LINCOLN- A new report issued by the Nebraska Department of Education suggests that the state's teacher shortage is continuing to escalate as 900 positions go unfilled for the 2023-24 school year. More specifically, the data indicates that, as of this fall, there were 908 unfilled teaching positions across Nebraska, up from last year's 769.

That total, however, includes jobs that were filled by an underqualified educator. But, roughly all of the increase in unfilled positions over last year involved positions that could not be filled at all. "It's a lot of data, what do we choose to do with the data now that we have it?" said Jenni Benson, president of the Nebraska State Education Association, "Nine hundred eight is a lot."

The true number of unfilled positions might be even larger as well. Of Nebraska's 436 public and nonpublic district and educational service units, only 310 responded to NDE's survey this year, down from 402 respondents last year. Special education shortages have been especially prevalent across Nebraska, with almost one in four special education positions going unfilled this year.

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