Abstract
Over the past decade, the State of California has been running a deficit of well-qualified teachers in its public education system. School districts consistently report the need to hire substandard teachers who differ from well-qualified teachers in that they generally have far less schooling and experience and usually receive emergency credentials so that each school can achieve its minimum number of necessary educators to conduct operations. The main reason for this shortage is that California’s public schools are almost exclusively funded by the state budget and they do not receive significant funding from local property taxes. This has contributed to a public good that cannot innovate, which fails to attract and retain well-qualified teachers. To address this shortage and government failure, the California Department of Education and state legislators must work to engage the private sector by providing tax incentives to private firms that sponsor prospective and current teachers. Along with this, they should provide grants to non- profits that deliver programs that train and retain well-qualified teachers. This government failure requires market solutions and the state government must leverage tax dollars into contracting private entities into finding solutions rather than finding those remedies themselves.
Recommended Citation
LaCreta, Christopher J. (2022) "Utilizing the Private Sector to Address California's Shortage of Qualified Public School Teachers," Pepperdine Policy Review: Vol. 14, Issue 2, Article 4. Available at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/ppr/vol14/iss2/4
