Lawmakers issue report outlining recommendations for recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers in New Hampshire amid severe workforce shortage

December 1st, 2023

Members of the Committee to Study NH Teacher Shortages and Recruitment Incentives, listening to a presentation from Bridey Bellemare, Executive Director of the NH School Principals Association. Photo by Kayla Provencher.

The Legislative Committee to Study New Hampshire Teacher Shortages and Recruitment Incentives issued its final report in November that outlined the top reasons for the teacher workforce shortage in New Hampshire and recommendations on how to attract and retain teachers in the state’s public schools.

The committee found that the teacher shortage is largely driven by stress, burnout, low salaries, student behavior, and the politicization of teaching, driven by the heightened political climate. The state’s school funding system, which relies mostly on local property taxes, drives sharp inequities in teacher pay between school districts, with salaries varying by tens of thousands of dollars between schools even a few miles apart. And, recent changes in state law, like the “divisive concepts” law that passed in 2021 threaten teachers’ livelihoods.

The committee met for two years and heard from various stakeholders, including researchers, school leaders, and teachers themselves. Reaching Higher NH’s study on the teacher workforce was a driving force behind several of the recommendations, with our findings supported by personal testimony as well as national research on the topic.

The committee issued ten recommendations, including:

Increase teacher pay: Recent changes in the school funding formula meant that public schools would receive an additional $169 million statewide over the next two years; the committee recommended that the additional funding should use the additional funding on increasing teacher pay.
Address concerns with controversial legislation: Recognizing the toll that the “divisive concepts” law and similar legislation is putting on teachers, the committee recommended that schools and teacher prep programs offer professional development
Establish an incentive program for teachers who work in rural and underserved areas.
Decrease barriers for teachers licensed in other states to become licensed in New Hampshire
Offer financial incentives for beginning teachers, including a loan forgiveness program or a state reimbursement salary bonus program
Push for legislation that would create Grow Your Own Programs.
Review the NH Retirement System benefits and consider making it more competitive with neighboring states.

Majority report highlights

After two years of meetings, on Thursday, November 30, 2023, the committee released the Final Report (read here). Reps. Rick Ladd, R-Haverhill, and Mel Myler, D-Hopkinton, worked on polishing the language and garnered a third vote to pass a majority report, while the committee chair, Sen. Ruth Ward, R-Stoddard, filed a minority report eliminating the vital school climate findings that had been shared to the committee throughout their meetings.

The top findings:

The teacher shortage is real and is motivated by several factors. Top concerns are stress/burnout, student behavior and discipline, school culture, and low salaries. In 2022, the number of teachers was lower than in 2010, but the continued to increase into 2023. The overall number of educators renewing their credentials remains (over the last three years) at the highest level seen in 13 years.
The credentialing data from the NH Department of Education doesn’t reflect real shortages in the state. There are more credentialed endorsements in the NH Department of Education Bureau of Credentialing Database than there are currently practicing/employed teachers, meaning that some individual teachers have 3 more than one endorsement while others are not using theirs. Key teaching positions remain unfilled across the state. The issue of number of endorsements versus number of educators is often confused. When the NH Department of Education speaks of renewal or licensing numbers, they are almost always referring to individuals and not the endorsements they hold. Many educators hold multiple endorsements which is why NHED speaks of individuals and not endorsements.
New Hampshire’s educator pipeline and enrollment in educator preparation programs is significantly decreasing over time. The number of individuals graduating with a degree in teaching from the University System of NH has gone down. The decline of Educator Preparation Program students in higher education is a national issue. Issues around the overall cost of a program, unpaid student internship requirements, and starting wages of graduates versus other professions are widely viewed as primary drivers of this decline.
Colleges are cutting teacher prep programs because of declining enrollment. As those programs decline in popularity and enrollments, universities are divesting. Four years ago, the state had 400 educators on alternative pathways. Currently, the state has 1,200. 5 There has been a marked increase in alternative pathway educators who come off interim authorization with support of folks within school districts. Support of alternative pathways to certification is one solution to the teacher shortage issue.
Safety, parent support are barriers to teacher recruitment. The committee heard multiple issues that contribute to students not wanting to become teachers including: • Personal safety and student discipline. Teachers do not come out of teacher preparation institutions with the necessary de-escalation and safety care training to properly deal with troubling, encountered situations. “New teachers are shocked by problems in the classroom.” • A decrease in parental involvement and support.
CTE and Grow-Your-Own Programs are good options for those who want to become teachers. Career and Technical Education (CTE) Centers remain a viable way to enter the profession of education through Careers in Education Programs, but awareness of this solution needs more public attention as well as the development of grow your own programs.
The cost of a teaching degree is high, especially when student teachers are unpaid. Through testimony, the committee heard that the student teaching experience is a costly financial expense for teacher candidates. Although the student teacher is often required to obtain housing off campus for the semester, the student’s semester tuition bill remains the same as those remaining on campus and who have access to and utilize campus amenities and services. Some student teachers must quit their jobs and go unpaid and incur debt for the opportunity to teach. There are issues with folks not being able to get paid while receiving 6 college credits.
Beginning teachers earn less than the average cost of living in the state. The starting salary of a new teacher in NH is $40,478, much less than $56,727 per year, the average cost of living in the state.
NH’s inequitable school funding formula is directly contributing to teacher recruitment in many school districts. School districts compete for qualified teachers, with a large discrepancy between salaries offered in various parts of the state. NH also competes with surrounding states for educators. Property wealthy communities offer higher salaries/compensation packages while smaller, rural, and property poor communities cannot afford to compete and lose dedicated, high-quality educators to other cities, towns, and states. There can also be differences within the same SAU depending on the structure of the SAU.
Addressing teacher shortages will require a multifaceted approach. Concerns were raised about the lack of affordable housing in the state, with many beginning teachers unable to take jobs due to this housing shortage and the overall cost to live in NH.
State legislation, like the divisive concepts law, is affecting school climate and culture, and driving teachers out of the classroom. The climate and culture of our public schools has been impacted by the overall political climate of our state. Classroom teachers are feeling and reporting stress and concerns for consequence as a result of legislation proposed and passed in our state house. Teachers leaving the profession most often cite the climate and culture as the biggest factor in their departure from education and NH altogether.
Increased polarization is affecting teacher retention. Teachers expressed concerns over the shift in community and public opinion regarding the state’s public schools. Increased politicization of their job has discouraged many teachers away from and into the profession.
The cost of required background checks could be a barrier, especially for student teachers. The necessary criminal background checks required for teachers needs legislative attention. A check is required upon entering a teaching education program, in the first year. The check is good for three years. Upon the student teaching experience as a ‘senior’ another background check will be required, as well as further checks required for licensure and employment. Each check is at a cost of $150, which for students becomes unaffordable and results in another reason for students to select another career path.

Party Leaders Attempt to Erase Vital School Climate Committee Findings

With a looming November 1, 2023 deadline, the committee met in October to finalize the report and distributed it for signatures. However, it was reported that the near-final report was sent to Senate President Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro), who objected to the school climate-related findings, especially the section that pointed out that state laws like the “divisive concepts” law are driving teachers out of the state.

Given his objection, Senator Ward presented the committee with a new draft on November 20, 2023, which removed the findings, which was met with sharp objection from the other members.

“I can say at this point and time. I am probably the most upset I have ever been in the 11 years I've been in this House with the process that we are using here. We have spent 2 years looking at this issue. We had reached an agreement on the 18th, which I thought we had come to a conclusion, and had signed off that we were done. Then, at the 11th hour, we have one individual who says, “Oh, I don't like that, change it.” When that individual has not been part of this conversation, has not been part of the deliberations, the testimony that we had here,” stated Representative Mel Myler (D-Contoocook).

The committee then went ahead and approved the original version, which included the school climate findings and was signed by 4 of the 5 committee members. Senator Ward submitted a minority report on her own, which omitted those findings.

Addressing teacher shortages in New Hampshire and nationally

Nationally, states are pursuing a variety of pathways to certification to address national teacher shortages, including increasing their minimum starting salary and investing in apprenticeships and “Grow Your Own” programs that provide alternative pathways for future teachers to become certified.

The Committee To Study Teacher Shortages and Recruitment Incentives urged lawmakers and districts to address some of the most consequential challenges facing schools in retaining teachers, including low teacher pay, controversial legislation like banning history, and the high cost of higher education.

In 2024, New Hampshire lawmakers have already begun implementing several of the recommendations of the study committee. In 2023, they approved a program that would provide student loan forgiveness for teachers who teach in rural and underserved schools. And, in 2024, they are considering the creation of an induction program for new teachers that emphasizes mentorship and partnerships with the community, which has been shown to increase teacher attrition and job satisfaction.

Full list of 2024 bills related to the work of the Committee To Study Teacher Shortages and Recruitment Incentives:

SB217, which establishes the rural and underserved area educator incentive program.
HB1608 which reates an induction program for new teachers.
SB521 which changes definition of “master teacher” to 7 years of teaching experience, portfolio, and demonstrated quality of teaching.
HB1164 which extends the validity of a criminal history records check of a first time teacher credentialing applicant to 4 years.

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