
TNR | J Basinger/Getty
Gone are the days of eager new recruits, ready to leap into the classroom. Nationwide, 79 percent of public schools reported difficulty hiring teachers last year. Texas has also borne the brunt of this trend. Between fall 2021 and fall 2022, the state saw a record 13.4 percent attrition rate, and the proportion of newly hired teachers without a state-sanctioned certification or permit in the following school year rose to nearly 30 percent. In May, Governor Greg Abbott signed a law requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in all classrooms.