Education is a High Demand Industry - Policy Solutions for Addressing the Challenge
March 13, 2025
Education is a High Demand Industry - Policy Solutions for Addressing the Challenge
Kentucky’s Workforce Innovation Board has officially recognized education as a high-demand sector. Every career begins with an educator and it’s imperative that as we recognize the demand, we provide solutions to addressing the challenge. This will mean every education stakeholder - legislators, educators, the Department of Education, parents, and students, must help find solutions to strengthen the pipeline of qualified educators. As the state faces teacher shortages and increasing demands on school leaders, the Kentucky General Assembly has the power to enact policies that will make a lasting impact.
At the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents, we believe every district deserves a strong superintendent, every school deserves a highly effective principal, and every classroom a highly qualified teacher. Additionally, many other roles are part of the education sector: instructional assistants, nutrition service personnel, administrative and clerical staff, district leadership, etc. Education as a profession must have bold leadership if we are to see a strong and vibrant Commonwealth. It is foundational to everything we do.
To ensure every Kentucky student has access to high-quality teachers, the legislature must focus on removing barriers to entry, providing financial incentives, and aligning workforce development efforts with education needs. Here are key areas where legislative action is critical.
1. Prioritizing Education Workforce Legislation in 2026
The General Assembly should convene a panel of stakeholders to provide policy and budget recommendations. This panel should include legislators, school and district leaders, teachers and other school personnel, workforce leaders, and post-secondary institutions. Clear guardrails from lawmakers will help shape sustainable, long-term solutions. This effort should be a top legislative priority outside of the budget process but must work in tandem with state funding initiatives to ensure financial feasibility. Senator Wise and the implementation of the School Safety and Resiliency Act (2019) is a great example of the type of panel we recommend. There are many other examples of past legislation where this approach has led to great outcomes for education and sustainable policy solutions. Our blog last week touched on a few of this and can be found HERE.2. Allocating Workforce Development Funds to EducationKentucky already invests in workforce development initiatives for high-demand fields, yet education often remains underfunded in these efforts. The legislature should explore ways to direct state workforce development funds that could support:
- Scholarships and stipends for aspiring educators in hard-to-staff regions.
- Utilizing regional workforce development boards to incorporate education into their planning and resource allocation.
- Incentives for school districts to establish grow-your-own teacher programs.
There are examples in Kentucky of these things already happening. Since 1948, the state Department of Transportation recognized a need to have high quality civil engineers and developed a scholarship for students enrolled in Kentucky universities. In exchange, they give service in the summers and upon graduation to the Department. This model could easily be used with education as well, particular in high demand content areas and hard to staff locations.
3. Reforming Teacher Certification Pathways
To expand the educator pipeline while maintaining quality, the legislature should empower the Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB) and the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) to give a list of policy recommendations and changes that would:
- Streamline alternative certification pathways for mid-career professionals, particularly in STEM fields.
- Revise certification requirements to allow greater flexibility while ensuring teacher competency.
- Expand micro-credentialing programs that provide targeted training in high-need subject areas.
- Align workforce needs to programs and certifications through colleges and universities.
Legislators have attempted to address some of these each session. What has unfortunately happened is that tweaks to the system have created difficulty for aspiring educators to understand, local districts to navigate, and post-secondary partners scrambling to determine the best options to support the profession. Instead of a piecemeal approach, policymakers must look holistically at the system and be bold with the simplification and alignment necessary to strengthen the educator pipeline.
A Legislative Path Forward
Addressing Kentucky’s education workforce crisis requires decisive action from the General Assembly. By prioritizing targeted legislation, allocating workforce development funds, and reforming certification pathways lawmakers can strengthen the future of public education in Kentucky.
The time to act is now—Kentucky’s students, teachers, and school leaders are counting on it.
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