11.13.2025
New Report Examines Educator Retention and Wellness in Kentucky
Teacher shortages are not a new problem in Kentucky. However, since 2019, there has been a marked increase in the magnitude of shortages experienced across the state. This report, prepared by the Youth Advocacy & Policy Lab (Y-LAB), Harvard Law School and KSVT explores the key dimensions of Kentucky’s teacher shortage.
On November 15, 2025, the Kentucky Student Voice Team will continue its series of public hearings on the future of education in Kentucky by holding a hearing on issues facing Kentucky’s teachers. The purpose of KSVT’s Rose Revival Hearings is to brainstorm potential solutions that the state of Kentucky could take to resolve the crises in Kentucky’s common schools. This fact sheet outlines some of the most pressing problems teachers deal with every day.
In 1989, the Kentucky Supreme Court decided Rose v. Council for Better Education, which renewed the Kentucky Constitution’s promise for efficient common schools. That decision recognized the importance of teachers in common schools, noting that Kentucky’s teachers were neither paid well, properly trained, nor provided with enough instructional support.
Just one year after Rose, the General Assembly passed the Kentucky Education Reform Act (“KERA”). KERA increased funding for teachers’ professional development by more than 2000% and set standards for teacher training and certification. Through 2007, the General Assembly frequently raised salaries to keep up with inflation.
But Kentucky’s investment in teachers has waned in recent years. Teachers today are paid less, given less support, and receive less training. These issues have contributed to a teacher shortage and retention crisis. 80% of school districts have unfilled positions, and 1 in 4 teachers every year choose not to return the next year. Every unfilled vacancy and every teacher who quits puts more burden on those who remain, increasing burnout, exacerbating the crisis, and disrupting students’ learning experiences.
Students across Kentucky feel the effects of these crises facing teachers. They walk into classrooms to find their teacher has quit. They are taught by teachers who have not been trained to teach the subject they are assigned to teach, and by other teachers who have completed only cursory training. Still other teachers are overworked, underappreciated, and unable to keep up with the rapidly changing learning environment of today’s classrooms.
When students face these problems, their constitutional rights are violated. Common schools in Kentucky cannot teach students the skills they need to thrive when teachers themselves are struggling to make ends meet and have been all but abandoned by the state.
Teacher shortages are not a new problem in Kentucky. However, since 2019, there has been a marked increase in the magnitude of shortages experienced across the state. This rest of this report explores the key dimensions of Kentucky’s teacher shortage.