s now considered an exodus,” says Sue Sava, MA, president of PEBC. “At a time when we need to be teaching math, science, also compromise, negotiation, how to use AI and not believe everything it says, we need quality teachers.”

Among PEBC’s programs is the Teacher Residency program, which is funded by Northern Trust, the Gates Family Foundation, a donor-advised fund established at The Denver Foundation and the Colorado Department of Education. The financing model, called Pay for Success, covers the upfront costs of training teachers at partner school districts. The districts then repay the funding if the participants complete the program, become licensed teachers, and remain in the partner district for three years.

“The business community understands talent development,” says John Kearney, senior director of school partnerships for PEBC. “There are opportunities for the business community to partner with public schools and nonprofits, to design pipelines and systems so teachers feel supported.”

When the Pay for Success model launched in 2022, PEBC projected 70% of PEBC-trained teachers would remain in the district for three years and therefore trigger the success payment. Aurora Public Schools, PEBC’s earliest and largest district partner, is outperforming with an 84% success rate.

“Colleges and universities lead the way in understanding exactly what great teaching is and what great teachers do, teachers’ impact on children and families and society overall, as well as the impact of teacher shortages on the long-term economy,” says Dr. Hinde, from MSU Denver. “Great economies need great teachers. It really is as simple as that.”