Dive Brief:

• The New York the Board of Regents decided to allow undocumented teachers who were granted temporary legal status under the Obama administration's 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to obtain teaching licenses.

• The move isn’t without precedent; in 2014, California enacted a similar rule to allow DREAMER teachers to work in the state, and some Nevada and Colorado districts have done the same.

• Nationwide, the Teach for American program is actively recruiting what they refer to as "DACAmented teachers." The nonprofit organization reportedly has already placed 90 of such teachers in 13 regions.

Dive Insight:

Critics say letting undocumented teachers gain credentials will mean fewer teaching jobs will exist for American teachers, but that argument fails to hold water given the broad teacher shortage currently affecting many U.S. states. The shortage, which some claim is cyclical in nature, may stem in part from the fact that enrollment in teacher preparation programs has fallen by double digit percentages, although there are a number of contributing causes.

Creative incentives can help districts attract and retain candidates, including offering perks like new hire bonuses, helping potential candidates earn teaching credentials, and giving retiring teachers a bonus for telling administrators about plans ahead of time so they can implement succession plans. 

The demand for bilingual teachers is high, even compared to the demand for monolingual educators. Some districts, like Dallas ISD, have even turned to importing teachers from Puerto Rico to meet the needs of increasing English language learner populations.